The NHS Transformation Directorate has shared details of the initial pilot of an AI triage tool integrated in the NHS App.
The tool, trialled at Wealden Ridge Medical Partnership in Sussex, is said to have reduced phone queue volumes by 29 percent, according to the directorate. It will be rolled out over the next 12 months to more than 200,000 patients in London, before being made available to all NHS App users nationwide by April 2028.
It poses questions to patients on their health issues via the NHS App, adapting follow-up questions or asking for further information and photos depending on the response. A summary is then created of patient issues and symptoms, offering assistance for clinicians with diagnosis and prioritisation. Once reviewed by a clinician, patients are contacted by phone or SMS with next steps, it adds.
In a LinkedIn post offering further details on the roll out, the directorate shared a short video detailing the tool’s impact so far.
“Patients can tell us what they need, in their own time,” Ragu Rajan, GP senior partner at Wealden Ridge shared. “That gives us a clearer picture before we respond, which helps us get people to the right care more quickly. The AI doesn’t replace clinical judgment; it helps us use our time where it matters most.”
NHS England also notes plans to roll out AI tools for transcribing patient-clinician conversations and generating clinical summaries, beginning with hospital appointments not requiring an overnight stay, where use has been “proven to significantly reduce the amount of time clinicians spent on admin”. It points to a study on ambient voice technology led by Great Ormond Street Hospital, which found that scaling the tech nationally could create space for more than 9,000 extra A&E consultations each day.
NHSE chief executive Jim Mackey said: “The major overhaul of tech we’re making over the next few years will transform services. The new AI tool in the NHS App will help get patients to the best service for their needs first time, whether that’s a GP appointment, trip to a pharmacy or advice on caring for themselves at home, so that clinicians can make sure those most in need of a GP appointment can get one sooner. We’re also seeing huge benefits from the introduction of AI notetaking tools, with clinicians finding they’re able to spend up to a quarter more of their time with patients, so we’re rolling out the tools as quickly as possible across the NHS.”
Wider trend: Health AI
For a recent session focusing on AI in healthcare, HTN was joined by an expert panel including Simon Brown, head of digital at Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Wahida Jabarzai, clinical AI and automation delivery lead at University Hospitals of Northamptonshire and University Hospitals of Leicester; and Julian Wiggins, healthcare solution director at Rackspace Technology. Our panel considered the wider challenge of AI adoption, looking at what makes a successful deployment, introducing AI safely and sustainably at scale, and some of the use cases currently delivering value across their organisations.
The MHRA has published findings from the National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare research, pointing to the need to balance a desire to use AI in improving patient care and supporting healthcare professionals, with “safe, fast and trusted” regulation. Almost three-quarters of respondents (73 percent) disagreed or strongly disagreed that the current regulatory framework is sufficient to ensure safety and performance standards; with 61 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed with its effectiveness in tackling data governance and data privacy. 61 percent also thought current requirements for clinical evidence are insufficient, and 65 percent pointed to a need for more to be done on post-market surveillance.
An AI system is being used to colour code internal anatomy during surgery at London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, said to help surgeons to see subtle structures that might be hard to distinguish with the eye. The Eureka system analyses the surgical field in real-time, overlaying colours onto structures such as nerves and connective tissue. Surgeons are able to choose between keeping the overlay constant, or having it pulse intermittently during different stages of a procedure. LNWH shares hopes that use of Eureka will enhance precision, reduce risk of accidental injury, and help to support surgeons during complex procedures.
