X-on Health is excited to announce its partnership with Tortus AI and launch ‘Surgery Intellect’, a voice-enabled AI assistant that automates clinical note-taking, referrals and coding in real time. Combining our expertise in creating digital access solutions for primary care with Tortus AI’s ambient voice technology, this collaboration aims to relieve the daily administrative pressures faced by GPs and transform the quality of the patient experience.
Ambient scribe technology built for modern general practice
GPs spend up to 11 hours a week on documentation1, often after hours. Surgery Intellect, powered by Tortus, is here to change that.
By passively listening to either face-to-face or telephone consultations, Surgery Intellect produces accurate and structured summaries, referral letters and clinical codes that can be directly filed into electronic patient records. Notes are always clinician-verified before filing to ensure quality and oversight while allowing GPs to be fully present with their patients. Early users report saving an average of four minutes per consultation, creating space for better patient interactions and helping reduce burnout.
Telephony system agnostic, Surgery Intellect can be directly integrated into current systems to be used across patient interactions, from appointments to inbound reception calls and voicemails. This is just the beginning of moving towards a fully joined-up care system.
“X-on Health was the clear choice as our primary care partner. Their telephony systems sit at the heart of GP patient access, with over 40 million calls a month, and our combined offering directly addresses NHS connectivity challenges.”
Dr Dom Pimenta, NHS clinician and CEO and co-founder of TORTUS
Setting the safety standard in compliant ambient scribes
TORTUS AI is one of the only UK providers of ambient scribe technology that holds UKCA Class I medical device registration with the MHRA, with a Class IIa certification in progress. This places Surgery Intellect with the highest standards for safety, compliance and clinical performance.
“Many organisations are looking into AI medical scribes, but only a select few can achieve the rigorous clinical safety standards required by UKCA-certified medical devices with the MHRA. TORTUS sets that benchmark.”
Julian Coe, Managing Director at X-on Health
The system also complies with NHS DTAC, GDPR, the Data Security & Protection Toolkit (DSPT), and Cyber Essentials Plus. Both X-on Health and Tortus AI are committed to patient privacy and clinical safety, ensuring technology never comes at the cost of trust.
Bringing back the family doctor
At a time when many patients struggle to see the same GP twice, Surgery Intellect will help to restore the continuity that underpins high-quality, personalised care.
By automating notetaking, ambient scribes enable GPs to give more time and attention to their patients, not just in the moment, but across a longer-term relationship. The structured summaries and coded records generated make it easier for any clinician to quickly understand a patient’s history and context, ensuring nothing is missed. That means fewer repetitive questions, smoother follow-up and a return to the trusted model of the “family doctor” who truly knows their patients.
This improved continuity builds trust and reduces repeat appointments to support safer, more effective care.
Writing an ambient future for primary care
As pressure on primary care continues to mount, ambient scribes like Surgery Intellect offer a powerful, practical tool for GP surgeries across the UK. By integrating into X-on Health’s platforms, Surgery Intellect will unify previously fragmented systems into a streamlined, intelligent care navigation system to improve patient access and support clinicians.
Practices can now register their interest for Surgery Intellect, with wider availability planned as ICB approvals expand.
Ensure care stays front and centre with Surgery Intellect.
- https://www.key-health.co.uk/the-role-of-primary-care-in-the-uk-healthcare-system ↩︎