505,000 NHS members of staff will receive Microsoft’s 365 Copilot software to provide administrative support.
Following a trial of 30,000 workers, NHS England has announced that it will be expanding adoption of AI across its services by providing over 500,000 staff with Microsoft 365 Copilot.
The trial found that AI-assisted help could save the average staff member around 43 minutes a day, which equates to five weeks of time every year. NHS England anticipates that Copilot will support staff across clinical administration: assisting clinicians in drafting letters and registrar training; ward clerks: helping with patient discharge processes, service data analysis, rota building and bed management; medical secretaries: helping with the drafting of patient letters, meeting minutes and creating templates for consistency; core services: assisting human resources, finance and procurement functions; and management: helping to draft board papers, briefings and analysis.
In addition to standard Copilot, the NHS will have access to Copilot Studio, a platform which allows them to build their own specialised AI agents to automate tasks such as rota management and meeting minutes.
“This will enable doctors, nurses, and support staff to reduce repetitive admin and spend more time on what really matters – helping patients”, said Darren Hardman, chief executive of Microsoft UK and Ireland.
Representatives from the NHS referred to the benefits of AI in freeing up time spent on administration, providing better value for taxpayers and shortening waiting times. Each NHS trust will receive a central allocation of licences based on organisational headcount, typically starting at around 2,000 Copilot Microsoft 365 licences, with rollout expected by October.
“This government is putting innovation to work for patients: helping staff work more efficiently, improving productivity and supporting a modern NHS that delivers better care, faster access to treatment and better value for taxpayers,” said health innovation and safety minister Preet Kaur Gill.
