Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust has achieved significant efficiency gains and enhanced patient engagement following the deployment of CLEARnotes within its nurse-led Preassessment service.

With an average time saving of 12 minutes per patient and overwhelmingly positive patient feedback, the Trust is demonstrating how ambient voice technology can deliver practical, frontline impact.

Reducing administrative burden in pre-assessment clinics

Pre-operative assessment requires detailed, structured documentation to ensure patients are safely prepared for surgery. While essential, this documentation can place considerable administrative pressure on nursing teams and reduce time available for direct patient interaction.

The Preassessment team sought a solution that would:

• Reduce time spent completing clinical notes
• Protect consultation quality and patient engagement
• Support clinicians with increasing demand
• Integrate smoothly into existing workflows

Embedding ambient voice technology into clinical practice

CLEARnotes was introduced to capture consultation conversations and generate structured clinical documentation in real time.

Designed to work unobtrusively in the background, the technology enables nurses to focus fully on the patient while documentation is created simultaneously. Implementation was carried out collaboratively with the clinical team to ensure alignment with governance, data security and operational requirements.

Delivering quantifiable efficiency gains

Following deployment, nurse users report an average time saving of 12 minutes per patient.

Across full clinic lists, this represents meaningful time returned to frontline care — creating opportunities to:

• Increase appointment availability
• Improve clinic flow
• Reduce backlog pressures
• Enhance overall service efficiency

Strengthening the patient experience

The impact of CLEARnotes is being felt directly by patients.

Post-consultation feedback shows:

• Nearly 8 in 10 patients said their clinician was more engaged compared to previous consultations.
• Over three-quarters noticed clinicians were less focused on note-taking and more focused on them.
• 92% of patients reported no concerns about AI being used in their care.

These results highlight the connection between reduced administrative distraction and improved patient perception of care.

Supporting ongoing service improvement

The success of CLEARnotes at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust has sparked further conversations about how reclaimed clinical time can be used most effectively — whether to expand capacity, refine workflows, or further enhance quality of care.

By reducing documentation burden while preserving clinical standards, ambient voice technology is supporting sustainable service improvement.

A partnership approach

The results achieved reflect the strong collaboration between CLEARnotes and the Walsall Preassessment team. Their openness to innovation and focus on practical implementation have been central to the project’s success.

When clinicians gain time and patients gain attention, everyone benefits.