'Patients are ready for this': New study reveals 90% of NHS staff use AI at work and most patients are happy with it

Date:
Wed, 05 Aug 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Description:
NHS staff are driving adoption of AI, with admin tasks the main focus of the technology, and around 70% of patients feel positive about it.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Report claims 90% of NHS staff are using AI to assist with their work Heidi survey points to high AI use across healthcare AI looks to reduce the burden on healthcare professionals NHS staff are increasingly using AI tools to improve workflows and handle admin tasks, and claim that patients are positive about the development, new research has claimed.

A survey of 1,000 healthcare professionals working in the NHS by Heidi found 90% of respondents revealing they are using AI in clinical work, with healthcare professionals driving the change, with nearly two-thirds (65%) adopting AI to assist in their workflow. Rising administrative burdens in recent years may have contributed to the use of AI to assist in tasks, although it seems some AI use is happening regardless of official policies. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: AI helps with the admin
Of those surveyed, 94% have increased their AI use at work in the past year, or kept it the same. Among hospital doctors, pharmacists, and mental health professionals, however, the figure is 96%.

The results of the survey clearly demonstrate a wide take-up of AI tools, no doubt driven by an increase of administrative tasks (experienced by 80% of respondents) which includes increased demand for documentation, particularly among nurses (61%), pharmacists (63%) any by GPs dealing with referrals and letters (52%). You may like Shadow AI is creeping in to healthcare - leaders need to recognize the risk before its too late New study claims most of us
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While it is being used for drafting referrals and notes, AI is also being
used to manage patient follow-ups (66%), and there is a belief that the technology is prolonging careers, by making the workload more manageable.

Dr Hannah Allen, Chief Medical Officer and GP at Heidi, said: "These findings reflect what we hear every day from patients and clinicians. Patients are ready for this, and healthcare professionals have already made AI part of how they manage a workload that has grown well beyond what most would call sustainable. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners
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Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Policies and oversight Use of computers and patient data within the NHS has been closely monitored for years, and in recent years the challenges of AI have been highlighted, with various trusts implementing policies to handle generative AI use. Among these are the NHS AI Lab Code of Conduct, NHS England's Blueprint for AI in Health and Social Care, and the Information Governance (IG) Frameworks for handling patient data and other sensitive information. So, the 35% expressing concern over patient privacy should be able to consult their local policies and procedures to ensure that their work doesn't infringe what has been put
in place by the organization.

The march of AI across healthcare seems to be almost complete, and regardless of which tools are used, those governance policies should ensure admin is managed, data is kept private, and patient care continues to be the central focus. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/patients-are-ready-for-this-new-study-reveals-90 -percent-of-nhs-staff-use-ai-at-work-and-most-patients-are-happy-with-it


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