Each NHS trust will receive a central allocation of licences based on organisational headcount, typically starting at around 2,000 Copilot Microsoft 365 licences. 

Health innovation and safety minister, Preet Kaur Gill, said: ‘Every day, doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals spend valuable time on administrative tasks that take them away from patients. By rolling out Microsoft Copilot across the NHS, we can reduce that burden, free up clinicians' time and help staff focus on what they do best caring for patients.'

The agreement follows the largest AI trial of its kind globally in healthcare, which provided more than 30,000 NHS workers across 90 NHS organisations with access to Microsoft 365 Copilot. 

It found that AI-powered administrative support could save an average of 43 minutes per staff member per day or more, which equates to five weeks of time per person annually. 

Results from the trial showed that a full roll-out of Microsoft 365 Copilot could save millions of hours of staff time per month.