NHS England has told trust boards to take direct responsibility for the safety of AI scribe technology, as national regulatory standards for the tools are lowered.
A joint letter from NHSE and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, sent to trust and integrated care board leaders this week, sets out 18 items which “boards and executive teams should assure themselves [are] in place”.
They cover oversight and accountability, local governance, staff training and awareness, risk management, and commercial procurement.
Among the specific requirements are ensuring clinicians review and approve all AI-generated outputs before they are used in patient care, and that “appropriate professional judgement is maintained”.
“Clear lines of accountability” must be in place for any decisions informed by Ambient Voice Technology, the list says. It instructs organisations to make sure staff “receive appropriate training on the capabilities and limitations of AVT”.
It comes as the MHRA has this week published guidance stating that some AVTs in healthcare will no longer be classed as a medical device.
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Source: HSJ, 30 July 2026
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