The Christie NHS Foundation Trust has shared plans and progress delivered to date on its “Future Christie” programme, outlining actions including the deployment of ambient voice technology, the procurement of an EPR, and the implementation of a Joint Analytics for Cancer initiative as “the foundation of the intelligent hospital vision”.
According to Adrian Bloor, medical director of Future Christie, the programme “continues to deliver significant progress toward building a world-leading, intelligent, and data-driven cancer centre”, including in areas of digital transformation, patient engagement, and data integration.
Work is underway on an outline business case for a new EPR, with procurement of a solution expected to commence in early 2026 to consolidate existing legacy systems and promote integration, with Deloitte said to be engaged in options appraisal for the new system. A phase one business case has also been completed for the Joint Analytics for Cancer, which the trust says will “deliver a federated data platform integrating clinical and corporate datasets, enabling personalised care, research, and innovation”.
A business case has been approved for AVT, and deployment is set to begin this month with an initial focus on surgical services. “Expected benefits include real-time generation of clinic letters and immediate upload to the patient portal — directly improving patient experience and administrative efficiency,” the trust states.
The patient portal has now been rolled out trust-wide, with more than 2,000 patients using it to access appointment details and clinical correspondence, the trust reports, adding that there has been “good initial sign up”. Whilst this is a step in the right direction, there are limitations around integration with other systems through the existing EPR, with radiotherapy, SACT and radiology not integrated, it continues.
Capacity challenges are being mitigated through investment in specialised roles such as chief data officer and transformation lead, with the digital delivery portfolio also being rationalised to focus on priority projects, according to The Christie. Co-designed implementation plans have been developed to help support cultural adaptation to change, and the trust is looking at how best to approach procurement in order to ensure best value and optimal solutions.
Setting out the timeline for year one priorities, the trust expresses ambitions to complete the deployment of AVT in surgical services, expand patient portal features, complete the EPR outline business case, and begin data cleaning and recruitment for the Joint Analytics for Cancer programme by Q1 2026. Q2 of 2026 will then look to launching the EPR procurement, linking the patient portal with the NHS App, and scaling AVT across the trust.
Elsewhere, the board notes further actions to be taken around the Future Christie programme, including a wider evaluation of AI pilots and opportunities for automation, and the development of external partnerships to help deliver ambitions.
Wider trend: Ambient AI
NHS England is looking to create a supplier registry for ambient voice technology solutions, aiming to support buying authorities within the health and care sector when finding a compliant AI scribing tool. According to NHS England, the self-certified registry will provide a “transparent, centralised platform where AVT suppliers can self-declare compliance”. It will come with an accompanying resource library, with the aim of offering support for the procurement process, while also encouraging transparency around safety, data handling and performance.
Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust’s latest five-year digital strategy has outlined ambitions around AI, cybersecurity, digital training, and patient-facing technologies, along with harnessing available data for business intelligence and transforming care. A trial of Ambient AI is due to take place in 2026 for the South Gloucestershire early intervention psychosis service, to capture notes and agreed actions from appointments. AWP reports setting out to explore the potential for this use of AI in reducing clinical admin time and enabling clinicians to focus more on the patient, with specific aims to examine how it might improve the co-production of the dynamic digital record with patients.
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has shared progress toward its aim of becoming “the most innovation-friendly trust in the country”, highlighting work around ambient AI, its digital front door, and eHospital. Progress continues to be made around CUH’s command centre, with pilot wards having gone paperless with digital ward boards in July, and the Transfer Centre going live this month. An ambient voice pilot is underway looking at improving documentation, clinical productivity, and patient experience. Microsoft Copilot licences have also been allocated to targeted staff groups, with plans to evaluate impact in terms of efficiency gains in administrative workflows.
Join HTN and a panel of experts from across the health and care sector on the 18 November, 10:00 – 11:00am, for a deep dive into the practicalities of Ambient Scribe technology. We’ll be joined by Lauren Riddle, transformation programme manager, HIoW; Ynez Symonds, CNIO, HIoW; Dr Dom Pimenta MD. co-founder & chief executive officer, Tortus AI; and Dr Stuart Kyle, consultant rheumatologist and clinical lead for outpatient transformation, Royal Devon University Hospital. Register here.
