RITA
On the 1st March 2025, Velindre Cancer Service's artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot RITA was discontinued in it's current iteration.
RITA was the world’s first artificial intelligence-enabled virtual assistant to be trained specifically in oncology and was able to understand and respond to a variety of frequently asked questions and direct users to useful information.
However, based on the recommendations provided within an external evaluation report of the service, the decision has been made to discontinue the initiative.
This allows the organisation to reallocate resources towards more impactful initiatives and ultimately enhance patient care and operational efficiency.
The lessons learned from this first use of artificial intelligence-enabled software by the innovation team will be valuable for future innovation projects deployed across the Trust.
For any queries or information regarding this project, please get in touch with the innovation team at Velindre.Innovation@wales.nhs.uk
What was RITA?
RITA was an AI Chatbot powered by artificial intelligence, trained to understand and respond to users frequently asked questions, using natural language processing to learn from previous interactions and provide intelligent answers.
RITA was a virtual assistant that provided help to patients, families and carers with any questions they may have before attending the Cancer Centre for the very first time. She was created by the Innovation team and trained with the help of clinicians, staff and patients to provide answers to a variety of queries and direct users to useful information.
To get in touch with the team behind the RITA project please contact the innovation department at:
Email: Velindre.Innovation@wales.nhs.uk
Phone: 02920 615 888
Rita's Story
Our AI assistant was inspired by our very own receptionist! Rita has worked at Velindre for 19 years and only recently retired in December 2021 before returning in the new year to help out when needed with bank shifts. Rita found the role very rewarding, being the first line of communication and support to patients and their families when they are at their most vulnerable.
Rita received on average 1200 calls a day from main reception, answering many queries and connecting callers to the appropriate departments. With the deployment of our AI assistant, we aim to reduce this burden by providing the same helpful answers to patients and their families through our online user interface - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!
You can see Rita at work in the ITV television series Hospital of Hope, a documentary on Velindre Cancer Centre.
Project Summary
To support cancer patients, carers, and families in a way that offers empowerment, advice, and independence for their care choices. The key area of improvement was the lack of resources to support having good quality conversations anytime, anyplace, and anywhere. Patients, carers, and families often struggle to access helpful, high-quality information to support their choices and decisions about their emotional, psychological, and physical well-being.
Through the person-centred design thinking process, Velindre, in conjunction with Pfizer Oncology and IBM Watson, has developed the world’s first artificial intelligence-enabled virtual assistant trained in oncology to proof of concept. In Phase I, RITA was trained to answer a small number of intents that demonstrate its capability. Intents are subcategories where a patient’s question could fall, that could range from breast cancer, practical admin, definitions etc.
In Phase II, with a re-focus following the COVID-19 pandemic, RITA has been developed for pilot encompassing the first visit to the cancer centre scenario, based on a total of 150-180 intents. These cover a number of the FAQs patients, carers and families have about their very first visit to Velindre along with the support services, facilities, resources and more available to them.
Phase III of the project widened the scope, with RITA now encompassing all general FAQs for Velindre, rather than the first visit scenario.
Project Closure - based on the recommendations provided within an external evaluation report of the service, the decision has been made to discontinue the initiative. This allows the organisation to reallocate resources towards more impactful initiatives and ultimately enhance patient care and operational efficiency.
The lessons learned from this first use of artificial intelligence-enabled software by the innovation team will be valuable for future innovation projects deployed across the Trust.