Chief Information Officer Update - AI in Practice: My Journey from Hull to Cambridge with Copilot

Artificial Intelligence is everywhere at the moment. Every conference, meeting, and healthcare publication seems to be discussing the potential of AI to transform healthcare. Yet one of the most common questions I hear is:

“What does AI actually do for me today?”

Earlier this month, I attended the CHIME Fellowship programme in Cambridge. Whilst the fellowship itself was excellent, what struck me most was how seamlessly AI had become part of my day-to-day work before I even arrived.

Rather than being something futuristic or experimental, Microsoft Copilot had become my personal assistant, travel coordinator, researcher, administrator, and productivity coach.

Like many NHS colleagues, my diary is already full. Finding the most efficient way to travel from Hull to Cambridge involved balancing trains, timings, connections, costs, and existing commitments.

Instead of spending time opening multiple websites and comparing options, I used Copilot to assess the available travel routes, understand the likely journey times, and identify the most practical option around my schedule.

What previously might have taken thirty minutes of searching and cross-checking was reduced to a simple conversation. The value wasn't simply speed. It was being able to make an informed decision with confidence and move on to more important work.

The CHIME programme came with a detailed agenda, multiple sessions, speakers, and supporting activities.

Traditionally, I would have manually reviewed the programme, entered key sessions into my calendar, and checked for clashes against existing meetings. Using Copilot, I was able to quickly work through the agenda, understand the structure of the event, and organise my commitments around it.

Again, this is not revolutionary technology. It is something much more powerful: it removes friction. The dozens of small administrative tasks that consume time throughout the day begin to disappear.

Like any leadership programme, the fellowship included reading materials, briefing papers, and reference documents. One of the biggest challenges for any modern professional is no longer finding information. It is making sense of it. 

Copilot helped me review supporting materials, understand key themes, and identify the areas most relevant to my role. Rather than spending hours searching through documents, I could focus on understanding the implications and thinking strategically about how the learning could benefit the Trust.

The difference is subtle but important. AI is not replacing judgement. It is creating more time for judgement.

One of the biggest concerns when attending events is returning to an overflowing inbox and a long list of unread messages.

Throughout the fellowship, Copilot helped me remain connected to what was happening within the organisation. I was able to quickly understand priorities emerging from email, identify actions requiring my attention, and keep track of commitments without spending significant time processing large volumes of information.

Instead of working through hundreds of messages one by one, I could focus immediately on the items that mattered most. The same applied to tasks, projects, and ongoing programmes, allowing me to remain productive whilst still being fully engaged in the fellowship.

As useful as this experience was for me personally, it also prompted a much more important question: What would happen if every doctor, nurse, therapist, and healthcare professional had access to the same kind of assistance?

• Imagine a nurse beginning a shift with an AI assistant able to summarise key updates, highlight tasks requiring attention, and surface relevant guidance before patient care begins.

• Imagine a doctor preparing for a clinic where supporting information, referral history, correspondence, and relevant documentation can be located and summarised within seconds.

• Imagine a community clinician travelling between appointments with help organising visits, understanding priorities, and reducing administrative burden.

Imagine less time searching. Less time documenting. Less time managing information. More time caring for patients. 

That is where I believe the real opportunity lies. The greatest benefit of AI is not that it can write documents or answer questions. The greatest benefit is that it can help remove the countless small tasks that take clinicians away from patient care.

There is often concern that AI is about replacing people. My experience is the exact opposite. The value comes from augmenting human capability.

Copilot did not attend the fellowship for me. It did not make decisions on my behalf, nor did it determine what I should learn or how I should apply it.

What it did do was reduce the administrative effort required to organise, prepare, prioritise, and remain productive. It allowed me to spend more time focusing on people, conversations, learning, and strategic thinking.

As we continue our rollout of Microsoft Copilot across Humber, I believe we should judge success against a simple test: Does it give our colleagues more time to focus on delivering care?

If the answer is yes, then AI has real value. My trip to Cambridge reinforced that artificial intelligence is not some distant future technology. Used responsibly, it is already helping professionals work smarter every day.

The exciting part is not what it did for me. The exciting part is imagining what it could do for every clinician, administrator, and support worker across the NHS. Because every minute we can give back to our workforce is ultimately a minute that can be invested in improving patient care.