Turning paper records digital at the NHS
Many GP practices still hold paper-based historic “Lloyd-George” patient records. The NHS wanted to build a national, free-to-use repository so that all practices could store and retrieve digitised records consistently.
I worked as lead designer on this project.
The challenge
Some GP practices had already digitised records; others still used paper — there was no standard, causing confusion and inconsistency.
Retrieving records was slow, error-prone or impossible for some practices, which risked patient care.
The system needed to work for very different users (GP staff, admin, patients), and meet strict data/protection requirements.
Without a clear design and content plan, there was a real danger of creating a clunky, unusable system.
What I did
I worked across content, UX and service thinking.
My job was to:
map out the user journey from upload to retrieval so we could see how different practices and users would interact with the service;
draft content-first flows and screen layouts, making sure language, layout and navigation worked regardless of a user’s background or experience
expose unclear logic, edge cases and compliance issues early so the team could resolve them before building
build a simple prototype early in the process — allowing us to test the flow before design or development started
design a workflow to handle future updates or changes, ensuring the service stays manageable and consistent as it evolves
The impact
A clear, unified user journey for all GP practices — no matter their starting point (paper or local digitisation).
Content-first screen designs the team could build from.
A prototype to test how the system worked in practice — with real users or internal reviews.
A stable foundation that balances usability and data protection, reducing risk for the NHS.
Enough clarity and structure that design, policy and development could move forward with confidence.
