15 August 2025
Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, Dr Yat Li, Consultant Anaesthetist and Chief Clinical Information Officer RWT and Joe Chadwick-Bell
Digital technology used to deliver better patient care, boost productivity and streamline services at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust received government praise.
Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, joined West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker and Councillor Stephen Simkins, Leader of Wolverhampton Council, at New Cross Hospital to see how innovation is changing lives and supporting the NHS.
Dr Yat Li, Consultant Anaesthetist and Chief Clinical Information Officer at the Trust, spoke about its use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to speed up administration processes to provide better patient care.
He demonstrated CLEARNotes, which operate by listening to Doctor-patient conversations during a consultation and automatically generate a structured discussion summary, significantly reducing paperwork for clinicians.
He said: “CLEARNotes has improved clinic letter turnaround times from up to a week to just one to two days, and increased productivity by 25 per cent in one clinic—all while maintaining high standards of clinical safety and governance.
Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology and David Mak, Consultant Urological Surgeon
“We also use My Pre-Op which an online pre-operative assessment questionnaire that allows patients to fill in an assessment at home before their procedure. This reduces hospital visits and helps a patient be fit for surgery.”
The hospital has two Da Vinci Xi robots working every week on cases in urology, colorectal, cardiothoracic and gynaecology surgery.
Compared to traditional keyhole surgery, robotic surgery allows greater dexterity and is easier to manipulate as the instruments are controlled by a surgeon at a console using a 3D camera.
Joe Chadwick-Bell, Chief Executive of The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, said: “We were delighted to welcome Minister Kyle, Councillor Simkins and Mr Parker to the Trust today and showcase all our digital advancements, demonstrating how they translate into real benefits for patients.”
Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, said: “I have really enjoyed my visit here today. It’s been great to hear about all the digital innovations the Trust is working on.
David Mak, Consultant Urological Surgeon, Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands and Joe Chadwick-Bell, Chief Executive of The Royal
“I was impressed with how Wolverhampton is exploring the use of AI to speed up paperwork time. To hear about all the different technologies being explored safely was inspiring. It was fantastic to hear and see how robotic surgery is benefiting patients by enabling shorter hospital stays and quicker recovery times for patients.
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, added: “Health-tech is about better care for patients, shorter waiting times and more good jobs here in the West Midlands. Through my Growth Plan we are making this one of the best places in the country to develop and roll out new treatments – from expanding our innovation clusters to supporting local medtech businesses to grow and export. The technology I’ve seen today is proof that when we back science, patients and the economy both win.”
Councillor Simkins said: “I was absolutely blown away with the visit today. The sky is the limit with the potential there is using this fantastic technology in the NHS, not just for patient care but also providing jobs in the city.”