From dental surgeries to GP practices and national health boards, digital tools are changing how patients access care – and how stretched services cope with demand. Three recent projects show the speed and scale of the shift.
Zero missed calls in dentistry
Since May, 65 dental practices using Wildix and software developer RoboReception’s joint AI receptionist have answered more than 50,000 calls with zero misses. The result is £9 million in new patient value and 2,000 staff hours freed for clinical care.
Traditionally, more than a third of new patient calls go unanswered, with many never calling back. RoboReception, created by dentists for dentists, aims to close that gap.
Running on Wildix’s UCaaS platform and powered by Wilma AI, the system books appointments, updates records and escalates calls when needed.
Delivered with Wildix reseller Focus CX (a division of Focus Group), the rollout shows how agentic voice automation can relieve frontline pressure, improve the patient experience and deliver measurable value for practices.
The impact so far, according to Wildix, is that booking rates are up from 18 percent to 70 percent; cancellations are down 75 percent; and 96 percent of calls are resolved without staff. Expansion to more 500 practices worldwide is already in progress.
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Scotland moves 132 GP sites to new CMS
In Scotland, 132 GP practice websites have been migrated to a new CMS platform provided by Edinburgh-based Forrit.
Built on Microsoft Azure, the system is designed to be more secure, faster and easier to manage. It replaces outdated, manual workflows with a central Service Delivery Hub that lets NHS staff manage all sites from one place.
For patients, that means quicker access to accurate information and smoother digital services. Forrit says the system also opens the door to future AI features, such as automated translation, chatbots and AI-powered search.
Digital-first access in Essex
In Thurrock, Essex, GPs are seeing rapid take-up of digital-first tools. NHS App logins jumped 85 percent in 2024, while online consultation requests have increased seven-fold since 2023.
More than £1.6 million has been invested locally in cloud telephony, giving patients call-back options and reducing queues. At Hassengate Medical Centre, a new “total triage” model has cut call volumes by 25 percent, with clinicians reviewing every request and providing same-day responses.
Across Thurrock, GP practices delivered more than one million appointments in 2024/25 — a 3.9 percent rise on the year before.
