The NHS is constantly evolving, and as it does, it is faced with multiple challenges and opportunities. These include caring for an aging population, managing lengthy waiting lists and workforce pressures. The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (2023) highlights the need to reform the workforce through different ways of working to provide more effective and efficient patient care.
Ufonia, a medical technology company, has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) product which can support the workforce to work differently. The telemedicine product called Dora is programmed to undertake routine telephone calls with patients. It is designed to make care more convenient, reliable and consistent, and increase hospital capacity by releasing clinicians to spend more time meeting patients’ needs. Dora has effectively and safely conducted more than 60,000 NHS appointments and demonstrated potential to improve patient outcomes, streamline care delivery and ease the strain on hospital resources. Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley (HIOTV) has supported the development of Dora since 2018.
HIOTV is a co-applicant on a two-year government-backed research grant funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Invention for Innovation to facilitate the development of a multilingual Dora, initially in ten different languages. It will be tested in the cataract pathway at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, to ensure it maintains high safety standards. Public and patient involvement is being led by HIOTV.
In 2026 a paper on our recent work with Ufonia was published in JMIR Formative Research. It shares findings from focus groups we ran with Turkish speaking patients, part of the work to build a Turkish language version of Dora.
Sian Rees, Director of Community Involvement and Workforce Innovation, said: “Using language that is easy to understand is essential in healthcare. Through working with people whose first language is not English, we hope to capture cultural nuances to facilitate Dora to undertake a culturally appropriate conversation.”
To support the development of Dora, Health Innovation Oxford & Thames Valley facilitated five patient discussion groups with speakers of Turkish, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Urdu and Bengali. Participants explored their experiences of accessing healthcare, the challenges created by language barriers, and their views on interacting with an AI-enabled system. Across all groups, people recognised the potential for multilingual AI to improve communication, increase independence and reduce reliance on family members to interpret healthcare information. However, participants consistently highlighted the importance of cultural sensitivity, natural language, trust, and clear routes to human support when needed. The discussions provided valuable insights that are helping to refine Dora, ensuring the technology is not only linguistically accurate but also culturally appropriate, safe and acceptable to the communities it is intended to support. As one participant reflected, “It makes me feel seen, if something is said in my own language.”