The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) had a brutal winter. An unseasonably bad flu season led to emergency rooms facing “exceptional pressure” as bad as the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to NHS bosses earlier this year. Clinicians find themselves working in situations where they are resource, staff, and (critically) time poor, with wait times growing unsustainably long as the health service struggles to handle over 1.7 million patient interactions per day.
One key pain point that medical professionals face is the manual documentation of patient discussions, with almost half of all GP time currently going towards administrative tasks. Artificial intelligence (AI) startup Tandem Health is aiming to change that with new tools that automate the documentation process, saving clinicians valuable hours that, they claim, can be better spent treating the public. We spoke to Ian Robertson, the UK & Ireland Director for Tandem Health, about his experiences as an NHS healthcare provider, Tandem’s AI solutions, and how they’re addressing issues ranging from AI hallucinations to ensuring confidential data protection and privacy.
1. Everyone knows the NHS is under pressure, but what does that actually feel like on the ground?
The pressure isn’t just a news story; it’s a daily reality for clinicians. Admin is a huge part of the problem. Every single consultation triggers a wave of documentation: notes, referrals, discharge summaries, coding. All of it is vital, but it eats up huge chunks of time. That trade-off — time spent on admin instead of with patients — is damaging. It limits access, pushes clinicians toward burnout, and affects the quality of care.
Our recent survey shows 56% of patients feel their doctor is too distracted by paperwork to give them their full attention. The data speaks volumes. There’s a clear need for tools that reduce the admin load and let clinicians focus on what matters most: patient care.
2. How much time does a typical GP spend on documentation?
Too much. For every hour spent with patients, GPs can spend nearly two hours on paperwork. Over the course of a year, that adds up to thousands of hours. Up to 40% of GP time now goes on admin. That’s time that could be used for decision-making, follow-ups or even just taking a break. It’s not just inefficient — it’s unsustainable. And it’s a major factor behind burnout and workforce attrition in the NHS.
3. What is Tandem Health building to address this?
We’ve developed an AI-powered medical scribe that listens during consultations and generates structured clinical notes in real time. It integrates with systems like EMIS, so documentation becomes seamless. But it’s not just about notes — Tandem can also produce referral letters and patient summaries, always under clinical supervision. Our goal is simple: give clinicians back their time so they can focus on care.
4. How does Tandem differ from off-the-shelf transcription tools?
Consumer voice tools aren’t built for healthcare. Tandem is. It understands clinical language, manages medical context, and fits into NHS workflows. It’s accurate, compliant and built with privacy at its core. That includes real-time processing, no audio storage and alignment with GDPR and NHS standards. We’re not just building tech — we’re building trust. That starts with understanding clinicians’ needs.
5. You’ve worked in the NHS yourself. How has that shaped the product?
Massively. I’ve been there, working long hours, dealing with relentless admin. I know what it takes for a tool to be genuinely helpful in a ten-minute appointment window. That’s why we build for the real world, not for labs. We don’t ask clinicians to change their way of working – we build solutions that adapt to them.
6. Hallucination is a known risk in AI. How do you manage that?
Clinical safety comes first. Tandem never replaces the clinician — it supports them. Every note can be reviewed and edited. We use domain-specific models, structured templates, and extensive validation. What the clinician sees is a safe, editable first draft that saves time and maintains control.
Our study with St Wulfstan’s confirms this. In that real-world setting, 95% of clinicians agreed Tandem’s notes accurately reflected the consultation. That kind of trust is essential.
7. What about patient privacy?
Tandem was built with privacy at its core. Audio is processed in real time and never stored. We meet NHS and GDPR requirements and are ISO 27001-compliant. We also don’t use clinical data to train models. With clinicians at the helm of our product development, patient confidentiality isn’t just a priority — it’s a responsibility.
8. What’s next for Tandem?
We’re expanding beyond general practice into outpatient departments and broader hospital settings. We’re also deepening integration with NHS infrastructure and supporting more roles across multidisciplinary teams. One of our biggest challenges is accommodating different workflows across organisations while keeping things safe and consistent. That’s why we’re investing heavily in interoperability, infrastructure and user experience.
9. Final thoughts on AI in healthcare?
AI can absolutely transform healthcare, but only if it solves real problems. Clinicians aren’t looking for novelty; they want relief. The best tools are the ones that give them time back, reduce stress and make care better.
And it’s already happening. At St Wulfstan’s, GPs using Tandem spent up to 68% less time interacting with the computer during consultations. Patients noticed too. The percentage who felt their GP was fully engaged jumped by more than 15%. That’s what progress looks like — not just better systems, but better conversations.
- Data & AI