AI and New Ways of Working
Page Contents
AI-Enabled Ambient Scribing Products
Clinical Safe Roles and Responsibilities
Online Triage & Care Navigation
Rotas / Staff Organisation and Locum Management
| Digital clinical risk management has to be a rigorous, methodical, and clearly documented process to ensure that any clinical risks have been assessed and if required, mitigated appropriately. This rigour is required both from the perspective of compliance with the standards and ultimately to ensure that the product is safe for patients (See: NHS England » Digital clinical safety assurance) |
The only constant in the NHS is change. You can’t replace the human side of medicine, but current workload and workforce pressures are forcing us to look to innovation and new ways of working, in order to continue to deliver a safe, sustainable general practice. Wessex LMCs are working in conjunction with Health Innovation Wessex to bring together innovations and improvements to support General Practice.
This list is by no means exhaustive and does not constitute a recommendation by inclusion or omission. We recommend practices undertake their own due diligence before engaging any company/entering into an agreement.
Wessex LMCs / Health Innovation Wessex is not responsible for the advice or services provided by those listed and therefore cannot accept responsibility or liability for the use of this information.
AI-Enabled Ambient Scribing Products
Ambient scribing products, when combined with generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), are increasingly being used across the country. They can convert speech during a consultation into structured medical notes, referral letters and other related material. This can deliver considerable benefit for both clinicians and patients. However, there are important legal obligations around data sharing and clinical safety that need to be addressed before they are used.
NHS England’s guidance on the use of AI-enabled ambient scribing products in health and care settings outlines the key considerations and responsibilities for deploying organisations to support those looking to implement these tools safely. It includes:
- An overview for executives and boards
- Guidance on leading AI adoption in health settings for CIOs and CCIOs
On the same topic, GPCE/BMA has published guidance on the use of AI software in General Practice which also highlights the key governance and safety considerations and incorporates a Quick Implementation Guide to support practices.
Importantly, there are obligations on suppliers and practices to comply with the Health and Social Care Act 2012, with regard to the application of standards such as DCB0129 and DCB0160. Data protection legislation must also be complied with by practices and Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) constructed before any processing that is considered ‘high risk’ occurs.
Practices, as data controllers, need to understand the risks they may be taking on if using such AI technologies, particularly at this early stage when the regulatory landscape is in a state of flux.
In the coming months GPCE/BMA will be working with external bodies to ensure any necessary regulation occurs at a national level and that GPs have the protections they require if these tools are to be adopted more widely, ensuring at all times that patients maintain their high level of trust in their GP. They will also be publishing more detailed guidance to inform and support practices to utilise AI driven software the in the delivery of care.
Wessex LMCs are encouraging ICBs to offer local guidance and support for practices considering using AI.
Please see below link to a national Priority Notification which has been issued regarding the safe and assured adoption of AI Scribe Technology. Wessex LMCs are encouraging ICBs to offer local guidance and support for practices considering using AI and would recommend practices to engage with their ICB and regional teams for assurance.
Priority Notification: Ensuring Safe and Assured Adoption of AI Scribe Technology
Automation of Admin Tasks
Automation of admin tasks – examples of products & further reading
- BetterLetter automates letter coding using a combination of AI and clinical oversight, helping practices process letters faster with higher accuracy. The process streamlines workflow, automates coding and highlights areas for clinical checking, resulting in richer patient records.
- GP Automate loves the mundane, repetitive tasks you don’t. Whether its new patient registrations, removing the need for human input when processing normal lab reports, or helping you meet QOF targets and save hours of practice time, GP Automate can help. Already in over 50 practices and PCNs GP Automate is helping to address workload pressures through automating routine administrative tasks, within parameters set by the practice.
- Healthtech1 automates back-office admin tasks. Their number one solution is automating patient registrations which reduces costs and errors and frees up valuable practice time. It also enables personalised patient care and improved QOF points from capturing new patients health details in full at registration, ensuring they are on the correct recall registers.
- Rapid Health
- Case study: Transforming primary care access and efficiency through Smart Triage
- An evaluation of Rapid Health’s Smart Triage at The Groves Medical Centre
- eGPlearning – eGPlearning (episodes 488 & 489)
- Administrative triage using digital tools in General Practice – elearning for healthcare
- Digital Resources Hub | Health Innovation Wessex
- Innovation Portal – Health Innovation South West
Clinical Safe Roles and Responsibilities
We have included below two info graphs, which highlight the key standards, roles and processes for ensuring Health IT systems are safe for patient care within thew NHS, and includes the criteria for the Clinical Safety Officer role and their key responsibilities.
Full details can be found in the NHS England Digital clinical safety assurance document listed under Further Guidance section.
Dispensing
Ed Kennedy, Managing Partner at the Wickham Surgery explains how their dispensing machine has benefited both the practice & patients by:
✅Freeing up staff time
✅Enhancing patient experience
✅Expanding the practice dispensing reach
Messaging & Communication
AccuRx self-book allows users to invite patients to specific appointments, either individually or in a batch for vaccinations, long term condition screening etc. It improves patient access to appointments, they choose an appointment time that suits them, and an external evaluation has shown this helps some people access appointments they might not otherwise have rung up for (e.g. For smear tests). Practices using it extensively have demonstrated a reduction in phone traffic and an increased uptake of LTC appointments, and resulting QOF points.
DALL.E.2 is an AI system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language.
Redmoor Health provide practices with high quality patient social media communication, without the burden and pressures associated with managing social media accounts.
Rotas / Staff Organisation and Locum Management
Tempo- E-Rostering with demand and capacity planning for Primary Care. Set up by an NHS Primary Care Network in Lewes this system enables PCNs to plan staffing, locums, rooms and rotas all with one system designed by GPs. It also calculates costs enabling you to find the most cost effective way of filling gaps. Ideal for multi-site and cross organisational working. This is really valuable for PMs especially for those who run more than a single site practice.
Introducing a Safe-Working, 3 – Session Day for GPs
The Grove Medical Centre have reorganised its 12 GPs into two teams to improve patient care continuity, appointment availability and manage workload.
The practice now runs a 3-surgery block system per day rather than the traditional 2 sessions per day. Each block is nominally 4 hours 10 minutes long, starting at 8am, 12 midday and 4pm. There are between 7 and 9, 15-minute appointments per block. GPs choose how many blocks to work as long as the team covers the minimum number of blocks that the practice has agreed it needs to offer to deliver safe care.
Despite successes, challenges remain in balancing workload, patient satisfaction, and financial constraints. However, there has been a distinct improvement with not only ‘ownership’ of patient care but also communication between GPs, the team and whole practice ethic and as a result working closer together across teams improved. Camaraderie has grown in the practice and a more supportive ethos has evolved as a result.
Read the full case study in more detail here.
Support for Innovation
Health Innovation Networks are effectively the innovation arm of the NHS, paid for by the NHS. They act as honest brokers between innovators and the health system, connecting people, setting up trials and evaluations, sharing good practice and helping to spread innovation. Health Innovation Network initiatives are designed to advance the uptake and spread of all types of innovation within the NHS and social care, from new technologies to ways of working and service improvements.
The Health Innovation Networks covering Wessex LMCs are Health Innovation Wessex and Health Innovation South West
Wessex LMCs also works with Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex
The Innovation checklist, designed for the Primary Care Innovation conference by Wessex and KSS AHSNs, helps you work out if innovation is right for your practice.
Other websites which cover innovation in primary care you may find useful:
- National Association of Primary Care
- NHS Futures – e.g. Digital Primary Care, PCNs and Practices Support Hub
- Q from the Health Foundation
- THC Primary Care. Register for the weekly newsletter here
Further Guidance
**NHS England » Digital clinical safety assurance – includes information about the role of a Clinical Safety officer, the professional registration required to undertake the role, role responsibilities and a link to NHSE training
Adopting ambient scribing products in health and care settings – NHS England Digital – The new home for NHS England’s content on ambient scribing products, migrated from NHS England’s Transformation website in April 2026.
AI, confidentiality and consent: navigating the medico-legal risks – The MDU – exploring confidentiality and consent considerations using case studies
Artificial Intelligence – NHS Transformation Directorate – focuses on the IG implications of using AI in health and care settings
AI in healthcare: navigating the noise | NHS Confederation – demystifies the language of AI and showcases how organisations and systems are using it
AI in medicine and dentistry – The MDU – Explores the legal, ethical and regulatory considerations of how artificial intelligence is transforming clinical practice
AI knowledge repository – NHS England Digital – repository to enable the responsible adoption of AI in the NHS
AI guides by University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust – NHS England Digital – A basic understanding of the principles on how each technology works
AI White Paper – Make AI Work for Clinicians, to deliver for patients
BMA Exploring innovation in GP Practices – explores how eight GP providers around the country are implementing innovative models
Case study Innovation in Primary Care (Conference focus) – Case study: Increasing uptake of innovation in primary care
Common medicolegal dilemmas healthcare professionals are facing with the use of AI – Medical Protection Society (MPS) article
Data (Use and Access) Bill [HL] – Parliamentary Bills – UK Parliament – Government Bill
DCB0160: Clinical Risk Management: its Application in the Deployment and Use of Health IT Systems – NHS England Digital – this standard is designed to help health and care organisations assure the clinical safety of their health IT software
Digital healthcare technologies in the NHS – Innovation Service – NHSE recommended criteria for NHS organisations to use when introducing new digital technologies.
Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) – Key tools and information – NHS Transformation Directorate – includes a document that can be downloaded and printed
Essentials of Digital Clinical Safety – elearning for healthcare – training resources to support digital clinical safety
Evidence standards framework (ESF) for digital health technologies | Our programmes | What we do | About | NICE – a set of evidence standards for a wide range of digital health technologies (DHTs)
Guidance on AI and data protection | ICO – guidance to help organisations adopt new technologies while protecting people and vulnerable groups.
Guidance on the use of artificial intelligence in candidate applications | NHS Employers – Information to help employers understand the challenges and approaches to take when candidates use artificial intelligence (AI) in job applications
Artificial intelligence in health and social care: CQC’s role, expectations and plans – Care Quality Commission – outlines some of the benefits and risks of AI and sets out how CQC’s regulatory work has a role in ensuring AI contributes to safe, equitable and person-centred care.
GP mythbuster 109: Use of artificial intelligence (AI) in GP services – Care Quality Commission – “What we will look at when we assess”
How do we ensure lawfulness in AI? | ICO – what to consider when you decide on your lawful basis for processing personal data in the context of AI development and deployment.
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency – GOV.UK – UK regulator for the medical device market
National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare – GOV.UK – national commission to advise the MHRA on the development of a new regulatory framework for AI in healthcare, to be published in 2026
NHS Innovation Accelerator (NIA) – Transforming & Scaling Health Innovation – driving real change and scale high-impact innovations with bespoke support, expert guidance and trusted NHS networks.
Online Access and Innovation – Wessex LMCs
On the cusp: early insights on non-clinical AI in the NHS – The Health Foundation – blog: Is non-clinical AI one of the answers to the NHS’s challenges?
Podcasts Focusing on Innovation and AI in General Practice – Wessex LMC webpage
Principles for artificial intelligence (AI) and its application in healthcare – sets out how AI is being used in healthcare currently, how it could be used in the near future, and examines both the potential benefits and drawbacks with respect to patients, clinicians, and the efficiency of the overall healthcare system.
Software and artificial intelligence (AI) as a medical device – GOV.UK – comprehensive guidance (useful for manufacturers of software & AI used as medical devices)
Supplier Ambient Voice Technology (AVT) Self Certified Registry for the use of AI-Enabled Ambient Scribing Products in Health and Care Settings – Find a Tender – supplier registry for the use of AI-enabled ambient scribing products in health and care settings.
Using AI-enabled ambient scribing products in health and care settings – NHS Transformation Directorate – This guidance covers the information governance (IG) considerations for health and care organisations who are adopting an ambient scribe for individual care purposes.
Using AI safely and responsibly in primary care – The MDU – What you need to know about AI in GP practices – how it’s used, who’s responsible when things go wrong, and the key risks to manage
Yellow Card | Making medicines and medical devices safer – reporting system which collects and monitors information on suspected safety concerns involving healthcare products, like side effects caused by a medicine, or adverse incidents involving medical devices
