NHS Trust trials Artificial Intelligence during consultations
Date of release: 12 March 2025
A new Artificial Intelligence (AI) transcript tool is being piloted during clinical consultations at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT).
From left to right, Manpreet Singh, Consultant Anaesthetist (Perioperative Medicine clinical lead), Dr Yat Li, Consultant Anaesthetist and Chief Clinical Information Officer (CCIO) and Lisa Newbull, Senior Clinical Consultant at CLEARNotes.
It is hoped the AI tool will enhance efficiency and productivity within consultations, allowing Consultants more time with their patients.
Dr Yat Li, Consultant Anaesthetist and Chief Clinical Information Officer at RWT, said: “By safely exploring and using AI technologies like CLEARnotes in the NHS, we have the potential to transform the way we deliver and improve care for our patients while releasing valuable time back to clinical staff.”
CLEARNotes operates by listening to Doctor-patient conversations during a consultation and automatically generating a structured discussion summary, significantly reducing paperwork for clinicians.
Dr Manpreet Singh, Consultant Anaesthetist and Perioperative Medicine Lead, said: "I feel CLEARnotes can bring the benefits of reducing administrative burden and allow more clinical time to be spent with patients.
“The time spared can be used in anaesthetic note reviews in clinic to avoid last-minute postponements, which will improve theatre productivity."
The NHS England-funded pilot saw CLEARnotes launch at New Cross Hospital recently, initially focusing on anaesthetic assessments.
Manpreet Singh, Consultant Anaesthetist (Perioperative Medicine clinical lead)
Dr John Jeans, Consultant Anaesthetist and co-founder of The National CLEAR Programme, which drives frontline NHS innovation and has developed the tool, said: "This is a game-changer for the NHS. Nurses and doctors enter the profession to care for patients, not to be buried under endless paperwork.
“With this AI tool, we’re giving them back precious time to focus on the people in front of them. Patients feel heard, clinicians feel empowered, and hospitals become more productive—it’s a win for everyone.
"What makes this even more exciting is that the tool has been co-designed with NHS clinicians. This ground-up approach ensures the technology is tailored for our healthcare system, the workforce and our patients.”
CLEARnotes also has the potential to transform how NHS clinicians manage documentation, as Mandeep Chana, Group Manager for Anaesthesia, Perioperative, Pain Medicine and ICCU Directorate, explained: “By streamlining documentation, CLEARnotes can reduce anaesthetic assessment times – enabling us to see more patients, improve surgical readiness, and optimise clinic capacity.”
RWT hopes AI can be expanded to support wider NHS teams in reducing administrative burdens and improving patient flow.
