Responses

Dear, Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Trust
Under the Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request the following information.
Telephone System
What make is your telephone system?
How old is the telephone system you operate?
How many users do you have?
Is your telephone system cloud based or on premise?

Can your switchboard operators transfer external incoming calls to all users across your estate?

How many extensions does your telephone system have?

Telecoms Estate

How much do you spend annually on telecoms?
Do you know how this is split into Voice Telecoms / Data Networking / Mobile Communications / Maintenance?
Which suppliers do you use for Voice / Data / Mobile / Maintenance?

How many analogue lines do you have?
How many ISDN2 Services do you have?
How many ISDN30 Services do you have?
How many mobiles do you have?
Have you done anything about the Analogue Switch Off / Digital Switch On? If so, what have you done?
What are the contact details for the person who looks after telecoms and the costs associated with these?
Microsoft
How much do you spend annually with Microsoft?
How often do you review licensing costs?

Many Thanks & Best Regards

Dear Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust,

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would like to request information regarding your use of ambient or AI-assisted systems to support clinical documentation during patient consultations.

For the purposes of this request, “ambient AI” refers to systems that passively listen to, record, transcribe, summarise, or otherwise process clinician–patient conversations in order to generate clinical notes, letters, or structured records, either in real time or after the consultation.

Please confirm:

Whether the Trust currently uses, is piloting, or has contracted for any ambient AI or AI-assisted clinical documentation system (for example systems provided by suppliers such as Heidi, Lexacom, Tortoise, or similar).

If yes, for each system in use or under contract, please provide:

– The name of the software/system and the supplier.
– The clinical setting(s) in which it is used (for example outpatient clinics, community services, mental health services).
– Whether the system records live audio, processes audio locally, or transmits audio to a third party or cloud service.
– The total contract value or annual spend.
– The contract start date and end date, including any extension options.

Whether the system was procured via a formal procurement framework, and if so the name of the framework used (for example NHS SBS, Crown Commercial Service, Health Systems Support Framework, or similar).

The department and job title responsible for oversight of the system (for example Medical Director, Chief Clinical Information Officer, or equivalent).

If the Trust does not currently use an ambient AI system, please confirm whether procurement, evaluation, or pilot activity has taken place within the last 24 months.

If any part of this request is unclear, please contact me for clarification.

Yours faithfully,

AI Use in Operations

1. Does your organisation currently use any form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) or automated systems in its operations?

o If yes, please list the tools or systems in use and provide a brief description of their purpose (e.g., administrative support, triage, analytics, chatbot services, etc.).

o If not, please state whether your organisation has explored or piloted any AI-based technologies in the past 3 years.

AI for Decision-Making

2. Does your organisation use AI or algorithmic systems to support or inform decision-making in any area (e.g., resource allocation, risk assessments, case prioritisation)?

o If yes, please describe the type of decision-making supported and the nature of the AI’s role (e.g., advisory, automated assessment, automated decision).

o Please also confirm whether human oversight is applied.

AI Chatbots and Customer Interaction

3. Does your organisation currently use chatbots or virtual assistants—AI-driven or rules-based—to support public enquiries or internal staff functions?

o If yes, please specify their purpose, whether they are AI-based, and when they were implemented.

Policies and Governance

4. Does your organisation have any formal policy, strategy, or guidance relating to the use of Artificial Intelligence or automated decision-making?

o If yes, please supply a copy or provide a link.

o If not, please indicate whether such a policy is in development.

Data Protection and Ethics

5. If AI systems are used, what measures or frameworks does your organisation have in place to ensure:

o Compliance with data protection and privacy obligations
o Transparency for service users
o Ethical or responsible use

(For example, DPIAs, algorithmic impact assessments, ethical guidelines—if applicable.)

Trials, Pilots, or Future Plans

6. Has your organisation run any pilots, trials, or exploratory projects involving AI in the last 3 years, or does it plan to do so in the next 12–24 months?

o If yes, please provide brief details of the purpose, timeline, and status of these initiatives.

Staff Training and Awareness

7. Does your organisation provide any training, guidance, or internal communications to staff relating to AI, its use, or its implications?

o If yes, please describe the type of training or include documents if available.

If any of the above information is already publicly accessible, please feel free to provide links instead of attachments.

Thank you for your time and assistance.

Kind regards,

1. Digital Dictation

Name of supplier & product
Number of user licences
Procurement method (e.g., framework)
Contract start date
Contract expiry date (please specify fixed end date vs option to extend/rolling contract)
Total contract value (if available)
Integration with PAS/EPR (please specify if outbound only – e.g., patient demographics, clinic work list – or outbound and inbound, e.g., document return)
Key internal stakeholder role/title
Desired features not currently delivered (optional)

2. Outsourced Transcription

Name of supplier & product
Procurement method (e.g., framework)
Contract start date
Average monthly volume of letters (if available)
Average monthly volume of lines (if available)
Total contract value (if available)
Key internal stakeholder role/title
Desired features not currently delivered (optional)

3. Speech Recognition

Name of supplier & product
Number of user licences
Procurement method (e.g., framework)
Contract start date
Contract expiry date (please specify fixed end date vs option to extend/rolling contract)
Total contract value (if available)
Integration with PAS/EPR (please specify if outbound only – e.g., patient demographics, clinic work list – or outbound and inbound, e.g., document return)
Key internal stakeholder role/title
Desired features not currently delivered (optional)

4. Ambient AI Scribe

Name of supplier & product
Number of user licences
Procurement method (e.g., framework)
Contract start date
Contract expiry date (please specify fixed end date vs option to extend/rolling contract)
Total contract value (if available)
Integration with PAS/EPR (please specify if outbound only – e.g., patient demographics, clinic work list – or outbound and inbound, e.g., document return)
Pilot stage (if applicable, please specify supplier, pilot duration, and scope)
Key internal stakeholder role/title
Desired features not currently delivered (optional)

5. Video Consultation

Name of supplier & product
Number of user licences
Procurement method (e.g., framework)
Contract start date
Contract expiry date (please specify fixed end date vs option to extend/rolling contract)
Total contract value (if available)
Integration with PAS/EPR (please specify if outbound only – e.g., patient demographics, clinic work list – or outbound and inbound, e.g., document return)
Key internal stakeholder role/title
Desired features not currently delivered (optional)
Average number of video appointments per month/year
% of virtual/remote consultations conducted using video vs telephone

6. Health Information Systems

Name of supplier & product of the following HIS:
PAS (Patient Administration System)
EPR (Electronic Patient Record)
eDMS (Electronic Document Management System)
RIS (Radiology Information System)
LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System)
e-Correspondence (e.g. Docman)
Hybrid Mail (e.g. Synertec, Healthcare Communications)
Patient Portal (e.g. Patient Knows Best)