Patients in Yorkshire complain AI GP receptionist cannot understand accent
Healthwatch Rotherham says Emma AI system’s failure to grasp local ‘twangs’ is leaving people frustrated Patients in a South Yorkshire town are frustrated by AI GP receptionists not understanding their “broad accents”, a health watchdog has said. Healthwatch Rotherham , a local health and social care watchdog, said a number of practices in the area had introduced a new AI receptionist called…
Patients in Rotherham, a town in South Yorkshire, are expressing frustration with an AI GP receptionist called Emma, which is failing to comprehend local accents. Healthwatch Rotherham, a health and social care watchdog, has received reports from multiple practices stating that Emma is unable to grasp the "broad Yorkshire accents" of patients.
Kym Gleeson, Healthwatch Rotherham's manager, said, "One issue is that the system can't always understand what people’s inquiry is about due to their broad Yorkshire accent." The system, now being used by numerous GP surgeries across the UK, is designed to answer calls immediately, eliminating long wait times on phone queues. Gleeson acknowledged the system's potential, but a dissatisfied patient shared their experience with Healthwatch, stating, "I could never get it to understand me, I ended up just hanging up and not bothering to try and book an appointment."
The watchdog's efforts to reach out to communities of older people and veterans revealed that some individuals are finding the new system difficult to navigate. Some were so frustrated they resorted to visiting their GP in person instead of using the phone. Healthwatch emphasized that the legal duty of GP practices is to make reasonable adjustments for patients, and those experiencing difficulties with Emma can request alternative methods to access services.
QuantumLoopAI, the company behind Emma, assured that the AI is capable of understanding various dialects and supports 17 languages besides English. If Emma fails to comprehend a patient's request, the call is transferred to a human receptionist.
Written by urgent.news from Guardian Health's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
