Microsoft rolls out Copilot AI tools to over half a million NHS England
staff, promises 'to improve service delivery, reduce costs and create more time for care'

Date:
Sun, 14 Jun 2026 07:00:00 +0000

Description:
NHS England is deploying Microsoft 365 Copilot to 505,000 staff members after successful pilot with 30,000 workers.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter NHS England is deploying M365 Copilot to 505k staff after pilot success The scheme targets 43 saved minutes per worker per day 200k initial rollout and extensive training promised NHS England has announced a major AI expansion which will see it give more than half a million clinicians and support staff access to Microsoft 365 Copilot.

The move follows what Microsoft and NHS England described as the largest AI trial of its kind globally in healthcare, where 30,000 NHS workers got
earlier access to M365 Copilot. Under the initiative, NHS England hopes to reduce the administrative burden that clinicians face, improving productivity and cutting operational costs to free up more time to be spent on valuable human interactions. Latest Videos From Watch full video here: Pilot program success leads to massive NHS England AI expansion From its earlier pilot, NHS England found the average worker was able to gain back 43 minutes per day
when using M365 Copilot, which is about the equivalent of five working weeks per year not far from the average UK vacation allowance.

With a bigger rollout, the healthcare provider estimates it could save millions of hours every year. You may like Microsoft reveals Scout, its first "Autopilot" How technology delays are affecting NHS staff productivity and patient services today Microsoft wants to build its own, more secure version of OpenClaw for Copilot

By rolling out Microsoft Copilot across the NHS, we can reduce that burden, free up clinicians time and help staff focus on what they do best, caring for patients, UK Health Innovation and Safety Minister Preet Kaur Gill said.

Microsoft highlighted five key job roles set to benefit the most from NHS Englands adoption of its AI software clinical administration, ward clerks, medical secretaries, core services and management with it set to support writing, information retrieval, summarization and analysis. The subscription will also include Copilot Studio, a tool for building AI agents without workers having to be experts in AI. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our
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The potential to saveclinicalstaffnearly adays worth of admin time every fortnight could be a gamechanger for patients, NHS England Chief Digital,
Data and Technology Officer Rob Thompson explained, referencing the Governments 10 Year Health Plan for England and broader Plan for Change.
Other M365 deployments demonstrate a successful strategy Despite the pilots apparent success, a much larger-scale adoption could bring its own
challenges. Staff training and digital literacy remain major barriers within the NHS, while the organization itself must get to grips with governance, policies and strategies.

Across the border in Wales, a similar Microsoft 365 rollout reveals how counties like Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea and Carmarthenshire have been successful thanks to their use of internal AI champions. We use a lot of our own practitioners to teach other practitioners, one spokesperson told IT Pro
.

NHS England plans to onboard 200,000 users within the first six months, and
up to 505,000 workers within a year through an "extensive training and adoption program.

Bringing AI safely into the flow of healthcare will help ease pressures, improve productivity, and support better decision-making across the health service, Microsoft UK&I CEO Darren Hardman added. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/microsoft-rolls-out-copilot-ai-tools-to-over-hal f-a-million-nhs-england-staff-promises-to-improve-service-delivery-reduce-cost s-and-create-more-time-for-care


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