Ambient Voice Technology

Ambient Voice is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) that listens to conversations between you and your healthcare team and captures them as they happen. This helps your healthcare team spend less time taking notes and more time focusing on your care.

You might have used something similar if you talk to your phone or a smart speaker such as Alexa, or use voice controls in your car. The version we use at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is designed to understand medical words that other tools might not recognise.

Ambient Voice does not make decisions about your care; it only helps create written notes. All decisions are made by your healthcare team.

It uses microphones to listen to your conversation through a computer, laptop, or speaker. It uses smart technology used to turn speech into text, similar to voice assistants like Alexa or Siri but designed for healthcare. Natural language processing helps the system understand the meaning of the words, the structure of the sentences, and the context in which things are said. It uses a type of technology called a large language model to create a record that includes all the important parts of your discussion so you and your healthcare team can easily see what was talked about and agreed.

The Ambient Voice we use at SFT has been reviewed by our clinical safety and information governance teams. Your information stays safe and is not shared outside the NHS.

Accurate records

Captures conversations in real time, reducing the risk of missing key details and ensuring your medical records are complete and up to date.

More time for you

Allows your healthcare team to focus on you instead of taking notes, helping staff provide care quickly and maintain good records; even in busy settings.

Saves time and effort

Reduces the requirement for manual tasks such as typing up letters.

Faster communication

Letters to your GP or other services can be created quickly after your appointment, reducing delays and helping clinics run smoothly with shorter waiting times between patients.

You can decide if you want Ambient Voice to be used when you talk to us. Your healthcare professional will always ask you first and give you the chance to ask questions. If you say no, or change your mind later, just let them know. This will not affect your care.

We keep the audio (sound) recording of your conversation for a short period (up to 24 hours) so your clinician can review it if needed. After this time, the recording is automatically permanently deleted and we do not store or keep the audio as part of your medical record.

We only save the written notes with your medical records. Your clinician will always review, edit, and approve these drafts. Nothing is sent or filed without human checks.

You are welcome to contact us on the details below or ask a member of the team for more details about specific uses of AI that we have at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust.

Email: data.science@somersetft.nhs.uk

You can also join our patient and public engagement group by emailing: AIGovernance@somersetft.nhs.uk