Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust has started a six-week trial of ambient voice technology this week.
The pilot is to run to 3 August 2026, with 40 clinicians taking part across a small number of areas including children and families, community health services, mental health services, and with some nursing colleagues.
Patient consent will be sought and recorded prior to use, MPFT confirms, with clinicians to offer details on what is involved and how the tech works. Feedback will be collected from patients and service users taking part via an online feedback form. Questions cover initial thoughts and feelings about AVT use, concerns, and any considerations that MPFT should take into account before introducing the technology.
Information collected using AVT will be deleted automatically after 30 days, according to the trust, or once a clinician has checked it to create a final outcome letter.
In a LinkedIn post, MPFT voiced hopes that the pilot will help enhance the experience of patients and service users, saving time for colleagues in writing appointment notes and letters. “We are always looking for ways to improve services and make life better for our communities. By embracing innovative, new technologies like AVT, we ensure we are leading by example and that the care we offer stays at the cutting-edge of the ongoing shift from analogue to digital ways of working taking place across the NHS,” it states.
Wider trend: AVT
HTN was joined for a deep dive into ambient voice technology by a fantastic panel including Wahida Jabarzai, clinical AI and automation delivery lead at University Hospitals of Northamptonshire and University Hospitals of Leicester; and Ravinder Kaur Sahota, group CIO at The Dudley Group and Sandwell and West Birmingham. Our panel shared their learnings, experiences, and insights from AVT projects, covering clinical impact, risks, coding, governance, regulation, assurance, through to implementation, value, benefits realisation, and sustainability.
Croydon Health Services NHS Trust has awarded a five month contract with a value of £379,743 for support with its implementation of ambient voice technology across multiple departments. The contract, starting on 20 May and due to end on 31 October 2026, has been awarded to Keystream Group Limited. According to the contract award notice, Keystream Group Limited will be supporting the trust with its deployment of the Lyrebird Health AVT solution across ED, UTC, and OPD, to include EPR integration to enhance clinical workflows.
An ambient voice technology programme hosted by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, is to offer selected hospices across England a free six month trial to access the CLEARnotes tool. The initiative is said to provide both inpatient and community hospice services with access to the AVT tool, capable of listening to clinical conversations and automatically create medical notes and documentation. Hospices can claim up to 30 licenses for the tool, accompanied by funded implementation support and training. Following six months of free use, organisations will only be expected to pay to continue use where they have observed measurable improvements in productivity and efficiency.
