As the NHS continues to balance rising demand with workforce pressures, the focus is shifting from digital ambition set out in the NHS 10-Year Health Plan, to practical delivery. To bring digital transformation to life, clinicians need tools that work in real clinical settings and enable them to reduce administrative burden, improve patient interactions and support safer, more efficient care.

Ambient Voice Technology (AVT) and digital dictation are increasingly central to this shift. NHS insights from Trust-led implementations show that AVT is no longer an emerging concept, but a capability moving steadily into routine clinical use.

Via our Digital Dictation, Speech Recognition and Outsourced Transcription Solutions 2 Framework Agreement, customers already have access to digital dictation and AVT solutions that can support this transition -providing a safe, compliant and scalable route to adoption.

From documentation burden to clinical value
Across NHS Trusts, clinicians consistently report that documentation remains one of the most time-consuming elements of their working day. AVT-enabled digital dictation can help to address this by capturing consultations in real time and converting them into structured, clinically meaningful documentation.

Trusts adopting AVT have demonstrated:

• Reduced administrative burden for clinicians
• Increased patient-facing time during consultations
• Improved quality and consistency of clinical records

In some settings, this has supported improved clinic utilisation, enabling additional patients to be seen within existing capacity.

Digital dictation provides a familiar and flexible entry point for organisations at different stages of AVT maturity – from traditional speech recognition through to fully ambient, AI-assisted clinical documentation.

Designed for real NHS environments
One clear message from NHS implementations is that AVT is not a simple “plug and play” solution. Successful adoption depends on how well it can operate across diverse clinical environments, including outpatient clinics, emergency departments, community settings and busy wards.

Digital dictation solutions available through our framework agreement support this flexibility by:

• Integrating with existing EPR systems
• Supporting specialty-specific documentation requirements
• Enabling phased rollouts, pilots and controlled optimisation

This allows customers to adopt AVT at a pace that aligns with clinical workflows, while maintaining safety, accuracy and clinician confidence.

Supporting safety, governance and trust
AVT operates within a highly regulated clinical environment. NHS organisations must meet strict requirements around clinical safety, information governance and data protection, with all AI-generated outputs remaining subject to clinician oversight.

Our Digital Dictation, Speech Recognition and Outsourced Transcription Solutions 2 Framework Agreement plays an important role by providing access to pre-assured suppliers.

This helps customers to:

• Procure solutions aligned with NHS standards
• Reduce procurement complexity and risk
• Progress more efficiently from evaluation to implementation

For many Trusts, this assurance is a key enabler for adopting AVT at scale.

More than a one-off procurement
Experience across the NHS shows that AVT adoption is not a one-off deployment. It involves:

• Initial pilot phases and testing
• Clinician optimisation over time
• Ongoing refinement as use expands across services

Digital dictation and AVT therefore support a longer-term engagement model, helping customers move from early exploration through to scaled deployment.

This reinforces the role of our framework agreement, not just as a route to market, but as a mechanism for enabling sustained digital transformation.

Enabling smarter, scalable adoption
AVT is increasingly recognised as a valuable clinical support tool, helping to improve clinician experience, enhance patient interaction and strengthen the quality of clinical documentation.

By using Digital Dictation, Speech Recognition and Outsourced Transcription Solutions 2, customers can:

• Access established digital dictation and AVT solutions
• Engage with suppliers experienced in NHS delivery
• Adopt AI-enabled documentation in a safe and structured way

As demand continues to grow, digital dictation remains a critical foundation – supporting Trusts as they evolve from traditional workflows towards more advanced ambient capabilities.

Supporting the NHS today and tomorrow
Digital dictation and AVT are not about replacing clinicians – they are about reducing administrative burden, supporting clinical decision-making and enabling more time for patient care.

Through Digital Dictation, Speech Recognition and Outsourced Transcription Solutions 2, these capabilities are already accessible to organisations across the NHS. The opportunity now is to use them effectively – connecting technology, people and processes to deliver meaningful and sustainable improvement.