Trust halts launch of AI tool that lacked NHSE-required sign-off

An NHS trust has abandoned plans to trial a major US supplier’s ambient voice technology after concerns were raised about its compliance with NHS England accreditation requirements, HSJ has revealed.

Epic Systems had this week planned to launch a trial of its native AI Charting functionality at Frimley Health Foundation Trust, despite not holding Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) Class I medical device status, which is required of all AI scribing tools capable of summarisation.

Frimley Health has since confirmed the trial did not go ahead as it had not gone through the trust’s internal governance processes and has been paused pending further work.

Epic’s AI Charting tool does not appear on the MHRA Class I medical device registry and the company is also not on NHSE’s AVT registry.

HSJ understands that two other trusts – understood to be one in the north of England and one in the east – are currently live with Epic’s AVT.

Several other trusts are understood to be in conversations with Epic about trialling its AVT, including University College London Hospitals FT, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s FT, the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital Trust, and East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust.

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Source: HSJ, 1 April 2026