Key Summary
- NHS and Microsoft are planning to start using AI across healthcare services.
- It is expected to be accessible to 505,000 clinicians and support staff from October 2026.
- It could save an average of 43 minutes per staff member per day or more.
The NHS and Microsoft are partnering to deploy AI administrative tools across healthcare services nationwide.
The platform is expected to be accessible to 505,000 clinicians and support staff by October 2026.
The tool would reportedly save an average of 43 minutes per staff member per day or more, which equates to roughly five weeks of administrative time per person annually.
The AI personal assistant helps clinicians to draft documents and analyse data more efficiently to focus more time on patient care.
The agreement follows the largest healthcare AI trial of its kind globally, which provided more than 30,000 NHS workers across 90 organisations with access to Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Trial results indicated that a full scale-up of the tool could ultimately save millions of hours of staff time across the health service every month.
Rob Thompson, chief Digital, Data and Technology Officer at NHS England, said that the potential to save NHS staff around two days of admin time every month could be a gamechanger for patients.
Health Innovation and Safety minister, Preet Kaur Gill, added that technology should support our NHS staff, not slow them down.
Darren Hardman, CEO, Microsoft UK & Ireland, assured that by rolling out Microsoft 365 Copilot at scale, NHS teams can cut through everyday admin and spend more time where it matters most.
