NHS England is accelerating the rollout of artificial intelligence (AI) tools across the health service and expanding the use of AI-powered patient triage and clinical note-taking technology as part of plans to reduce waiting lists and improve patient care.
The program forms part of the government’s £10bn investment in NHS technology and data, and NHS England says the changes are expected to deliver around half of the commitments set out in the government’s 10-year health plan and generate benefits of £41bn over the next 10 years.
Sir Jim Mackie, chief executive of NHS England, said the NHS was already seeing tangible benefits from AI.
“We are also rolling out the tool across the NHS as quickly as possible, as we have seen significant benefits from the introduction of the AI note-taking tool, allowing clinicians to spend up to a quarter more time with patients.”
He added: “We are prioritizing the improvements that will make the biggest difference and supporting local leaders to adopt them and drive change in services. This will reduce waiting lists, improve care for millions of patients and help make the NHS fit for the future.”
AI triage expands through NHS apps
A key part of the program is a new AI-powered triage tool within the NHS app, designed to guide patients to the most appropriate NHS service from the start.
The tool tailors questions to patient responses to better understand a patient’s condition before directing them to the most appropriate service, such as a GP, pharmacy, community service or A&E, or providing clinicians with information to prioritize treatment.
Following a successful trial in Sussex, the technology will be used by more than 200,000 patients over the next year, before being made available to all NHS app users by April 2028 next year. NHS England said the pilot had reduced demand for calls by 29 per cent while maintaining patient satisfaction.
Broad deployment of AI note-taking
NHS England is also accelerating the introduction of ambient audio technology to automatically record consultations and create real-time clinical notes and summaries.
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According to NHS England, a study across nine London sites led by Great Ormond Street Hospital found that clinicians using the technology had up to 25% more time with patients, and emergency department staff saved up to 47 minutes per shift on documentation. NHS England estimates that the technology could enable more than 9,000 additional A&E appointments each day if rolled out nationally.
The announcement follows NHS England’s recent decision to provide more than 500,000 NHS staff with AI-powered productivity tools to reduce their administrative workload.
Success depends on clinical workflow
Following the announcement, Dr Hannah Allen, general practitioner and chief medical officer at AI Care Partner Heidi, said AI brings value when supporting front-line care, rather than creating additional administrative burden.
“AI has a place in the NHS by getting patients to the right care faster and reducing time-consuming tasks that take clinicians away from the patient at hand.”
However, she cautioned that technology implementation needs to be designed based on the realities of clinical practice.
“However, such deployments are more impactful when the tools align with how care is delivered in real-world clinical settings. Too many technologies in the past were built and deployed around operational and financial needs, rather than clinical needs, creating friction and unwieldy processes for clinical teams.
“Good integration and design means embedding these tools in the way clinicians actually do their jobs, and for thousands of NHS staff they only make sense if they are connected to, rather than separate from, their work.
“If we get this right as these tools expand, it will make a huge difference for employees who currently spend more than a third of their workday creating documentation, often during off-hours.”
