It’s no secret that the NHS is currently up against it.  We know – from our three decades working with GP surgeries across the country – that when the pressure ramps up, having a robust, versatile, modern communications system is so much more than a luxury, it’s an absolute necessity.  Both in maintaining the very best patient care as well as taking care of already heavily burdened staff.  

As winter approaches and seasonal illness is on the rise, surgeries will be dealing with a spike in demand for services as well as having to roll out annual vaccinations and perhaps juggle staff illness too. Is your existing phone system up to the job of helping you deal with all of that?  If not, it might be time to upgrade. A Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system is flexible, hard working, cheaper over time and much more reliable.  VoIP also comes with huge benefits to your team: 

Dedicated Phone Lines 

Your surgery is likely facing a whole host of enquiries from people seeking treatment and reassurance for more traditional illnesses and ailments as well as still dealing with the far reaching impact of COVID.  You can use the dedicated phone lines feature to set up specific numbers to deal with the most common ones so that patients feel they are cared for and are able to reach a specialist who can help quickly and easily.

Keep in Touch with Community Practitioners

It’s likely that practitioners will be heading out into the community this winter too.   VoIP handsets can be taken anywhere, plugged into a broadband router and will function just as a phone in the surgery would. Mobile phones can also be added to the network to provide additional options for keeping contact.  

Don’t Leave Patients Hanging

Auto-attendant is another invaluable VoIP feature which allows your system to identify the reason for incoming calls and divert calls to the most appropriate destination. The feature reduces wait times and frustration for callers, freeing up staff and reassuring callers that they are a priority.

Hunt Groups 

A hunt group will allow one incoming call to ring on multiple lines, giving a team of staff the option of answering and reducing pressure on a single teammate.  As well as helping a dispersed or busy team to field calls during a spike in demand, it is also a handy feature for surgeries to have in day to day practice to spread the workload amongst a team.

A VoIP system will help your surgery deal with the pressures of this winter and far far beyond. We know it’s difficult to commit to extra spend right now but a VoIP system can simplify and level up your surgery’s system and realise significant savings going forward. 

Contact the team at Equations on 01237 420010 for a no obligation chat.