Automation breakthrough reduces ambulance delays and saves NHS £800,000 a year

Robotic automation is reducing ambulance waiting times by hundreds of hours each month and freeing NHS staff for frontline care, in a pilot expected to deliver more than £800,000 in annual savings

A digital automation system is helping to reduce ambulance waiting times and free up hospital staff across parts of the NHS, in what is projected to save the British health service more than £800,000 annually.

The technology, designed by M8 Solutions, a digital services consultancy based in North Staffordshire, England, uses Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to remove repetitive administrative tasks from emergency response systems.

By automatically processing key data that would otherwise require manual input, the system allows staff to focus on patient care and reduces the time taken to dispatch and coordinate ambulances.

Early data from the first UK health trust to adopt the system — which serves around 6.3 million people — indicates a monthly reduction of 230 hours in ambulance delays.

The savings are expected to grow as the technology is rolled out to other NHS trusts.

In a statement, an NHS clinical applications product manager involved in the project said: “The impact has been transformational.

“M8 Solutions has been instrumental in driving our strategy forward, bringing a wealth of experience, technical excellence, and an unwavering commitment to delivering results.”

The company has worked on a series of NHS digital transformation projects over the past year aimed at improving operational efficiency and patient experience.

Tracy Scriven, its founder and managing director, said: “This must happen accurately, and securely, as it directly affects patient care. We can say so far that our work is currently on course to cut NHS costs by £800,000 but as we expand the service, this saving is set to significantly rise.”

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