NHS app to use AI to determine which service best for patients
Get the Health newsletter
Daily health & science — research, biotech, public health, the studies worth knowing. Free.
- NHS England announced an AI triage tool on the NHS app that asks patients a series of questions and directs them to a GP appointment, pharmacy, A&E, community service, or self-care advice.
- The tool will reach more than 200,000 patients in the next 12 months and be available to all app users by April 2028, as part of a £10bn government-allocated tech overhaul.
- A pilot at Wealden Ridge Medical Partnership in Sussex cut phone queues for appointments by 29%, according to the practice.
- AI notetaking tools that record patient–staff conversations and generate real-time transcriptions and clinical summaries will begin rolling out at four NHS trusts in and around London — St George's, Epsom and St Helier, Croydon, and Kingston and Richmond.
- A trial led by Great Ormond Street Hospital across nine London NHS sites found staff spent almost 25% more of their time interacting with patients when using the notetaking technology.
- The Royal College of Nursing and the King's Fund welcomed the move but warned that patient safety, confidentiality, and digital inclusion must remain priorities as the NHS grows more reliant on AI.
Why it matters: A £10bn government investment is funding a concrete shift in how patients are routed through the NHS, starting with more than 200,000 users over the next year and all app users by April 2028. The 29% drop in phone queues at the Sussex pilot demonstrates measurable capacity relief, but nursing and think-tank voices insist safety, confidentiality, and digital-exclusion safeguards must scale in step with the technology.
