The text discusses the challenges faced by EDs in the NHS, emphasising the need for efficient documentation systems that do not hinder patient care. The solution presented is Heidi, an ambient AI tool that listens to consultations and produces structured notes in real-time, enhancing workflow without compromising patient interactions
Emergency Departments run on high-velocity decision-making: clinicians juggling multiple patients, constant interruptions, rapid handovers, and a level of noise and pace that few other clinical settings experience. Yet the digital systems they rely on, especially legacy EPRs, were never designed for this environment. Documentation is slow, rigid, and often sits in direct tension with patient flow. The result: rising administrative burden, and less time for direct care at precisely the moment demand is surging, along with rising demand and morbidity this leads to bottlenecks at the front door.
Against this backdrop of rising morbidity, seasonal winter illnesses such as influenza, and chronic under- resourcing, emergency pathways are being stretched to breaking point. Clinicians need more patient contact, not less, yet admin tasks now routinely crowd out clinical time. The NHS urgently needs tools that flex to the realities of emergency medicine, not the other way around.
Why current tech isn’t working
Most digital tools in emergency care were built for static, linear workflows. EDs are anything but. They require real-time collaboration among multiple clinicians, task switching, and documentation that can keep up with rapid assessments and ever-evolving management plans.
Traditional systems slow clinicians down: they force duplication, interrupt the flow of care, and create friction between seeing patients and the critical actions that form patient care.
Over a shift, these delays compound into hours of lost capacity, contributing to clinician burnout and patient outcomes.
The solution: an ambient AI that fits naturally into ED workflows
AI scribes offer a way out of this bind. By listening to consultations and producing structured notes, referral letters, care plans and more in real time, ambient AI removes the tension between documentation and patient care.
Heidi, now the most widely used ambient AI tool in the NHS, supports more than 1.8 million NHS appointments each month. It is trusted by one in two GPs across the UK and is now being explored with more than 25 trusts, including Emergency Departments. Heidi was selected by Modality Partnership in the largest deployment of ambient AI in the UK and the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Heidi is designed for the realities of busy, noisy clinical environments. As a clinician-assisted tool, all AI-generated notes are reviewed and verified by the clinician, ensuring safety and accuracy even in the most complex settings. Encrypted data handling and full GDPR compliance give clinicians and patients confidence that their information remains secure.
Real-world impact
A recent service-improvement pilot in Same Day Emergency Care shows how ambient AI performs in one of the highest-pressure parts of the emergency pathway.
The results were clear: documentation time fell by 85.8%, with clinicians saving an average of 5.27 minutes per case compared to manual typing. Across a typical SDEC caseload, that uplift translates into meaningful, faster patient throughput, reduced bottlenecks, and more clinical time released back to the front line.
Clinicians reported high usability and a marked reduction in administrative burden. Many highlighted the contrast with manual notes, where missing or unclear information was a daily occurrence and often required 30–60 minutes of additional searching each day. With Heidi, documentation was completed in around 52 seconds, including review and editing. Most clinicians said the tool reduced burnout and improved consultation flow.
Patient experience mirrored this. Ninety per cent reported an improved consultation, noting that clinicians appeared more attentive, maintained better non-verbal communication, and were more focused on them rather than the keyboard. Eighteen of the twenty patients said they would prefer Heidi to be used in future consultations.
Governance outcomes also strengthened. Clinicians reported improved note completeness and structure, supporting better coding, audit, and compliance, while reducing risks associated with incomplete documentation.
For healthcare leaders, two questions matter: is it safe, and will it integrate cleanly into existing workflows? Heidi’s clinician-verified model, clear audit trails, and strong governance answer the first. It’s a minimal workflow disruption that answers the second. Emergency clinicians can use the tool immediately without redesigning how they work, a prerequisite for adoption in high-pressure environments.
Accelerating reach of medical scribes
AI scribes are already unlocking capacity in the NHS, but adoption remains slower than it should be. The government can change this by fast- tracking the Innovator Passport, allowing approved technologies to be deployed across multiple trusts without repeating full evaluations. This would cut duplication, reduce cost, and accelerate access to tools that have already demonstrated impact.
The NHS also needs consistent, co- designed national guidance developed with clinicians, vendors and policymakers. Clear standards will provide certainty for trusts, build confidence among frontline teams, and enable faster, safer rollout across Emergency Departments.
EDs are under unprecedented strain. Legacy tech isn’t built for the pace of emergency care, but ambient AI is. With proven results and a clear path to safe deployment, Heidi shows how the NHS can rapidly unlock capacity where it is needed most.
To explore how Heidi can support your workflows, contact the Heidi team: heidihealth.com/contact-sales
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International.
