The NHS is taking a major leap forward in its use of artificial intelligence (AI) as it strives to meet the growing demands on the health service. The accelerated rollout of new AI technologies across England aims to significantly reduce waiting times and enhance patient care for millions. This ambitious plan forms part of a substantial £10 billion investment over the next three years, which was announced by the government last year to overhaul the NHS's technology, digital, and data infrastructure.
The initiative includes making an AI triage tool available in the NHS App more widely after successful trials. The tool is designed to direct patients to the most suitable NHS service from their first point of contact – whether that's a GP appointment, pharmacy, or A&E department. It uses patient responses to adapt questions and provide vital information for clinicians to prioritise care.
An initial pilot in a Sussex GP practice saw a 29% reduction in phone queueing at 8am, traditionally the busiest time of day, while maintaining high levels of patient satisfaction. Crucially, patients will still have the option to contact their GP through traditional methods if they prefer.
NHS England is also supporting the national rollout of AI tools that can record and transcribe conversations between patients and staff in real-time. This technology has already demonstrated significant time savings for clinicians in hospital appointments that don't require an overnight stay. In fact, a major NHS study found it could allow doctors to spend almost 25% more time with patients.
The potential benefits are substantial: scaling this technology nationally could facilitate over 9,000 additional A&E consultations daily. The rollout is already underway in south-west London, where tens of thousands of NHS staff will benefit from AI notetaking systems across four trusts. Initial results have been promising – a pilot at St George's Hospital found clinicians saved an average of 47 minutes per shift, enabling them to attend to more patients.
Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust are also expanding their AI notetaking programmes to over 3,000 clinicians following successful pilots. These advancements in technology are set to generate significant benefits for both patients and staff, with estimated total benefits of £41 billion over the coming decade.