[EBO] more than rose to the challenge. It felt like a true development partnership with staff from both EBO and BCU forming a cohesive team
AI-driven Waiting List Validation & Optimisation
Clear your waiting list backlog with an effective, efficient, and proven solution.
- NHS App and EPR Integrated
- 60% response rate
- £643K annual saving per 10,000 patients validated quarterly
- 5-15% reduction in waiting lists
- Multilingual human-like patient conversations
- Validate patients with accuracy and empathy
AI Waiting List Validation & Optimisation for the NHS
EBO’s AI-powered Waiting List Validation and Optimisation solution enables Trusts and ICBs to proactively engage patients at scale, ensuring clinical appropriateness, reducing administrative burden and wait times, improving patient access and freeing up valuable staff time.
The Problem
NHS waiting lists have reached a record high with 7.4 million patients waiting for treatment. The need for innovative technology to add capacity and reduce waiting lists is no longer optional.
7.4 million patients are now waiting for NHS treatment
41% of patients wait more than 18 weeks without any two-way communication with their hospital
3% of patients wait more than a year for treatment
NHS Trusts don’t have the admin resources to cope
5WTE to validate an average waiting list
19% turnover rate for NHS admin staff
Expensive & de-motivating to use NHS staff for repetitive, admin tasks
The Impact
Inefficient manual and digital methods are preventing continuous admin validation
10% of patients on waiting lists no longer need treatment
The average NHS Trust lost £8.2 million to missed appointments in 2024
Elective Recovery relies on avoiding unused appointment slots
The Solution
EBO’s Waiting List Validation solution redefines how Trusts and ICBs manage, monitor and optimise patient waiting lists.
By combining Conversational AI, behavioural science, and deep NHS system integration, EBO enables Trusts to validate thousands of patients efficiently and equitably – reducing administrative burden, improving data accuracy, and enhancing patient experience across the entire care pathway.
Unlike traditional call-centre or one-way digital approaches, EBO’s Conversational AI enables proactive, two-way patient dialogue at scale – securely, accurately, and with empathy.
The solution can be rapidly deployed as a stand-alone product using CSV-based setup or can be seamlessly integrated with PAS and EPR systems. This allows it to automatically update patient records and surface insights through real-time dashboards.
Beyond Automation
This is not just automation - it’s intelligent engagement that drives measurable operational, clinical, and financial value, helping NHS organisations reduce waiting times, improve access and optimise elective recovery performance.
Key Features
- Natural Conversation - Converses like a human with thousands of patients simultaneously in over 100 languages.
- Bespoke patient conversations - Initiate contact and personalises each conversation based on waiting time, clinical urgency, service or referral reason.
- NHS App and EPR Integration - Ingest patients into waiting lists based on EPR criteria. Automatically update clinical notes or patient status based on patient feedback.
- Immediate appointment readiness - Understand whether patients can accept immediate appointments or prefer specific times and dates.
- Dynamic Dialogue - Adjust tone and flow dynamically depending on urgency or patient data, ensuring meaningful, inclusive engagement.
- Automated Validation Cycles - Fully configurable cycles that automatically reach out to or re-engage patients.
- Resource support links - Provide direct access to ‘waiting well’ tools, self-management content, or care navigation resources.
- Enhances Patient Access - Requires minimal digital skills from the patient
How EBO’s Solution is delivered:
There are two options for deploying the Waiting List Validation solution:
Option 1:
Seamless Integration into EPR:
- Full API integration into your EPR, typically completed within 8–12 weeks
- Ingest patient data into a waiting list, based on criteria within the EPR
- Update progress or clinical notes based on patient’s feedback.
- Update Patient status in order to progress pathway.
Option 2:
Rapid Deployment / Non-integration:
- Rapid deployment in 2–4 weeks using CSV-based setup
- Minimal IT dependency
- A 3 week reach out exercise which can generate a 60-70% response rate
- Further validations can then be run on demand
- Also available as a managed service
Benefits
Conversational AI + Behavioural Science
Leverages AI and behavioural science to reduce precious clinical time spent on patients who do not need to be on the waiting list.
Data-Driven Insights
Generates actionable insights from anonymised data, enabling healthcare providers to identify key drivers of missed appointments by specialty and demographic.
Personalised Digital Support
Offers tailored tools to address specific barriers like appointment cancellations, transport issues, and accessing support.
Appointment Efficiency
Sends out reminders to patients who have not responded yet and reduces DNA rate and wasted appointments.
Multilingual & Multi-Literacy
Supports over 100 languages and adapts language level to cater to a reading age of 8.
Seamless NHS Integration
Integrates with NHS clinical systems and EPRs to read waiting lists and update patient reports with outcomes from the conversations.
Closed-Loop Analysis
Tracks patient engagement and behaviour, continuously refining the intervention based on real-time data.
Accessibility through design
Inclusive design principles that align with NHS accessibility standards.
Making an Impact
Response rates within days
0
%
Reduction in waiting list
%
Annual saving per 10,000 patients validated quarterly
£
k
The Results
EBO’s solution directly supports NHS England’s Operational Planning Guidance and Elective Recovery Plan priorities:
- Reducing waiting times – Streamlined validation ensures resources target patients most in need.
- Tackling inequality of access – Multi-language, literacy-sensitive AI engagement includes all patients.
- Reducing DNAs – Proactive reminders and confirmations reduce missed appointments.
- Increasing elective activity – Removing inactive patients and freeing clinical time accelerates throughput.
Moreover, this streamlined process translates into considerable cost savings, satisfied patients and happier staff.
Book a demo today to reduce your waiting list backlog.
One Virtual Assistant—Endless Possibilities
Customer Story
An AI-Driven Solution for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Working in partnership with EBO, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) developed and undertook a proof of concept (POC) of the EBO Waiting List Validation Solution which, through integration with WPAS, would allow BCU to replace up to 76% of costly one-off validation call tranches with automated and continuous digital patient validation, initiate contact with patients via SMS, automatically update the WPAS to reduce admin costs, create an enriched patient experience and digital-first uptake.
Danielle Edwards
- Head of Digital Transformation
- Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Sounds compelling?
Contact us today and we'll take you through our AI-powered Waiting List Validation solution.
Customer Story
Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS FT Implements EBO’s Automated Waiting List Validation Solution
In collaboration with EBO, Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Foundation Trust launched a pilot of the EBO Automated Waiting List Validation Solution to enhance operational efficiency and patient engagement. Leveraging Conversational AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP), the stand-alone solution validated one tranche of the waiting list within two weeks, contacting over 5,000 patients and achieving a 43% response rate, 5% higher than previous digital methods. EBO’s AI-driven interface enabled natural, two-way conversations, reducing administrative burden, enhancing patient experience, and marking a key step toward more efficient, patient-centred care.
Navigate the Automated Waiting List Validation Patient Pathway
Find out how Tim, EBO’s Virtual Assistant, automatically reaches out to patients, such as Mary a 65 year old grandmother who has been waiting for a knee replacement for over a year. Tim automatically contacts Mary, validates her appointment, documents the outcomes directly into the EPR, and maintains direct communication with her pre and post her op. View the pathway infographic here.
EBO’s solution empowers administrators with real-time insights into patient behavior and preferences, while visual dashboards offer a comprehensive overview, enabling healthcare providers to make informed decisions and enhance overall service delivery.
AI solutions help businesses drive conversations
Here are a few words from our clients on their experience with our solution.
Danielle Edwards
- Head of Digital Transformation
- Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
If a solution like EBO is implemented across the NHS, it can revolutionise access to maternity care for the majority of service users. The point is to release capacity in Health systems by using innovation and technology that supports that.
Charlotte Clayton
- Clinical Academic Doctoral Midwife
- RM Princess Anne Hospital, University Hospital Southampton
Our booking officers absolutely love our Virtual Assistant Alex, since it does the legwork and they can focus on the patient. Over the last six months, Alex has helped save 24 hours of staff time every week. Our callers come from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, so we worked with our communication to make sure Alex understands all our patients and the different ways they communicate.
Kim Hale
- Digital Change Lead
- Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
The experience of working with EBO on our Virtual Assistant has been very positive. EBO and Servelec listened to our feedback and helped design AI solutions that benefit our patients by providing an alternative way they interact with the trust.
James Mariott
- Digital Change Manager
- Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
I think where we really found the stress is on the admin. A lot of our service users are calling us, which means that our lines are continuously busy and admins miss some of the calls, as they are on the phone with another service user at the time. It means that people are trying to get in contact till the late evening when the services are closed. It really opened up our eyes to see that there are other ways our clients can communicate with us and there are other ways that we can communicate with the clients. It actually works for them.
Shona Richards
- Digital Transformation Project Manager
- East London NHS Foundation Trust
EBO is a trusted partner of Microsoft, because a lot of what we see with thousands of customers that we work around the world is very much aligned with EBO’s mission and vision. They empower caregivers; they empower administrative staff, and they empower patients to have better access to information. 84% of Healthcare Executives believe that AI will revolutionise the way we obtain information.
Ruthy Kaidar
- Director, Healthcare Industry Sector
- Microsoft
We have a growing backlog and we have patients whose conditions are just getting worse as their appointments are delayed. We have people in the community who cannot even get their first appointment, they cannot get diagnosed and they cannot receive early treatment. Covid has accelerated our adoption of virtual appointments and remote patient monitoring, so there is some efficiency gained there.
Jenny Chong
- Associate Non-executive Director
- Medway NHS Foundation Trust
It is indeed a pleasure to work hand-in-hand with EBO in developing our AI profile and competence. Apart from providing excellent technical expertise, EBO has consistently supported, trained, and maintained a close relationship with all of our team whilst overseeing the development, deployment, and successful marketing of our AI platform. Such support is unique and provides us with the confidence and motivation to further develop this exciting Artificial Intelligence revolution together with EBO, and be able to provide a holistic and efficient experience to our clients.
Jean Claude Muscat
- CEO
- Saint James Hospital
“Working with EBO is like ‘a breath of fresh air’. They have a deep-seated ‘can-do’ ethos to delivering successful solutions and our collaboration functions as a true partnership. The EBO Virtual Assistant is a new technology for us with great potential as it integrates directly with our Electronic Patient Record. We initiated a pilot with EBO on e-Consent and are already lined up for rolling out pre-assessment and appointment modules.¨
Andy l’Anson
- IT Programme Manager
- Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust
