NHS AI Receptionist Can’t Understand Yorkshire Accents, Leaving Patients to Visit GP in Person

A new AI GP receptionist is causing trouble for patients in Rotherham because the software struggles to understand Yorkshire accents, a health watchdog has revealed.

An nationwide AI system known as EMMA is being used by some surgeries to assess patient requests and tackle lengthy phone queues.

The local watchdog, Healthwatch Rotherham, noted that several patients struggled to communicate with the technology because of its inability to recognise regional accents and speech impairments.

According to QuantumLoopAI, the firm responsible for the software, EMMA was created to process a broad range of dialects, with patients able to switch to a real person at any point.

AI Receptionist Struggles With Yorkshire Accents

Healthwatch met with local community groups, paying particular attention to individuals affected by digital exclusion who may find navigating digital tools difficult.

Manager Kym Gleeson said: 'One of the issues is that this system can't always understand what people's inquiry is about due to their broad Yorkshire accent.

'Across South Yorkshire, accents do vary quite a lot. There are different twangs, so there's a lot of variation.

'It seems the system isn't always able to understand, so that causes frustration.'

Patients Turn Up at Surgeries Instead

To help inform digitally excluded individuals of their options, Healthwatch met specifically with elderly and veterans' groups to let them know they can opt out of using the technology.

Gleeson said: 'Practices use websites to triage but if you prefer to use the telephone it can be hard to navigate this AI system, especially if you're feeling quite vulnerable due to ill health.

'Some of the people said they had ended up going to the surgery in person because they felt using a telephone was no longer a comfortable process for them.'

Despite these challenges, she noted that the EMMA software has succeeded in speeding up call processing overall.

'In that sense, it is a good system but for some people who don't want to tell AI their details, it is a concern,' she added.

AI Firm Defends EMMA

Acknowledging public hesitation, QuantumLoopAI noted that adjusting to newly rolled-out systems naturally takes time for patients.

A spokesperson said: 'EMMA does not make clinical decisions. She is designed and trained to understand a wide range of accents and dialects and supports 17 languages in addition to English.

'Where she is unable to understand or deal with a patient's request, the call is transferred to the reception team. No caller is required to continue speaking with EMMA, and anyone can ask to speak to a member of staff at any time.

'EMMA is designed to improve access by answering calls instantly and removing telephone queues.'

QuantumLoopAI noted that feedback from GP surgeries and patients nationally has been 'overwhelmingly positive', with more than 90% of callers experiencing a noticeable boost in service quality.

Patients Can Request Adjustments

Under current law, patients are entitled to request reasonable adjustments to assist them when booking appointments, while Healthwatch Rotherham advises individuals to raise these needs directly with practice managers.

The organisation plans to forward its findings to Healthwatch England, which will ultimately submit a full report to the Department of Health and Social Care.

Although the exact number remains unclear, the NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board — which oversees local healthcare planning — confirmed it is aware that local surgeries are implementing AI software to handle reception calls.