The Community Practice in Canvey Island, Essex, is launching a new artificial intelligence telephone system on 27 March 2026 to help patients get medical help more quickly. The system, called EMMA, is an automated receptionist that will answer every call immediately to end the morning rush for appointments.
Created by QuantumLoopAI, the technology records a patient’s request and sends the information via the Anima triage system to the duty doctor. This allows a clinician to review the case on the same day, provided the request is received before the midday cutoff, and decide on the best next steps for care. The system is designed to handle hundreds of calls at once, which the surgery says will eliminate long queues on the phone.
The new service provides support in all major NHS languages and is intended to help residents who find it difficult to use online forms. It has been certified under the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) to ensure it meets strict NHS safety and data protection standards. According to data from the Canvey Island Primary Care Network, the island’s six surgeries serve approximately 42,000 local people.
While the AI will handle appointment requests, the process for ordering repeat prescriptions remains the same and should be done through the NHS App or in writing. Surgery staff have asked patients who can use the internet to continue doing so via the Anima platform, which keeps the phone lines free for those who need the most help. Research from a similar NHS programme at Groves Medical Centre shows these systems can reduce the time patients wait for pre-booked appointments by 73 per cent.
Although the technology is used by around one million patients nationally, some users in other regions have reported difficulty with the system understanding certain spoken details like dates of birth. The surgery says the change will free up staff at the Central Canvey Primary Care Centre to spend more time helping people in person at the front desk.
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