NHS AI pilot aims to ease administrative burden

An NHS trust in Kent is piloting artificial technology (AI) in its community paediatric service in an effort to free up clinicians to devote more attention to patients.

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust has begun a three month pilot, using AI in up to 5,000 consultations to generate notes and summary letters.

The hope is that it will alleviate the administrative burden on clinicians at the service, which caters for children with developmental conditions.

Ruth Clement, head of children's therapies at the trust, said all summaries and letters would still be reviewed for accuracy.

"AI is not about doing the job of the doctor or clinician," she said.

"We hope that by using this software the clinicians will be able to focus even more of their attention on the family during an appointment."

The technology, from digital health start-up Tortus, is being tested against different accents, with multiple people in the room and in rooms with background noise, Ms Clement explained.

"When we are working with children, it is naturally going to be noisy, but in testing and training, we've already seen how it cleverly filters," she said.

The multi-site pilot will also include trials with the trust's acute response team, GPs at Northdown Surgery in Margate, Hildenborough & Tonbridge Medical Group and Woodlands Family Practice, plus clinicians at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, and adult social care workers from Kent County Council.

Victoria Bakare, the trust's associate medical director, said an independent evaluation into the impact of the technology had been commissioned.

"With our partners, we want to test this in different settings and we will be sharing the results, to help drive innovation across health and care," she said.

Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.