Patients in Rotherham have struggled to be understood by a new artificial intelligence receptionist, EMMA, used by some GP surgeries to triage calls, according to health watchdog Healthwatch Rotherham. The system, deployed nationwide to cut phone queues, reportedly fails to respond well to regional accents and speech impediments, causing frustration for callers with broad Yorkshire accents and prompting some vulnerable or elderly patients to visit surgeries in person instead.

Healthwatch Rotherham manager Kym Gleeson said accents vary significantly across South Yorkshire and the AI can struggle to understand enquiries, though she acknowledged the system speeds up call handling overall. QuantumLoopAI, which makes EMMA, said the tool supports 17 languages plus English, transfers calls to human staff when it cannot cope, and has received "overwhelmingly positive" feedback, with over 90% of patients reporting improved service. Healthwatch is passing feedback to Healthwatch England and the Department of Health and Social Care, while NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Boards said it is working with Healthwatch on guidance for practices using such AI telephone systems.