A feature of Andrew Lansley’s NHS reforms is the idea that patients should be at the heart of the medical profession’s thinking. These multi-billion pound reforms are encapsulated in the Health and Social Care Bill which is currently at reporting stage in the House of Lords.
The new terminology is Public and Patient Engagement (PPE) which, as I understand it, is about encouraging GP practices to open up a dialogue with patients and other “stakeholders”. This PPE dialogue is intended to identify the type of services that are needed in a particular area. Local GP practices, clustered together under the title Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), will then develop services that meet those needs. In customer service training we would call this “listening to the customer”.
With or without the NHS reforms there are great opportunities to improve the service delivered by some GP practices. I don’t feel qualified to comment on improvements in clinical care, but when it comes to customer service you need only look at the patient feedback on the NHS Choices website.
As I was visiting my local GP practice last week, I noticed a couple of improvement opportunities which could be speedily implemented without the need to spend a fortune on customer service training:
Improvement 1 - Welcome patients: When I arrived, 5 minutes after the GP surgery was due to open, there were three other patients waiting for the surgery door to be unlocked. As we stood there we heard the receptionist inside, creeping towards the surgery door and then unlocking it. We could then hear the receptionist creep back behind the counter. It was left to the first person in the queue to hesitantly try the door to check that it had actually been unlocked! A simple improvement would be for the receptionist to open the door with a friendly greeting and invite us in.
Improvement 2 - Communicate clearly: I was requesting a repeat prescription and asked when the prescription would be available. Bear in mind this conversation was taking place at 8am on a Thursday morning. “It will be ready within 48-hours”, I was told. Just to check, I asked when I could pick it up. “Monday” was the reply. I don’t want to be pedantic but there is a world of difference between 48 hours and 2 working days with a weekend in-between. Particularly when you are running out of medication!
The commitment to great customer service comes right from the top, so the level of service delivered by a GP practice reflects the attitudes and personal priorities of the doctors in the partnership. In the two examples above I do feel that the behaviour of the receptionist was moulded by the partners. With the NHS reforms it will be interesting to see how much of the budget of billions filters down to the training and development of customer facing staff in the surgeries. Only then will I believe that PPE is actually starting to happen on the ground.
Jon Davies | Righttrack’s Digital Marketing Manager