NHS rolls out voice tech across England

NHS England in the Midlands has adopted ambient voice technology (AVT) for 1,239 GP practices and around 70,000 clinicians across 15 NHS acute and community trusts. The technology, also known as ambient scribing, can be combined with generative AI to convert speech into structured medical documentation.

This move is expected to reduce administrative workload and enable clinicians to focus on patients rather than their computer screen. Ravinder Sahota, group chief information officer at the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust and Sandwell and West Birmingham Trust, oversaw the procurement process.

The technology records consultations and captures conversations, generating draft summaries that are then reviewed and validated before being added to the patient record. This allows clinicians to spend more time with patients and less time on documentation.

A study sponsored by NHS England showed a 23.5% increase in direct patient interaction time during appointments, alongside an 8.2% reduction in overall appointment length when AI scribes were used. The technology was piloted at a same day emergency care unit (SDEC) and in a rheumatology clinic in Dudley.

The pilot resulted in an 80% reduction in documentation time in the SDEC, equivalent to the capacity of one junior doctor, and cut a six-month rheumatology letter backlog to 14 days. These results demonstrate the potential of AVT to improve clinical efficiency and patient care.

The competitive procurement process, led by Dudley Group and Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals, named Heidi as the preferred provider. Heidi is one of 23 suppliers included on NHS England’s self-certified AVT registry, which launched in January.

Dr Hannah Allen, GP and chief medical officer of Heidi, said: “NHS Midlands has put in place a route that any trust or ICB in the region can now use, built on thorough procurement and real evidence from frontline services.” They expect the deployment of AVT across the Midlands to continue, with plans to expand the technology to more trusts and clinics.

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As the NHS continues to adopt innovative technologies, it is likely that other regions will follow suit, potentially leading to a significant reduction in administrative workload. The adoption of AVT by NHS England in the Midlands marks a significant step forward in the use of AI-powered technologies in healthcare.

They have the potential to enable more patients to be seen, which could help address the current workload challenges faced by the NHS. With the NHS facing ongoing pressures, the use of AVT could provide a much-needed solution to reduce administrative workload and improve patient care.

NHS England’s move is a step towards improving clinical efficiency. The results of the pilot demonstrate the potential of AVT.