Shropshire Trust Shortlisted for HSJ Digital Awards
Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust has been shortlisted for the Health Service Journal Digital Awards 2025 in the “Unlocking Productivity and Efficiency with Digital” category for their digital transformation with EBO’s solution.
Transforming vaccination consent
What began as a pilot project at Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust has now become an integral part of the Trust’s School Age Immunisation Service (SAIS). Through a successful collaboration with EBO, an AI-driven Virtual Assistant (called the Rio VA) was developed to automate and manage vaccination consent efficiently and effectively.
This innovative solution replaced a paper-heavy, time-consuming manual process with a fully automated workflow, co-designed with frontline staff to enhance productivity and streamline operations.
One year since post-pilot launch the trust celebrates some fantastic results with over 8,700 hours of staff time saved and £173K in cost savings. Here’s Shropshire’s story:
Where it began
Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust sought to digitise its parental consent process to reduce administrative burden, enhance clinical safety, integrate with the Rio EPR and provide real-time reporting and data-driven insights.
As a result, EBO and Shropshire developed a tailor-made solution that leveraged Conversational AI to interact with parents/ guardians via two-way natural conversation and manage consent. It also integrated bi-directionally with the Rio Electronic Patient Record (EPR), automating triage and allocation.
This marked a significant step towards efficiency, ensuring a smooth, user-friendly experience for both staff and parents/guardians.
Within 1 Year
among parents, reducing reliance on paper forms
with parents praising the ease of the digital process
A Strategic Rollout for Maximum Impact
To optimise performance, the Virtual Assistant was deployed incrementally, combining EBO’s agile development approach with continuous improvement cycles. Initially launched as a proof of concept, it expanded through a small pilot before full-scale implementation. By January 2023, the solution was in place, and by June 2024, it was fully integrated across all vaccination campaigns and schools.
A Year of Exceptional Results
One year since post-pilot launch, the impact of the AI-powered assistant has been nothing less than remarkable:
- 94% adoption rate among parents, significantly reducing reliance on paper forms.
97% user satisfaction with parents praising the ease and convenience of the digital process.
43,000 automated consent returns, eliminating manual data entry.
8,726 hours of staff time saved, allowing healthcare professionals to focus on clinical work.
£173K in cost savings, reducing expenses related to printing, scanning, and administrative tasks.
Thanks to real-time feedback and data analysis, dialog improvements were implemented swiftly—sometimes within hours—maximising efficiency and achieving an AI accuracy rate of 99%.
Key Features of the Rio VA
- Customisable data-capture tailored to different vaccination campaigns.
- Automated consent documentation within the EPR, eliminating manual input.
- User-friendly two-way conversation with parents/guardians, requiring minimal digital skills.
- Seamless automation, integration, and real-time data analytics.
Conversational AI
Engaging with parents in simple, easy-to-understand language.
Rio EPR Integration
Automating data entry and eliminating manual uploads.
Digital Triage
Providing data for Rio to automatically triage.
Customisation
Adapting to different vaccination campaigns for increased flexibility.
Accessibility
Providing multi-channel access, including SMS and online forms.
Clinical Safety
Identifying potential duplicate vaccinations based on a patient’s clinical history.
Scaling Success Across the NHS
The success of the Rio VA has paved the way for broader AI adoption within the NHS. The Trust has already expanded its use of AI-driven automation to Appointment Self-Scheduling, starting with outpatient services. Moreover, the solution’s system-agnostic architecture allows for integration with various NHS electronic record systems, making it scalable across multiple healthcare settings.
Encouraged by these results, other NHS organizations are following suit, with three additional Trusts deploying similar AI-powered e-Consent solutions. This marks a new era of healthcare innovation, where AI-driven automation is set to enhance patient engagement, streamline operations, and ultimately improve healthcare delivery.
The Future of AI in Healthcare
The Rio VA’s success story is just the beginning. As AI continues to reshape administrative processes within the NHS, its potential for broader applications—ranging from appointment management to patient follow-ups—remains vast. By embracing AI-driven solutions, the NHS is taking a significant step toward a more efficient, patient-centered, and digitally empowered future.
