AI tool saves NHS emergency doctors 13 minutes per patient consultation in Leeds

A Leeds hospital has trialled AI technology that cuts doctors’ paperwork time by 61 per cent, saving clinicians an average of 13 minutes per patient consultation in its emergency department.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has partnered with UK-based healthcare technology company TORTUS, to introduce ambient voice technology in one of its emergency departments.

Clinicians said they felt less mentally drained by admin tasks and were better able to focus on the patient in front of them, rather than the screen.

The pilot took place in the ambulatory area of the emergency department at Leeds General Infirmary under Dr Sundararaj Manou, who is lead clinician at the Trust’s adult emergency department.

The technology passively listens to consultations and automatically drafts clinical notes, with clinicians using secure devices and wireless microphones, before a thorough manual check is done by clinicians to finalise medical notes.

Patient information is handled securely through encrypted UK-based cloud servers, with consultation audio and transcriptions stored only temporarily and automatically deleted after use.

The trial period took place between February and April this year and in June and looks set to be introduced to the emergency department at Leeds General Infirmary this Autumn.

Dr Sundararaj Manou, Consultant in Emergency Medicine at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, 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.”

The Trust will now focus on refining the workflow, training and adoption and scaling to a wider clinician group including emergency nurses and more areas of the ED, including majors, minors and paediatrics.

Dr Taj Hassan, Consultant in Emergency Medicine at Leeds Teaching Hospitals and Director of CENTEC Global said, “ We are absolutely delighted with the initial results but we know that embedding technology into daily practices can be a huge challenge. We look forward to supporting this innovative service evaluation through its next stages”.