Artificial intelligence will be deployed on the NHS app to guide patients towards the most suitable service, officials have confirmed. The introduction of the triage system represents part of a "major overhaul of tech" over the coming years in an effort to revolutionise NHS services.
How the AI triage system works
The technology adjusts the questions on the NHS app based on patient responses to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of their condition. It subsequently steers them towards the best service, whether that's a GP appointment, pharmacy or emergency department.
The enhancement is anticipated to benefit more than 200,000 patients over the next 12 months and will be accessible to all NHS app users by April 2028. A pilot at a GP surgery in Sussex resulted in a 29% reduction in the number of people waiting on the phone for an appointment.
Pilot success and clinician feedback
Dr Ragu Rajan, from Wealden Ridge Medical Partnership in Sussex – which conducted the initial pilot, said: "Integrating AI triage directly into the NHS app means our patients can tell us what they need, when they need it, and be directed to the right care first time. It hasn't replaced our judgment – it's given us back the time to use it."
This announcement comes as the health service outlines how £10 billion in funding, allocated by the Government last year, will be utilised to modernise technology and data systems.
AI notetaking tools to reduce administrative burden
Part of this encompasses AI which captures conversations between patients and staff to produce real-time transcriptions and reduce time spent on note-taking, which will be implemented nationally. A trial spearheaded by Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (Gosh) and conducted across nine NHS locations in London discovered NHS staff spent nearly 25 per cent more of their time engaging with patients when utilising the technology.
The deployment will commence with hospital appointments requiring no overnight admission at four NHS trusts in London – St George's, Epsom and St Helier, Croydon, and Kingston and Richmond. Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust in Liverpool and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust are also extending their AI note-taking initiatives.
NHS leaders and government backing
Sir Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS England, stated: "The major overhaul of tech we're making over the next few years will transform services. The new AI tool in the NHS app will help get patients to the best service for their needs first time – whether that's a GP appointment, trip to a pharmacy or advice on caring for themselves at home – so that clinicians can make sure those most in need of a GP appointment can get one sooner."
He added: "We're also seeing huge benefits from the introduction of AI notetaking tools, with clinicians finding they're able to spend up to a quarter more of their time with patients, so we're rolling out the tools as quickly as possible across the NHS. We're prioritising the improvements that will make the biggest difference and supporting local leaders to adopt them to drive change in their services – helping to cut waiting lists and improve care for millions of patients so that the NHS is fit for the future."
Health Secretary James Murray said: "As the NHS marks 78 years of serving patients, this investment shows how we can build on that proud legacy by embracing the technologies that will shape its future. As someone who believes deeply in the power of tech to transform public services, I've made sure we're backing the right innovations, which will have the biggest positive impact on patients and clinicians and give us the biggest bang for our buck."
Murray continued: "I'm certain the technological innovations I've chosen to prioritise will get patients to the right care faster, free our brilliant clinicians from mountains of paperwork, and help drive down waiting times. By harnessing the power of AI – using it to direct people to the right service first time and giving clinicians back more time to spend with patients – we're making the NHS work better for patients and staff alike and helping make it fit for the future for its next 78 years."
Nursing union cautions on infrastructure and safety
Responding to the announcement, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said the rollout could mark "an important step in upgrading technology in the NHS." However, RCN chief nursing officer, Professor Lynn Woolsey, warned: "We should be under no illusion though about just how far the NHS needs to go. With some community nursing staff in 2026 still without mobile phones, while others in the system are forced to share painfully slow computers with poor connectivity, improvements to basic IT infrastructure must come first."
She added: "New digital technology like AI notetaking could ease the administrative burden on nursing staff, freeing up their precious time for frontline care. But there are also warnings to heed, with growing concerns about overstated, overly-optimistic assessments of the productivity benefits from AI. We cannot have situations where it increases bureaucracy through the need to correct flawed or inaccurate work."
Prof Woolsey emphasised: "Patient safety must be at the heart of any AI triage system, with a guarantee that a health professional will be the one making decisions at key points in that process. Patients must be reassured that any new systems handling their information, such as ambient voice technology, are accurate and properly protect confidentiality. Privacy and safety cannot be afterthoughts, with everyone deserving to know how and by whom their sensitive data is being used. AI and new digital technology must be deployed with proper guardrails, staff training and anti-bias safeguards."
Political reaction
Tory shadow health secretary Stuart Andrew said: "Any innovation that improves patient care and helps the NHS work more effectively should be welcomed. But new technology must be introduced with a fully-funded plan that delivers value for taxpayers. Labour came into government without a credible plan for the NHS, and their first year saw one million fewer appointments delivered. Modernisation cannot be a sole substitute for reform."
