NHS staff spend almost 25% more of their time with patients by using AI helper

Using an AI assistant has allowed healthcare staff to spend nearly 25% more of their time interacting with patients, a trial has found.

The technology, known as Tortus, transcribes consultations automatically and produces summaries for medics to review.

Ministers said using AI in this way not only boosts efficiency, but also enhances the “human connection” of the NHS.

Tortus uses so-called ambient voice technology, a mix of speech recognition and artificial intelligence, to pick up relevant medical information from a conversation, while filtering out background noise and irrelevant chat.

The trial, led by Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (Gosh), was carried out across nine NHS sites in London.

It included almost 17,000 patient interactions from sites like hospitals, GP surgeries, mental health services and ambulances.

The study found the platform helped increase direct interaction between patients and clinicians by 23.5% during appointments.

It also reduced the overall length of appointments by 8.2%.

Health minister Stephen Kinnock, said: “This is exactly the kind of innovation we need as we work to build an NHS fit for the future and end hospital backlogs.

“By freeing up clinicians from administrative burden to spend more time with patients, we’re not just improving efficiency, we’re enhancing the human connection that sits at the heart of great healthcare.”

Gosh is now planning to roll out AI scribe technology across its outpatient services from this autumn.

Dr Shankar Sridharan, chief clinical information officer at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This trial is significant as it shows the NHS can lead the way in safely adopting AI.

“Innovation can’t happen in isolation and by working collaboratively to test this technology across London, from hospitals to ambulances, we’ve proven it can work at scale and make a real difference for both patients and clinicians.”

Meanwhile, when used in emergency departments, Tortus helped increase the number of patients seen per shift by 13.4%.

It also halved the amount of time taken to complete initial patient notes.

Dr Ahmed Mahdi, consultant in emergency medicine at St George’s University Hospital, where Tortus was tested in A&E, said: “In such a fast-paced, high-pressured environment, every second counts, and this technology allows us to be more efficient, cut down on admin, and ultimately focus on patient care.

“Better use of technology is central to the future of the NHS, and it’s exciting to be at the forefront of an innovative pilot that’s truly reshaping how we deliver care.”

Economic modelling carried out by York Health Economics Consortium as part of the trial suggests Tortus could lead to an additional 9,259 A&E consultations every day if used nationally.

This could potentially save £176 million in documentation time and unlock £658 million in additional capacity every year.

Dr Vin Diwakar, clinical transformation director at NHS England, added: “Allowing clinicians to spend nearly 25% more of their time interacting with patients and less time typing into a computer improves patient care and reduces the burden of administrative tasks.”