A woman recovering from a stroke has said she felt "upset and frustrated" after an AI receptionist system at her GP surgery repeatedly failed to understand her speech, leading her to switch practices. Judith Butterfield, 71, from near Doncaster, said she tried five times to book an appointment through the AI service, called EMMA, but could not get past it, highlighting concerns about how such automated systems cope with patients who have speech or mobility impairments.

Butterfield, who suffered a stroke in January affecting her right-side mobility and speech, said the system's instruction not to use speakerphone made things worse, as she could not hold the phone and use the keypad simultaneously. She has since registered with a different surgery, the Burns Practice in Doncaster, praising its human receptionists and call-back option. The ASA surgery in Armthorpe has since decommissioned EMMA and recruited more reception staff, while Healthwatch said other Yorkshire patients had reported similar difficulties, and the AI provider, QuantumLoopAI, apologised and offered to investigate.