A government backed partnership to bring artificial intelligence to hospice care has launched between end-of-life care charity Sue Ryder and AI medical scribe company Heidi.

The technology will be used to automate clinical notes, letters and forms, so practitioners can spend more time with patients and their families and less on paperwork.

The five-year partnership has launched through funding from a £75m government pot to improve hospice care, which also covers money for solar panelling and developing family rooms and communal lounges in hospices.

From this money Sue Ryder received a national grant of £3.75m.

Through the agreement with the charity Heidi will also contribute £10,000 a year to the charity through fundraising and awareness raising activities about the benefits of AI to care.

Already more than half of NHS GPs use Heidi’s AI technology to document consultations.

“Bringing ambient AI into hospice care at this scale is a significant moment for the sector,” said Heidi chief medical officer Dr Hannah Allen.

“Sue Ryder is showing that you can be both patient-centred and pioneering, using technology to protect the time and headspace clinicians need to care.

“We will be working side by side with Sue Ryder's teams to tailor Heidi to different services, track impact and continually refine how AI is used on the frontline.

“Our ambition is that the evidence from this rollout - combined with results from other hospices and home care providers - will help set a new benchmark for safe, effective use of AI in palliative and end-of- life care across the UK.”

Sue Ryder chief medical officer Melanie Craig added: “Palliative and end-of-life care clinicians are under huge pressure, balancing complex care with rising demand and limited resources.

“We cannot afford for their time to be swallowed up by admin. Partnering with Heidi will help us give precious time back to the bedside, while modernising how we work across our community services and within our inpatient settings.

“We will be working closely with our clinical teams as we roll out Heidi so that the technology genuinely reflects the realities of palliative and end of life care both at home and in our hospices.

“If we can show that AI, used safely and thoughtfully, improves both the care we provide and the experience of our staff, we hope it will give other hospices the confidence to follow.”

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