Key points
- Manchester's population rose 9.7% between the 2011 and 2021 censuses to about 551,900, with a median age of 31, the lowest in the North West.1
- Trafford had about 235,100 residents in 2021 with a median age of 40, and 23.6% of its households were couples with dependent children.2
- CQC Regulation 17 requires a provider to keep accurate, complete and detailed records for each person, held securely.4
- The GMC holds doctors responsible for the decisions they take when using AI and expects them to discuss the technology with patients.5
- wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with your clinic.
Summary
A clinic in Manchester or Trafford can use AI for notes and patient messages in 2026 once it has completed a data protection impact assessment, told patients about the technology as the GMC expects and kept accurate, secure records under CQC Regulation 17. The doctor stays responsible for every decision and signs every note.
Clinics across Manchester and Trafford now reply to a family's evening enquiry the same night and start the morning with a booked, paid diary. The two boroughs sit side by side and serve very different patients, a young, fast-growing city and a settled suburban borough of families.
See it in your clinicThirty minutes on your own patients and doctors.
Request a demoSee a family's evening enquiry to a Trafford clinic become an approved reply and a paid booking in pounds, in fifteen minutes with a clinician who uses wai daily.
| Body or rule | What it requires | What to ask | How wai meets it |
|---|---|---|---|
| CQC, Regulation 17 | Accurate, complete and detailed records for each person, held securely | How every draft, approval and signature is kept and exported | Every message, draft and signature logged and exportable |
| GMC, AI and innovative technologies | Doctor responsible for decisions, and the technology discussed with patients | Who signs each note and how patients are told | Every note stays a draft until the doctor signs it |
| ICO, UK GDPR impact assessment | DPIA for AI combined with any of the European criteria | Where data is hosted and whether it trains any model | Records hosted in the clinic's own country, and patient data never used to train models |
| ICO, data protection fee | Fee paid by organisations using personal information unless exempt | Who the subprocessors are | Subprocessors named with their agreements, and 30 days notice before any change |
The private care market in Manchester and Trafford
Manchester grew from just over 503,100 residents in 2011 to around 551,900 in 2021, the third-largest percentage rise in the North West, and it was the most densely populated local authority in the region.1 Its median age rose from 29 to 31, the lowest in the North West.1
Trafford grew 3.7% to around 235,100 and has a median age of 40.2 Couples with dependent children made up 23.6% of its households in 2021, up from 21.9% in 2011, while the North West share fell to 18.0%.2
The rules a Manchester or Trafford clinic works under
The Care Quality Commission regulates independent clinics in England. Regulation 17 on good governance requires a provider to securely maintain accurate, complete and detailed records for each person using the service, and to send CQC a written report on quality and safety when asked.4 An AI-drafted note becomes part of that record once the clinician signs it.
The General Medical Council expects doctors to apply its professional standards to AI tools as they would to other medical devices. Doctors remain responsible for the decisions they take when using AI, and should discuss the technology with patients, including other options and any uncertainties or limitations.5 The consent form template turns that into a few lines at intake.
The Information Commissioner's Office enforces UK GDPR. Its list of processing that needs a data protection impact assessment includes innovative technology such as AI when it is combined with any of the criteria in the European guidelines.6 Organisations and sole traders that use personal information also pay the ICO a data protection fee unless they are exempt.7 The guide to AI scribes and UK GDPR covers the detail.
wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with your clinic. wai is compliant with these rules and built for clinics in Manchester and Trafford. For a Manchester or Trafford clinic, that country is the United Kingdom.
The languages Manchester and Trafford patients write in
In Manchester, 66.1% of residents were born in England in 2021, down from 71.6% in 2011. Pakistan was the next most common country of birth at about 30,700 residents, 5.6%, and Nigeria followed at about 10,300.1 In Trafford, 82.4% were born in England, with India at about 4,900 and Pakistan at about 4,300.2
Across England and Wales, 91.1% of residents aged three and over had English as a main language in 2021, and a further 7.1% spoke it well without it being their main language.3 wai works in any language, and every reply is approved by a person at the clinic before it goes.8
What a demo shows in Manchester and Trafford
The demo opens on a WhatsApp message sent at 21.15 by a parent in Sale asking whether both children can have their travel vaccinations on the same Saturday morning before half term. wai reads the nurse's and the doctor's busy times from Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar and drafts a reply with two back-to-back open slots. The clinic manager approves it the next morning.
The booking link takes a deposit in pounds through the clinic's own Stripe account, with the clinic as merchant of record, and sends each child's intake questionnaire. On the day, the doctor explains the scribe, the parent agrees, and the doctor edits and signs the drafted note. A missed call from a student in Fallowfield that afternoon becomes a drafted text the team approves.
For hospital groups, insurers and public bodies in Greater Manchester
Private hospital groups and insurers in Greater Manchester can have a system of their own built on wai, under their own brand, with data rights and exit terms agreed in the contract. Each build starts with one pathway and the measures that will judge it. The steps are on the organisations page.
Where to start
First, complete the data protection impact assessment before any patient record moves, and confirm the ICO fee is paid.67 Second, add a short explanation of the scribe to intake and the consultation script, as the GMC expects.5
Third, check that signed notes, drafts and approvals meet Regulation 17's record standard, and that the clinic can export them in full.4 Fourth, count last month's enquiries by hour and borough, so the demo runs on the clinic's real week. More on deposits is in the guide to payment links and deposits.
Bring last month's enquiries by hour and borough, and we show the week they would have filled.
Frequently asked questions
What records does the CQC expect a clinic to keep?
Regulation 17 requires accurate, complete and detailed records for each person using the service, kept securely.4 An AI-drafted note joins that record once the clinician signs it.
Who is responsible for a note drafted by AI?
The doctor. The GMC says doctors are responsible for the decisions they take when using AI.5 With wai, every note stays a draft until the doctor signs it.
Does the clinic need a DPIA before using an AI scribe?
The ICO lists AI as innovative technology that needs a DPIA when combined with any of the criteria in the European guidelines, so complete one first.6
Do patients need to be told about the AI scribe?
The GMC expects doctors to discuss innovative technology with patients, including other options and its limitations.5
Where are the clinic's records hosted?
wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with your clinic. For a clinic here, that is the United Kingdom.
Can patients write in their own language?
Yes. wai works in any language, and someone at the clinic approves each draft before the patient sees it.8
Sources
- 1Office for National Statistics, 2023How life has changed in Manchester, Census 2021Read 15 October 2026Read source
- 2Office for National Statistics, 2023How life has changed in Trafford, Census 2021Read 15 October 2026Read source
- 3Office for National Statistics, 2022Language, England and Wales, Census 2021Read 15 October 2026Read source
- 4Care Quality CommissionRegulation 17, good governanceRead 15 October 2026Read source
- 5General Medical CouncilArtificial intelligence and innovative technologiesRead 15 October 2026Read source
- 6Information Commissioner's OfficeWhen do we need to do a DPIARead 15 October 2026Read source
- 7Information Commissioner's OfficeData protection feeRead 15 October 2026Read source
- 8wai, 2026wai changelog, intake answered by voice in any languageRead 15 October 2026Read source
Every Manchester and Trafford family answered the same evening.
Fifteen minutes with a clinician who uses wai daily, on your family enquiries and your diary. We reply within one working day.
Partner with us
See it on your own patients, then build it with us
Thirty minutes on your own patients, doctors and rules, in your market. We reply within one working day, and the clinics that partner with us early shape what we build next.
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