Burlington Primary Care
From three person post runs to click and go patient letters
Burlington Primary Care is a busy GP surgery in Ipswich serving over 15,000 patients. Daily post runs for appointment reminders, clinic invites and test results were tying up three staff members for over an hour every day, on top of rising print and franking costs. By moving all routine letters into Postworks and integrating with SystmOne, Burlington now sends thousands of patient communications in minutes, without touching a printer or their old franking machine.
The Challenge
Manual post processes were taking time away from patient care
Burlington Primary Care handles appointment reminders, clinic invitations and test results for more than 15,000 patients. Keeping the surgery running smoothly meant sending around 2,000 letters every month, many of them time sensitive, such as flu clinic invites and urgent test result notifications.
Printing, hand stuffing and franking took between an hour and an hour and a half every day and needed at least three people to keep up. A small share of post went through another high-profile hybrid mailing solution but managing consumables, staff time and an ageing franking machine still absorbed far too much effort. The team knew their patients needed fast communication. They were less sure there was a single solution that could actually simplify everything.
A closer look at the results
£10,000 saved
By eliminating mailing costs for business growth.
Dozens of admin hours
Saved by replacing manual mailing by clicks, freeing time for staff.
Reliable, speedy invoicing
With tracked delivery options and improved cash flow.
The Turning Point
A simple digital workflow that works with SystmOne
Burlington had previous experience with another hybrid mail provider but found the service too complicated in practice. Only around ten percent of their letters were being sent online, and the rest still depended on printers, envelopes and the franking machine. When a change in personnel prompted a fresh look at options, IT Manager Mark Hatcher went back to the market to find an all in one solution. That search led him to Postworks.
The team quickly agreed the Postworks portal was simple, accessible and could cope with the dozens of templates they hold in SystmOne. A few tailored Workflows were added so patient advice leaflets attach automatically to the right letters, without users having to remember to include them. Combined with PostboxPrint, the Postworks virtual printer, staff can now select letters in SystmOne and send them straight to Postworks for same day posting, with no pop ups or frustrating interruptions.
“A couple of clicks and we can send a huge number of merged letters.”
Mark HatcherIT Manager, Burlington Primary Care
The Outcome
More time for patients with faster, simpler post
With Postworks in place, Burlington Primary Care has turned a slow, manual post routine into a fast, digital workflow that fits around clinical work rather than competing with it.
Key Results
⏱️ Time back for frontline care
Three person post runs are now a one person task, releasing staff capacity for patients and clinics.
🧩 Templates and leaflets handled automatically
Workflows attach the right advice leaflets to the right letters, so nothing is forgotten or missed.
🖨️ No reliance on printers or franking
Letters go straight from SystmOne to Postworks for same day posting, without on site print equipment.
💷 More cost-effective than manual franking
Moving all post to Postworks cuts printing and franking spend while keeping every item fully auditable.
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