Update - we've moved the implementation back a week to make sure that we have as smooth a transition as possible. We're now planning to switch over on Wednesday 7th September.

We’ve had a lot of feedback recently that our existing phone system isn’t that nice to use, and we agree. Under our Health Care Home model we’ve committed to improving our call responses and that’s why we’ve been working hard over the last few months to replace the system with one that makes calling us a much nicer experience. We’re currently expecting to switch to our new system on 31 August, although this date may change to ensure we have as smooth a transition as possible.

As you can imagine there are quite a few components involved in achieving an improved calling experience. One area that we really wanted to see improvement was in our understanding of our call rates. We answer a lot of calls (approximately 1,200 calls per week) across a number of areas, but our old system struggled to provide any more information about these calls. With our new system we can better match our people to the calls, so that we can answer faster and have it answered with the right person.

We’re also improving what we can see on the system, so that we know where calls need to be answered across the practice in real time. This will allow us to be more responsive to changes in the number of people calling through, and provide more options for resolving calls and questions.

Our new system also helps us to direct calls within the practice, so that we can get you to the person you need to speak to quicker. Under our Health Care Home model we’re looking at ways that we can work differently to provide the care our patients need, and the new system will provide the flexbility we need to do that.

We’ve had to spend quite a lot of time working with various providers to find a system that will deliver what we’re looking for. There are various systems available using differnt technologies, and given the functionality that we’re looking for we need to find a supplier that could deliver a reliable product while also allowing us to access some more advanced functionality not normally included with a standard smallbusiness phone system. We’re confident that our selected supplier can deliver the system we need and the benefits for our patients that we want to achieve.

We’re also in the process of planning some minor remodelling in the practice which will enable us to commit more resources to answering your calls quickly. This will in turn help us to make the practice a nicer place to visit, which is all aprt of our Health Care Home programme.

As you can imagine we’re looking forward to getting our new system in place, and we’re sure that many of you are too. You’ll know when it’s live if you call us due to new messaging and options, so please bear with us while the system beds in.