Adrian Harris, medical director of research and digital at Royal Devon (Credit: Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust)
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is running a pilot to evaluate the use of ambient voice technology (AVT) in emergency departments.
The 12-month pilot, supported by NHS England, was launched in January 2026 to evaluate how AI writing tools can reduce documentation for clinicians in urgent care settings and improve communication between hospital and primary care teams.
Royal Devon integrated AVT into its Epic electronic patient record system in September 2025 and the pilot will form part of a trust-wide evaluation of the rollout.
Professor Adrian Harris, medical director of research and digital at Royal Devon, said: “We are already seeing the benefits that ambient voice technology can bring to outpatients.
“It could transform emergency and urgent care, allowing doctors to focus on what they do best – treating patients – while speeding up processes and ensuring patient notes are accurate.
“Our priority is to test and evaluate how the technology works in the emergency department to ensure safety and clinical effectiveness.”
Since AVT was implemented at the trust, it has been used to support over 2,700 outpatient consultations.
Royal Devon says it has received positive feedback from patients, with doctors reporting increased accuracy of documentation and having more time available to care for patients.
Once fully implemented, AVT could support around 15,000 additional outpatient appointments at the Royal Devon each year.
The pilot is being carried out in partnership with the NIHR HealthTech Sustainable Innovation Research Center and the University of Exeter to assess its impact and ensure it continues to improve the quality of care and meets rigorous assurance standards.
Dr Nick Kennedy, AI and digital innovation lead at the centre, said: “Evaluation is essential to understanding how technologies such as ambient voice technology can truly improve clinical care.
“By generating reliable evidence about what works for both patients and doctors, we can support the adoption of digital tools that save time, improve communication, and help deliver high-quality care to even more patients.”
Emergency departments were selected for the pilot to demonstrate the technology’s potential to free up clinician time, improve patient flow, and improve safety in urgent care settings.
The evaluation findings will help shape national policy and inform wider uptake of the NHS.
Dr Steve Trowell, NHSE SW region digital transformation director, said: “There is huge potential for AI scribes, when delivered safely and reliably, to improve the quality and experience of care for both staff and patients.
“We are pleased to be working with Royal Devon to support its implementation and better understand the impact on healthcare delivery.”
Speaking at the HETT Leadership Summit in February, Alec Price-Forbes, England’s national chief clinical information officer, described AI writing as “an enabler that allows us to truly reinvent healthcare.”
In January, NHSE published a self-certified national register for AVT providers to show evidence of compliance with standards on clinical safety, technology and data protection.
