As reported by Digital Health, thousands of NHS staff are set to gain access to Microsoft’s Copilot assistant as part of a major national rollout aimed at reducing administrative pressures and improving productivity across the health service
The expansion follows a large-scale pilot involving more than 30,000 employees across 90 NHS organisations, making it one of the most extensive evaluations of generative AI in healthcare to date.
Under the agreement, NHS trusts will receive centrally allocated licences based on the size of their workforce, with most expected to start with around 2,000 users. The rollout is due to be completed by October 2026.
NHS England believes the technology could help streamline a wide range of routine tasks, from drafting clinical correspondence and preparing meeting summaries to analysing service data and supporting workforce planning.
The tool is also expected to assist operational teams with activities such as discharge administration, bed capacity monitoring and rota management, while supporting clinicians and trainees with documentation and information gathering.
The move forms part of wider efforts to use digital tools to free up staff time. Findings from the pilot suggested the technology reduced time spent on administrative work by an average of 43 minutes per day, potentially returning the equivalent of five working weeks per employee each year.
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