How Launceston Medical Centre found calm, clarity and time with Heidi
Background
Launceston Medical Centre is a busy rural general practice in Cornwall, caring for nearly 20,000 patients. The team includes GPs, specialist paramedics, nurses, a large mental health unit, and social prescribing professionals, making it a uniquely diverse and integrated primary care team in the UK.
Challenges
Like many practices across the NHS, Launceston’s team was facing growing pressures around documentation, admin tasks, and staying on time. For GP Hope Ward, the demands were starting to feel overwhelming.
With a large patient population and complex caseload, every minute mattered.
The burden of documentation
“There’s so much emphasis these days on making sure you really clearly document everything… I found I was always running behind.” – Hope Ward
Hope was constantly juggling: listening to patients, planning next steps, typing thorough notes, and filling out extra forms, like referrals and blood test requests, during and after the consultation.
Limited time and long days
“I was starting earlier to try and look through and anticipate and write a small little thing about each patient… and being there later on.” – Hope Ward
Even with preparation, Hope often stayed late to finish up admin, dictated letters manually, and found there was never quite enough time in clinic to get everything done.
Cognitive overload
“At that time, it just felt like the cognitive load was a lot less… I felt less worn out by the end of the day.” – Hope Ward
Hope describes the mental strain of having to plan, process, and document all at once. She needed a way to reduce the load, without compromising care.
“I like to keep to time and that’s been really helpful, especially because I’m quite picky about what I write.” – Hope Ward
Hope and a colleague even paid out of pocket to trial Heidi, before the practice officially rolled it out, highlighting just how valuable they knew it could be.
Solution
Hope first discovered Heidi on her own, testing it informally at home. But things changed when she spoke to a colleague at a nearby practice who’d helped secure the necessary approvals to use Heidi in a clinical setting.
“As soon as we’d done that... we got it going. It just made such a difference so early on.” – Hope Ward
Hope and a colleague began using Heidi right away, eventually helping the wider team adopt it too. The practice now uses Heidi across clinical consultations, admin tasks, and even practice meetings.
“I think everyone felt that when we started using it.” – Hope Ward
Hope’s favourite features:
Custom templates: “We’ve got one that we’ve made for the practice… just with a few things about the history that I found more useful.”
Snippets for exams: “All of mine are about the examination… I find that really useful.”
Instant meeting summaries: “We use it a lot in our practice meetings… I think that’s been really nice for our admin staff.”
Impact
“I don’t really touch the computer unless I need to check something… I’m more having a chat, which I think they really like.” – Hope Ward
Hope now focuses on the patient, not the keyboard. Consultations feel calmer and more connected, and the practice is saving time across clinical and non-clinical work.
Key outcomes:
Clinical documentation completed during the appointment
Referral letters written in real time—no need to revisit later Meeting notes created automatically
Greater confidence and accuracy in record keeping
Less mental strain and better work-life balance
Patient consultations feel more human
“I’m not physically at my desk… I’m more having a chat. I feel like I can more listen to them.” – Hope Ward
Time reclaimed
“By the time I say goodbye to the patient and walk them to the door, I get back to my computer and it’s done.” – Hope Ward
Better notes, less pressure
“Heidi will pick up a lot more than I remember… especially social things, like where they live, how it’s affecting their mobility.” – Hope Ward
A bonus benefit
“I definitely felt less worn out by the end of the day.” – Hope Ward
What’s next
With Heidi, Hope has time to focus on her patients and herself. She leaves work on time, documentation complete, and her mind clear.
“If Heidi didn’t exist… I’d probably just be typing loads and running behind all the time again.” – Hope Ward
