An NHS hospital trust has become the first to use AI robots as secretaries in an effort to cut costs. Ipswich Hospital, run by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Trust, has'employed' three virtual workers to free up staff from'mundane and repetitive tasks', such as submitting scans and blood test results. This is thought to allow real medical secretaries more time to focus on patient care, with the system being eight times more productive than human staff, the trust claims. The system, which is run by a computer, has been in place since July and has saved more than 500 hours of work, according to the trust's deputy director of ICT Darren Atkins. Over the next nine months, the AI programme will save them £220,000, he added.