South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) is piloting the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in its Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs) in a move it hopes will improve efficiency and free up clinicians’ time to provide assistance to more patients.

Clinicians in SECAmb’s EOCs are piloting the use of an AI tool which uses ambient voice transcription to listen to and digitally transcribe their conversations with patients, automatically transforming their spoken words into structured medical notes.

While the notes must then be checked and approved by the clinician, time spent writing up notes following the call is expected to reduce.

The technology, developed by AI company, Tortus, was first tested by clinicians at Great Ormond Street and has since been expanded to further clinical settings and sites.

SECAmb’s EOC clinicians carry out detailed telephone assessments with patients, providing medical advice and often directing them to more appropriate alternative services.

SECAmb’s pilot, which is scheduled to run until February 2026, is part of a wider testing of the technology within the ambulance service setting including with London Ambulance Service and South Western Ambulance Service.

Emma Webber, SECAmb Clinical Operations Manager for Integrated Care (999 &111) said: “We are keen to see how this technology and the transcription of assessments can offer time savings for our clinicians as well as provide a consistent clinical record that is shared with other healthcare professionals. The technology should support our staff to focus more on the patient as well as remove some of the administration processes that can be time consuming.”

SECAmb Chief Digital Information Officer, Nick Roberts said: “We are committed to trialling innovative technology to establish ways we can improve efficiency and patient care. This is in line with our clinically-led strategy and the overall NHS 10-year plan. Artificial Intelligence applications are already changing the way we will work across all industries, including healthcare. It is important that we take time to learn about the opportunities it can offer and how to safely use the technology to improve patient care.  The results of the pilot will help inform us how we can best integrate such technology in the future.”