The NHS faces mounting pressure to provide high-quality care amid limited resources. As clinical workloads intensify, staff shortages persist, and patient demand continues to rise. Healthcare leaders are seeking smart, efficient solutions to reduce administrative strain and enhance care delivery. One such innovation gaining attention is Diktamen’s Ambient Writer, part of a wider move toward ambient clinical intelligence (ACI)—technology that seamlessly captures clinical data in the background without disrupting patient interactions
As Trusts search for realistic, cost-effective ways to explore ambient solutions, Diktamen is offering a practical route forward. Its recently released Ambient Writer plug-in provides NHS organisations with an easy, low-risk way to trial ambient functionality within existing workflows.
The NHS Shift Toward Ambient Clinical Solutions
Ambient technology in healthcare refers to solutions that can passively listen, interpret, and document clinical conversations using artificial intelligence. These tools are designed to reduce the documentation workload on clinicians, improve the quality of patient records, and enhance productivity—without adding complexity or manual steps.
For the NHS, the appeal is clear. Documentation tasks are one of the most time-consuming elements of a clinician’s day. Reducing this burden is directly linked to reducing burnout, improving patient engagement, and freeing up time for care delivery.
In line with the NHS Long Term Plan, the What Good Looks Like (WGLL) framework, and digital transformation strategies across Trusts and Integrated Care Systems (ICSs), there is growing interest in ambient tools that can integrate with existing infrastructure and workflows.
However, cost, disruption, and procurement complexity have often been barriers to adoption.
How Diktamen Is Meeting the Need
Diktamen, a provider of clinical dictation and voice capture solutions already used by several NHS organisations via their partners, has introduced an Ambient Writer plug-in to help Trusts explore ambient documentation in a cost-effective, scalable way.
Rather than requiring a major investment or a completely new system, the Ambient Writer integrates directly into Diktamen’s existing dictation workflow platform.
A Low-Risk Entry Point
By offering ambient functionality as a plug-in, Diktamen allows Trusts to trial this type of technology without going through a formal procurement process or putting out a new tender. For NHS teams already using Diktamen’s platform, this creates a clear pathway to test ambient capabilities with minimal disruption.
Cost-Effective Innovation
Where many ambient AI solutions come with significant price tags and complex implementation requirements, Diktamen has taken a modular, affordable approach. This makes it easier for Trusts to evaluate the benefits before committing to a broader rollout.
Familiar and Clinician-Friendly
Rather than forcing clinicians to change how they work, the Ambient Writer enhances current dictation processes. This supports clinical adoption by building on familiar workflows, improving the experience rather than overhauling it.
Easy to Deploy and Maintain
Because the plug-in is part of Diktamen’s existing platform, deployment is fast and requires limited IT support. This makes it accessible even for Trusts with limited digital capacity or transformation resource.
The Value for NHS Trusts
The Ambient Writer helps Trusts:
- Reduce clinical documentation time
- Improve the quality and consistency of clinical notes
- Shorten turnaround time for patient summaries and correspondence
- Trial AI-driven documentation before committing to full-scale solutions
- Support digital maturity targets without high risk or cost
For Trusts seeking to explore ambient solutions in a way that aligns with NHS standards, budgetary constraints, and real-world clinical needs, Diktamen offers a smart, pragmatic option.
Looking Ahead
The NHS is rightly cautious about large-scale technology rollouts, especially where costs are high and the return is uncertain. That’s why solutions like Diktamen’s Ambient Writer are so important—they offer a way to experiment, learn, and build confidence in ambient workflows without overcommitting resources.
By enabling clinicians to document care more efficiently, and by helping Trusts modernise without disruption, Diktamen is showing that ambient clinical intelligence doesn’t have to be complex or expensive—it just needs to work.
Learn more
Discover how Diktamen is helping NHS Trusts adopt ambient clinical documentation with a cost-effective, low-risk plug-in that enhances workflows and reduces clinician workload.