AI in Nursing: A Trial

AI Note-Taking Tool Gives Nurses More Time for Patients at East Lancashire Hospitals

In a forward-thinking move to streamline healthcare and reduce administrative burdens, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust has piloted an AI-powered tool called CLEARnotes that automatically documents pre-operative consultations. The six-month pilot, which began in September 2024, has shown promising results — not only in efficiency but in restoring the “human touch” to nursing care.

What Is CLEARnotes?
CLEARnotes uses ambient voice AI technology to listen to nurse-patient conversations and convert them into structured electronic patient notes. After each consultation, nurses review the AI-generated notes for accuracy, maintaining clinical oversight.

Positive Outcomes for Patients and Staff
Led by Toni Bell, the trust’s pre-operative assessment manager, the AI system has enabled her team to see more patients each day — an increase from 55 to 63 — contributing to the trust’s efforts in addressing the elective care backlog. Moreover, because the AI handles much of the note-taking, consultation times have decreased, and nurses report being able to engage more fully with patients.

“It’s definitely put that human factor back into our assessments,” said Bell. “Nurses feel like they’ve got the patient engagement back, rather than sitting with their back to them or side on.”

Standardized Documentation and Collaborative Success
Beyond efficiency, the tool ensures a consistent format in patient records, improving documentation quality. Bell emphasized the importance of collaboration between clinical staff and the AI developers at 33n, crediting this partnership as crucial to the pilot’s success.

Recognized and Ready for the Future
The initiative has earned national recognition with a nomination for the 2025 HSJ Digital Awards in the “Supporting Elective Recovery Through Digital” category. Dr. Domnic Sebastian, the trust’s divisional medical director for surgery and anaesthetics, praised CLEARnotes for freeing up clinical time, reducing stress, and improving both staff and patient satisfaction.

As healthcare continues to grapple with resource constraints and growing patient needs, tools like CLEARnotes highlight how AI can support — rather than replace — the essential human aspects of care.

 

Source: Nursingtimes.net

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