Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is set to introduce ambient voice technology more widely across its emergency department following a successful pilot that significantly reduced clinical documentation time and allowed staff to spend more time focused on patient care.
The Trust partnered with UK healthcare technology company TORTUS to trial its ambient voice technology in the ambulatory area of the emergency department at Leeds General Infirmary. The system passively listens to consultations and automatically drafts clinical notes, which are then reviewed and approved by clinicians before being added to the patient record.
The three-month pilot, which ran between February and April, delivered impressive results. An evaluation found that documentation time was reduced by 61 per cent, saving clinicians an average of 13 minutes per consultation. The technology also maintained high levels of accuracy when recording medication and allergy information, while no serious safety incidents were recorded during the trial.
Clinicians involved in the pilot reported feeling less burdened by administrative work and said the technology enabled them to focus more fully on patient interactions rather than computer screens.
Dr Sundararaj Manou, Lead Clinician in the Trust's adult emergency department, said:
“We are one of the busiest acute trusts in the country and we know that AI has the potential to support busy emergency departments by reducing the administrative tasks on clinicians. We wanted to work with a partner which could help to capture and structure information during patient consultations, which helps to free up valuable time for healthcare professionals to focus on what matters most – assessing, treating and caring for patients.”
Data security and patient confidentiality were key considerations throughout the pilot. The technology uses encrypted UK-based cloud servers, while consultation audio and transcriptions are only stored temporarily before being automatically deleted following use.
The deployment comes shortly after a significant regulatory milestone for the company. In June, TORTUS became the first ambient voice technology platform to achieve Class IIa medical device status under the UKCA scheme, following an independent assessment confirming compliance with recognised safety and performance standards.
Following the success of the pilot, the Trust plans a phased rollout across the emergency department at Leeds General Infirmary this autumn. The next stage will focus on refining workflows, increasing staff training and expanding adoption among emergency nurses and a broader group of clinicians. The technology will also be introduced into majors, minors and paediatric emergency care settings.
The initiative aligns with the Trust's wider commitment to healthcare innovation through the Centre for Emergency Care and Global Health (CENT-EC Global), which launched last year to accelerate the development of AI-powered tools, virtual learning environments and international partnerships aimed at addressing some of the biggest challenges facing emergency medicine.
The project was supported by the Trust's Innovation Pop Up business development team and the Emergency Department Research Team, including Dr Angad Sethi, Emergency Department IT Lead, Dr Mohit Arora, lead for ambient voice technology training, and Dr Bev Riley from the Innovation Pop Up team.
The project also complements Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust's involvement in the NHS Insites programme, which supports the adoption of innovative technologies designed to improve patient care and help shape the future NHS.
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