The UK accepted all 44 recommendations on healthcare AI regulation and opened a funded MHRA sandbox phase focused on monitoring devices after deployment.
On October 6, 2026, the UK government accepted all 44 recommendations from its National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare, setting out a shift toward risk-based, lifecycle oversight. The announcement also opened applications for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) third AI Airlock phase, a regulatory sandbox for AI-enabled medical devices.
The new phase will focus on post-market surveillance: how devices perform and can be managed after deployment, rather than relying mainly on a one-time assessment. The MHRA says the programme has secured three years of additional government funding. Eligible developers can apply, with the first group of participants expected to be selected in November 2026.
The government’s response sets out several next steps. The MHRA plans to issue draft guidance by December 2026 on managing changes to AI-enabled medical devices as they adapt over time. It will also begin consulting in 2027 on how such devices should be qualified and classified. A broader implementation roadmap, covering timelines and responsibilities for all 44 recommendations, is due by spring 2027.
The decision is a policy commitment, not a completed overhaul of the rules. The response describes planned work on a more proportionate, lifecycle-based framework and says the government will explore staged authorisation pathways that could allow some promising tools to be used earlier in the NHS under close supervision while further real-world evidence is gathered. The Airlock’s next phase is intended to help generate evidence on ongoing monitoring and inform future MHRA guidance.
For healthcare providers and device developers, the direction signals that evidence and oversight may increasingly need to address a product’s performance throughout its working life. The government says implementation will involve regulators, NHS partners and devolved authorities; the roadmap will provide the next public checkpoint on how the recommendations are translated into practice.