DigitalHealth.London Spotlight: AirEmail

Every week, we shine a spotlight on one of our DigitalHealth.London companies, founders, or NHS fellows. Today, to commemorate International Stress Awareness Week, we are excited to feature our current DigitalHealth.London Accelerator company AirEmail.

What is the problem you are trying to solve and why is it important?

The NHS faces a critical email management crisis. 29 million NHSmail emails are sent daily, but 47% of NHS staff have their home time disrupted by email and 64% find their core work disrupted, contributing significantly to workplace stress and poor work-life balance. 50% of clinicians consider it possible they will miss patient-related emails, risking patient safety. Communication breakdowns are the second leading cause of NHS patient complaints, with email overload particularly affecting clinicians. This technostress contributes to burnout, affecting staff wellbeing and retention, while compromising patient care quality.

What is the solution you have developed and how can it help with the problem?

AirEmail is a pioneering digital tool designed to enhance email productivity and safety while reducing technostress among healthcare staff. As the only advanced email management solution approved by NHS England for NHSmail integration, AirEmail features intelligent clinical email detection, task highlighting, and innovative wellbeing features. The tool helps protect work-life boundaries through smart calendar management, including automated comfort break scheduling and meeting load alerts. Proven in the NHS DigiWell study, AirEmail reduces unread clinical emails by 34% while decreasing staff anxiety by 13%, promoting both patient safety and staff wellbeing.

What is the history of your company?

Dr Ameet Bakhai, a leading Consultant Cardiologist and Research Director at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, founded AirEmail after witnessing firsthand the impact of email overload on patient care and staff wellbeing. During the first COVID-19 wave in 2020, Dr Bakhai led the “Shining a Light” study of 3,047 NHS staff, which revealed that 82% urgently needed a solution to manage email stress. Following extensive NHS staff focus groups, development began in August 2021, leading to NHS England approval for NHSmail integration in 2022. The tool was validated through the NHS DigiWell trial (2023-2024), the first-ever trial of NHS digital communications, and is now deploying to early adopter sites including Royal Free London NHS Trust, delivering proven features that enhance both patient safety and staff wellbeing.

What successes have you had so far from successful pilots/trials/contracts?

The NHS DigiWell study was successfully completed with 76 NHS staff, demonstrating significant improvements:

• 34% reduction in missed patient-related emails
• 28% improvement in clinical email response time
• 13% reduction in staff anxiety levels

Technical achievements and compliance:

• Only email management tool approved by NHS England for NHSmail integration
• First tool classifying patient emails for busy clinicians
• First tool enabling access to EPR records directly from email, thus saving time and reducing the risk of manual typing errors
• Completed clinical safety assessment under DCB0129 framework
• Completed DSPT and DPIA assessments

Growing market interest and recognition:

• Successful presentation of results at Digital Health Rewired 2024, generating significant sector interest
• Advanced commercial discussions with Royal Free London NHS Trust (10,000 staff)
• Active engagement with other leading NHS Trusts and primary care providers
• Strategic partnerships developing with leading IT service providers

What are your future goals? What does success look like?

Short-term goals (2024-2025):

• Achieve deployments across 3-5 NHS Trusts with over 30,000 users
• Expand our team to support growing customer base
• Build foundations for wider healthcare market presence and international expansion
• Deliver measurable improvements in staff wellbeing and operational efficiency

Medium and long-term goals (2025-2026):

• Deliver measurable improvements in patient safety, staff wellbeing and operational efficiency
• Scale across NHS Trusts and Integrated Care Systems
• Expand product features based on user feedback and emerging needs
• Develop enhanced integrations with Electronic Patient Record systems
• Establish AirEmail as a leading solution for clinical email management in healthcare
• Create next-generation features for clinical communication

How has your time on the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator helped you in achieving these?

The Accelerator has provided invaluable support in advancing our goals by linking us to experts on international expansion opportunities. We have also been able to build strategic connections with key NHS stakeholders and decision-makers, receiving advice on meaningful engagement. This, alongside training in NHS procurement processes and learning how to refine our value proposition, has directly shaped AirEmail’s market approach. Lastly, the rich networking opportunities the programme has provided also allows us to connect with both current and alumni digital health companies across the DigitalHealth.London portoflio.

Do you have any advice for aspiring digital health companies?

• Focus on genuine clinical or operational challenges
• Ensure your solution adds value to existing workflow
• Understand that digital adoption pathways are still developing
• Be prepared for continuous learning about NHS processes and standards
• Be prepared to significantly adapt your solution based on real-world input

Any asks for the audience?

Find out more about us here and get in touch!

AirEmail is currently in Cohort 8 of the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator programme.

The DigitalHealth.London Accelerator programme is funded by the UK Government via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). It is delivered by the Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London in partnership with the Office of Life Sciences, CW+, Medicity, NHS England, the Mayor of London and the Levelling Up Fund.

For more information, please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-
shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus.