# AI and software for the NHS and public sector

NHS organisations need technology that is safe, compliant, interoperable and procurable. Prime Assist is not yet used in the NHS. We build to the standards NHS buyers check first, with clinical risk management under DCB0129 and a Clinical Safety Officer on our team, and we are opening a route into the NHS.

Last updated 26 September 2026

## Challenges we help with

- Assurance that is repeated by each organisation that considers buying a product.
- Clinical safety across manufacture and deployment, under DCB0129 and DCB0160.
- Connecting new tools to the clinical systems that hold the patient record.
- Accessibility for patients and staff, to WCAG 2.2 AA.

## What is changing in NHS digital?

National plans are moving the NHS from analogue to digital, with AI for admin first and new guidance on how it must be assured. What is in use now, and what is coming, with the source for each.

### In use now

- **AI notetaking has national guidance**
   NHS England has published guidance for health and care organisations using AI scribes (ambient voice technology), and keeps a registry of suppliers that self-certify against its criteria. The organisation using a scribe keeps a DCB0160 safety case and a data protection impact assessment.
   Sources: [Guidance on the use of AI-enabled ambient scribing products in health and care settings](https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/guidance-on-the-use-of-ai-enabled-ambient-scribing-products-in-health-and-care-settings/) (NHS England, 2026); [Ambient Voice Technology Self-Certified Supplier Registry](https://digital.nhs.uk/services/ambient-scribing/ambient-voice-technology-self-certified-supplier-registry) (NHS England Digital, 2026)
- **When an AI scribe is a medical device**
   The MHRA said in July 2026 that products which only transcribe, summarise, draft letters or suggest codes for a clinician to review are not medical devices, while products that support diagnosis or treatment, or act without a clinician's review, are.
   Source: [Ambient voice technology-enabled products](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ambient-voice-technology-enabled-products/ambient-voice-technology-enabled-products) (MHRA, 2026)
- **Online requests all day**
   Since October 2025, GP practices have had to keep their online consultation tools open for routine requests throughout core hours, 8am to 6.30pm, so more requests arrive in writing and need sorting.
   Source: [Online consultation tools: managing patient care safely in compliance with practice contracts](https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/gp-practices/managing-workload/online-consultation-tools-managing-patient-care-safely-in-compliance-with-practice-contracts) (British Medical Association, 2025)
- **A shorter assessment for digital suppliers**
   Version 2 of the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) was published in February 2026, with fewer questions and less overlap with the Data Security and Protection Toolkit. The previous form was not accepted after 6 April 2026.
   Source: [Updated NHS England Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) form and guidance](https://innovation.nhs.uk/news/updated-nhs-england-digital-technology-assessment-criteria-dtac-form-and-guidance/) (NHS Innovation Service, 2026)

### Coming next

- **AI triage in the NHS App**
   NHS England announced in July 2026 an AI triage tool in the NHS App, planned to reach every NHS App user by April 2028. More patients will reach services through the NHS App and NHS login rather than through each provider's own front door.
   Source: [NHS accelerates artificial intelligence rollout to cut waiting times and improve care for millions](https://www.england.nhs.uk/2026/07/nhs-accelerates-artificial-intelligence-rollout-to-cut-waiting-times-and-improve-care-for-millions/) (NHS England, 2026)
- **A single patient record**
   The Health Bill, introduced in May 2026, provides for a single patient record, which the government aims to bring in through the NHS App from 2028, subject to Parliament.
   Source: [Health Bill: single patient record fact sheet](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-bill-single-patient-record-fact-sheet/health-bill-single-patient-record-fact-sheet) (Department of Health and Social Care, 2026)
- **Clinical safety standards under review**
   NHS England consulted from June to September 2026 on revising DCB0129 and DCB0160, including cyber security requirements and how the standards should apply to medical devices. Manufacturers and deploying organisations should expect changes to their safety cases.
   Source: [National review of clinical risk management standards DCB0129 and DCB0160: supporting information](https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/national-review-of-clinical-risk-management-standardsdcb0129-and-dcb0160-supporting-information/) (NHS England, 2026)
- **A new approach to regulating AI in healthcare**
   The National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare reported in September 2026. It recommends staged authorisation, continuous monitoring once a tool is in use and public safety information. These are recommendations to government, not yet law.
   Source: [National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare: recommendations for a future regulatory framework](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-commission-into-the-regulation-of-ai-in-healthcare-recommendations-for-a-future-regulatory-framework) (MHRA, 2026)

Checked against these sources on 26 September 2026. Rules and dates change: we check them again at the start of every project.

## What we offer

- **[Healthcare and NHS development](https://gateway-global.co.uk/services/healthcare-and-nhs/)**
   Software and AI built under clinical safety standards.
- **[Build with clinicians](https://gateway-global.co.uk/services/build-with-clinicians/)**
   Turn a clinical idea into a safe product.
- **[Prime Assist](https://gateway-global.co.uk/products/prime-assist/)**
   AI voice infrastructure for healthcare. We are opening its route into the NHS.
- **[Healthcare digitisation](https://gateway-global.co.uk/services/healthcare-digitisation/)**
   Paper, old software and disconnected systems moved to connected, AI-ready tools.
- **[Clinical safety for AI you deploy](https://gateway-global.co.uk/services/clinical-safety-for-ai/)**
   DCB0160 safety cases for the AI scribes and agents your trust or practice uses.

## AI agents for GP practices and hospitals

Agents for the admin work around care: letters, requests, referrals and waiting lists. Each one is built under DCB0129, and clinical decisions stay with clinicians.

### GP practices

- **Clinical correspondence agent**
   Reads the letters and results that reach a GP practice, drafts a summary and suggested codes, and routes each one to the right person.
   A person approves: Trained staff or a clinician check every summary and code before it is filed, and anything needing action goes to a clinician.
- **Online requests agent**
   Sorts the practice's online and phone requests into admin and clinical, deals with admin ones by the practice's own rules, and passes the rest to the care team.
   A person approves: Every clinical request goes to a clinician. It never gives medical advice or decides urgency on its own.

### Hospitals and community services

- **Waiting list validation agent**
   Contacts patients on a waiting list to check they still need their appointment and how they would like to be contacted, and records each answer for the booking team.
   A person approves: Removing anyone from a list. Any change in a patient's condition goes to the clinical team.
- **Referral intake agent**
   Checks incoming referrals for missing information, asks the referrer for it, and routes each referral to the right service.
   A person approves: Clinicians triage and accept every referral.

Every agent is logged, tested before launch and after every change, and given only the access its task needs. [How we keep agents in control](https://gateway-global.co.uk/ai-agents/#governance)

## The systems they connect to

NHS tools have to work with the systems that hold the patient record. These are the systems and standards NHS agents need to reach.

- **GP clinical systems**: EMIS Web, TPP SystmOne, Vision, Medicus. Other suppliers reach them through NHS England's IM1 interface, after assurance and pairing with each practice, and through GP Connect.
- **National services**: NHS login, NHS App, Personal Demographics Service (PDS), NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS), Directory of Services.
- **Standards**: HL7 FHIR UK Core, SNOMED CT, dm+d.
- **Phones**: Cloud-based telephony systems in general practice.

We connect through each system's own interfaces, its open standards and the Model Context Protocol (MCP), and confirm each connection at the start of a project. Naming a product here does not mean we are its maker's partner.

## Standards and safeguards

- Clinical risk management under DCB0129, with our own Clinical Safety Officer.
- Support for deploying organisations working under DCB0160.
- Our exact status against each NHS digital standard, stated below.

| Standard or scheme | Our status |
| --- | --- |
| DCB0129 | Prime Assist has a clinical safety case under DCB0129 |
| ICO registration | Registered with the ICO, the UK data protection regulator, registration number ZB592265 |
| WCAG 2.2 AA | Our target for this website |
| EU AI Act transparency (Article 50) | We tell people when they are dealing with AI: our voice agents say so at the start of every call, chat assistants label themselves, and AI-generated content we publish is labelled where relevant. |

## Evidence

- Prime Assist has a clinical safety case under DCB0129, signed off by our Clinical Safety Officer. [Read our clinical safety approach](https://gateway-global.co.uk/trust/clinical-safety/)
- In 2026 we submitted written evidence to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee on why UK small businesses find it hard to deploy technology into the NHS. [Read our summary](https://gateway-global.co.uk/insights/policy/house-of-lords-evidence/)

## Questions people ask

**Is Prime Assist used in the NHS?**

Not yet. We are opening a route into the NHS. Prime Assist is in trials with UK private dental practices and a multi-site private GP group.

**Do you follow DCB0129?**

Yes. We manage clinical risk under DCB0129 as the manufacturer, and our Clinical Safety Officer signs off the clinical safety case.

**What did you tell the House of Lords?**

That a small supplier's barriers to the NHS are mostly repeated assurance and privately negotiated access to clinical systems, and four changes that would help.

## Talk to our clinical and engineering team.

[Talk to us](https://gateway-global.co.uk/contact/engineering/)

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Source: https://gateway-global.co.uk/industries/nhs/
Updated: 2026-09-26