Leeds Teaching Hospitals says TORTUS AI scribe cut emergency notes time by 61% in pilot

What Leeds Teaching Hospitals announced

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said on 27 October 2026 that an evaluation of ambient voice technology from UK company TORTUS cut documentation time by 61% in its emergency department. That saved clinicians 13 minutes per consultation. The trust says accuracy on medication and allergy details stayed high and that no serious safety incidents were recorded during the three-month pilot.

The pilot ran from February to April 2026 in the ambulatory area of the emergency department at Leeds General Infirmary, led by consultant Dr Sundararaj Manou. Clinicians reported feeling less mentally drained by admin and better able to focus on the patient rather than the screen.

How the tool works

The system listens passively to consultations through secure devices and wireless microphones and drafts clinical notes automatically. Clinicians then check and finalise every note by hand. Patient data is processed on encrypted UK-based cloud servers, and audio and transcripts are stored only temporarily and deleted after use.

In June 2026, after the pilot ended, TORTUS became the first ambient voice technology to reach Class IIa medical device status under the UKCA scheme, following an independent assessment by a UK Approved Body. TORTUS chief executive Dr Dom Pimenta, a former NHS cardiologist, says the company has seen more than four million NHS patients.

Dr Manou says Leeds is "one of the busiest acute trusts in the country" and wanted a partner that could "capture and structure information during patient consultations".

What changed and why it matters

A trust-reported figure from a busy NHS emergency department, with a named clinical lead and a safety record, gives other trusts a concrete benchmark for the same kind of tool. Thirteen minutes per consultation is large in a setting where waiting times are a constant pressure.

The release leaves out details an evaluator would want: how many consultations and clinicians were measured, how documentation time was timed, and whether the time saved went into seeing more patients. It also does not state the cost. The full evaluation is not linked. For another NHS evaluation of AI in clinical settings, see the Proximie operating theatre study.

What to watch next

The trust plans a phased introduction across the Leeds General Infirmary emergency department this autumn, then wider use by emergency nurses and in the majors, minors and paediatric areas. Dr Taj Hassan, director of the trust's emergency care research centre, cautions that embedding technology into daily practice "can be a huge challenge". Two numbers would show whether the pilot result holds at scale: time saved per consultation once nurses and busier areas join, and any change in how long patients wait. More sector deployments are under AI in Industry.

Questions people ask

How much time did the AI scribe save in Leeds?

Leeds Teaching Hospitals says documentation time fell by 61%, saving clinicians 13 minutes per consultation during a three-month pilot.

Do doctors still check the AI notes?

Yes. The trust says clinicians do a thorough manual check of every draft note before it is finalised.

Is TORTUS approved as a medical device?

TORTUS achieved Class IIa medical device status under the UKCA scheme in June 2026, after independent assessment by a UK Approved Body.

Sources

1. AI note-taking tool frees up clinician time in Leeds General Infirmary emergency department (Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, 27 Oct 2026)