Sue Ryder to roll out AI scribing tool in hospice care

National palliative and end-of-life care charity Sue Ryder has partnered with Heidi, an AI-powered medical scribe company, to bring clinical AI into its community services and hospices.

The five-year partnership, signed on 13 January 2026 and funded by the government, will provide Sue Ryder’s seven healthcare services with access to Heidi’s AI scribe, which uses ambient voice technology (AVT) to help automate clinical notes, letters and forms.

Rollout will begin over the coming months, with teams working service-by-service to embed Heidi into everyday practice.

Melanie Craig, chief operating officer at Sue Ryder, said: “Palliative and end-of-life care clinicians are under huge pressure, balancing complex care with rising demand and limited resources.

“We cannot afford for their time to be swallowed up by admin. Partnering with Heidi will help us give precious time back to the bedside, while modernising how we work across our community services and within our inpatient settings.

“We will be working closely with our clinical teams as we roll out Heidi so that the technology genuinely reflects the realities of palliative and end of life care both at home and in our hospices.

“If we can show that AI, used safely and thoughtfully, improves both the care we provide and the experience of our staff, we hope it will give other hospices the confidence to follow.”

Sue Ryder will use the partnership as a cornerstone of its digital transformation programme, spanning its community teams, inpatient care, and bereavement services.

As part of the agreement, Heidi will contribute £10,000 annually to support the work of Sue Ryder through fundraising activities, helping to raise awareness of the role safe AI can play in expanding clinical capacity.

Dr Hannah Allen, chief medical officer at Heidi, said: “Bringing ambient AI into hospice care at this scale is a significant moment for the sector.

“Sue Ryder is showing that you can be both patient-centred and pioneering, using technology to protect the time and headspace clinicians need to care.

“We will be working side by side with Sue Ryder’s teams to tailor Heidi to different services, track impact and continually refine how AI is used on the frontline.

“Our ambition is that the evidence from this rollout – combined with results from other hospices and home care providers – will help set a new benchmark for safe, effective use of AI in palliative and end-of- life care across the UK.”

Heidi’s clinical scribe was recently added to the NHS-approved AVT registry and has been deployed in 15 NHS trusts, with more than half of NHS GPs using the tool to document patient consultations.

The scribing tool was rolled out at the Health Plus practice in Jersey in June 2025, marking the first time an AI scribe tool went live in a GP practice in Jersey.

In October 2025, Heidi Health announced the closing of a $65 million (£48m) Series B funding round to help the firm expand globally, taking its latest valuation to $465m (£346m).