Recordings
NHS England: stop using non-compliant AI scribes
In June 2025 NHS England wrote to NHS organisations telling them to pause or stop using AI scribing tools that did not meet its standards. The British Medical Association advised GPs to stop too if they were in any doubt.
AI tools that record a conversation between clinician and patient and turn it into a transcript and notes, known as ambient scribes, are spreading fast in British healthcare. In April 2025 NHS England published guidance on using them safely.
In June, NHS England's national chief clinical information officer wrote to NHS organisations. According to the Health Service Journal, which saw the letter, it told NHS bodies to immediately pause, reject or stop engagement with suppliers of audio transcription software that did not comply with its standards. Non-compliant solutions, the letter said, risk clinical safety, data protection breaches and financial exposure, and liability for using them lies with the local NHS trust, the GP practice or the individual clinician.
The same month, the GP committee of the British Medical Association in England backed the warning. It said these tools carry a substantial degree of risk for both information governance and patient safety, and that practices are ultimately responsible for the consequences. It advised practices to check whether a clinical safety assessment and a data protection impact assessment had been carried out, whether the product was registered as a medical device, and whether it complied with NHS standards. If none of this was true, or they were unsure, they should stop using it immediately until they had assurance. A tool bundled with familiar practice software does not release GPs from these obligations.
The current version of NHS England's guidance also requires users to review and approve any output before anything further is done with it.
What can we learn from it?
NHS England does not ban AI scribes: it has issued guidance on using them safely, and only non-compliant ones have to stop. Responsibility, though, does not stay with the software maker but lies with the practice or even the individual clinician. With Confiella the recording does not leave your computer and the transcript is made locally; the controller's responsibility still rests with the professional. Before switching on any AI tool that records conversations, find out where the audio goes, who can access it, how long it is kept and who checks the finished notes.
Sources
- NHS England: Guidance on the use of AI-enabled ambient scribing products in health and care settings
- Patient Safety Learning: NHSE orders trusts to halt ‘safety risk’ AI projects
- GPonline: GPs advised to stop using AI scribes without key assurances
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