Heidi calls for AI assessment to prioritise time for patient care  

NHS productivity review puts administrative burden in focus 

Reducing the administrative workload facing NHS staff is a central ambition of a new independent review into productivity and artificial intelligence.  Chancellor John Healey announced the review during the Autumn Budget on 28 October.   Led by Mark Bailie, it will examine how AI and technology can improve patient services and NHS productivity. Its findings are due in early 2027 and will inform the next Spending Review. 

The announcement was welcomed by Dr Hannah Allen, GP and Chief Medical Officer at Heidi.  “It’s encouraging to see the Chancellor announce a review into NHS productivity and AI, and name admin as a specific problem this review needs to fix,” she says. 

“When we surveyed 1,000 NHS healthcare professionals earlier this year, 80 per cent told us their administrative burden had grown in recent years, with many feeling stretched beyond what they can manage.  That time is directly taken away from patient care, and a lot of it ultimately goes unpaid.  At the same time 63 per cent say AI is already helping them sustain a longer, more manageable career.” 

Heidi provides an AI Care Partner that supports clinical documentation and associated administrative work.  Its ambient voice technology captures clinical conversations and helps produce notes and other documents, reducing the need for clinicians to type throughout consultations or complete paperwork afterwards. 

Returning time to frontline teams 

The technology is already moving from individual pilots towards wider NHS deployment.  NHS England has set an expectation that ICBs and providers will adopt ambient voice technology from April 2026.  Heidi is selected as sole supplier under a regional procurement framework in the Midlands, following a competitive process led by The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust and Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals on behalf of NHS England Midlands. 

The framework covers organisations with 70,000 clinicians across 15 acute and community trusts and 1,239 GP practices, spanning emergency departments, outpatient services and primary care.  It provides a shared procurement route for participating organisations, with deployment progressing in phases. 

According to The Dudley Group, earlier pilots reduce documentation time by 80 per cent in a Same Day Emergency Care unit and bring a six-month rheumatology letter backlog down to 14 days.  These results from local services provide examples of the administrative tasks the technology can support. 

Hannah wants the national review to consider access across professional groups and care settings, including staff whose work takes place away from a desk.  “This is an issue that affects health professionals right across the NHS.  Nurses on wards and community teams deal with just as much of the burden, often away from a desk,” she says.  “They need access to the right tools to alleviate admin pressures and give them time back, such as Ambient Voice Technology.  The review should also consider the role AI tools can support the Health Bill’s Single Patient Record, as it becomes increasingly central to how patient care is delivered.” 

Her priorities connect productivity with the experience of delivering care. “What I want to see this review focus on is the time AI tools can give back to patient care and the capacity it can return to the clinicians and NHS workforce.  Both will ultimately lead to better working lives for healthcare professionals and importantly, better outcomes for patients.”