The NHS has launched its largest-ever regional deployment of ambient voice technology, covering 70,000 clinicians across 15 trusts and 1,239 GP practices.
NHS England’s Midlands team ran a competitive procurement process, selecting Australian vendor Heidi Health as sole supplier for the framework, which spans emergency departments, outpatient services, and primary care.
The framework emerged from pilots at the Dudley Group Foundation Trust, which, according to Heidi, reduced emergency care documentation time by 80 per cent and cut a six-month rheumatology letter backlog to 14 days.
Neighbouring providers expressed interest in replicating the business case and rollout, prompting NHSE’s Midlands team to coordinate a single regional procurement route.
Five trusts – Dudley Group, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals Trust, the Royal Wolverhampton Trust, Walsall Healthcare Trust, and University Hospitals of North Midlands Trust – have begun deployment. Heidi declined to name the remaining 10 trusts expected to follow.
The framework was opt-in, meaning it covers only those trusts that chose to participate and is closed to new joiners.
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Source: HSJ, 15 July 2026
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