Phone messages
Example 1
“Welcome to [insert name of surgery].
“If you have a medical emergency or a life-threatening injury, please hang up immediately and dial 999.
“Our team of professionals are trained to support you and offer you a range of options. To do this, our [insert your relevant reception team title, for example patient advisors] will ask you for some information. We will use the information you give us to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or health professional to help you.
“All information shared with any member of our team is confidential.
“‘If you can access the internet, you can also contact us through our website [insert your practice web address].”
Depending on your cloud-based telephony functionality, the message should then lead into either:
“Please choose from the following options.”
or
“Please wait for the next available member of our team to take your call.”
Example 2
“Hello, my name is Dr [insert name] and I am the senior partner at [insert name of practice].
“You will shortly be put through to a member of our reception staff. They will ask you to please tell us about the problem you are calling about today. This is so they can direct you to the most suitable doctor, nurse or health professional to help you.
“You do not have to do this, but it would greatly help us to ensure you see the right person, first time. Thank you.”
Call scripts
Example 3
“Good morning/afternoon, [enter name of practice], this is [your name] speaking, how can I help?
“Are you calling on behalf of yourself or someone else? Please can I take your/their details:”
- date of birth
- confirm phone number
- check consent to send a text message
- if a carer, check they have consent from the patient
“Can I take a reason for your call to understand how we can best help?” or ”I need to gather some details from you so we can direct you to the best person in the team for your enquiry.”
[Ask the questions below in the order given to gather more information]
- What problem do you need help with? What are your symptoms?
- How long have you had this? Is this a problem you’ve asked us about before?
- Is it getting worse, has it stayed the same or is it getting better?
- Have you tried anything?
- Have you seen anyone about this in the practice or somewhere else?
- Is there anything you want to tell us? Any ideas, worries or things you are expecting?
- Would you prefer a consultation by phone, face to face, video or message?
- Would you prefer to receive help from a particular healthcare professional? If so, who?
- Are there times when you are not available?
- Do you have any particular communication needs? For example, interpreter required, limited access to digital or phone. Communication needs should be coded
For some requests, it can be helpful to go back to the patient for more information.
The practice can request or receive this information by:
- asking the patient to complete a standardised digital template, for example for a suspected urinary tract infection
- sending the patient a text with a link to upload a photograph
- ordering tests before clinical review
Example 4
Introduction: “Good morning/afternoon [enter practice name] speaking. How can I help you today?”
Confirm availability: “If the GP decides that you need to come into the practice today, are you available to attend?”
Summarise: “You have told me [repeat back what the patient has said]. Should one of the team need to contact you, you are at home and can come in at any time. Is that correct?”
Manage expectations: “I have sent your information to the doctor for review. Once your information has been reviewed it, one of my colleagues will be in touch either by phone or text to advise you of the GP’s decision. This should be within the next [enter time in minutes]”.
Wrap up:
“Is there anything else I can help you with today?”
“Thank you for your call.”