NHS SBS launches £150m framework to accelerate access to AVT

NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) has launched a £150 million framework agreement for digital dictation, speech recognition and outsourced transcription services.

Government guidance, published in April 2025, encourages NHS clinicians to use ambient voice technology (AVT) and generative AI to transcribe patient consultations and turn them into structured medical notes and letters.

The ‘Digital Dictation, Speech Recognition and Outsourced Transcription 2’ framework agreement provides NHS and public sector organisations with access to pre-vetted suppliers and technologies to address immediate operational pressures whilst supporting long-term digital transformation.

It also establishes a future-ready pathway for adopting emerging innovations like AVT and AI-enabled scribing tools, which will be incorporated into the framework agreement as they become market-ready.

Phillip Wood, principal category manager – digital workforce and IT transformation, at NHS SBS, said: “Our framework agreement is a strategic enabler for the NHS and wider public sector, offering digital dictation, speech recognition and outsourced transcription solutions that directly support operational efficiency,

“Current tools remain essential components of clinical documentation workflows, delivering proven, scalable solutions that support day-to-day service delivery.

“As AVT and AI-enabled scribing tools continue to evolve, they are set to complement established systems.

“Together, these technologies form a layered approach to digital transformation, enabling healthcare providers and organisations to match the right tool to the right task whilst maintaining flexibility, accuracy and efficiency across clinical and wider administrative settings.”

The framework agreement runs from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2027, with an option to extend for up to two years. It covers four areas (Lots): digital dictation, speech recognition solutions, outsourced transcription services, and combined solutions.

Solutions include both on-site and cloud-based Software as a Service platforms, covering software, hardware, integration, training, consultancy, and support. Vendors can expand their offerings as innovative technologies emerge.

A London-wide NHS study, led by Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, found that AI-scribing technology had “transformative benefits” for clinicians and patients with the potential to unlock £834 million a year if rolled out nationally.

However adoption of the technology has been so far held back by regulatory uncertainty with Alec Price-Forbes, national chief clinical information officer for England, circulating a letter in June 2025, advising caution about its use without proper clinical safety and information governance assurance.

To help address this, a new national commission launched in September 2025 to advise the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on speeding up access to the latest AI tools, including AVT for clinical note-taking.

Price-Forbes also announced that NHS England is launching a national AVT self-registry for suppliers, which he said was a “tactical response” to the technology’s use in the NHS.