Vesper Road and Morris Lane are NHS Doctors’ surgeries in Leeds operating as a joint practice, but situated in separate locations across town. Having two locations with separate telephone systems, made collaboration difficult. An update was crucial, not only to improve operations, but also in order to comply with legal regulations. 3CX partner, The Technology Group, demonstrated just how beneficial 3CX and all of its UC features could be, and soon enough, the surgeries had made their decision.
THE CHALLENGE
Liaising between the separate locations was proving difficult. The surgeries were in need of a unified communications (UC) solution that would accommodate their telecoms requirements, while integrating a shared phone system.
What’s more, with their outdated system, each feature was charged as a bolt. This in turn was accumulating costs for them each time they used features such as voice recordings. From a legal perspective the surgery is contractually obliged to record calls, so they were forced to pay each time this essential feature was used.
The surgeries were looking to update their outdated proprietary system with a UC solution to improve workflow productivity and slash costs. Initially they were apprehensive about investing in a UC for a small business and had decided not to commit to a new solution, believing that it would be too costly and difficult to implement. 3CX Partner, The Technology Group, stepped in and proved otherwise.
THE SOLUTION
With 3CX’s softphones, deskphones, and mobile clients, staff were able to improve responsiveness, by always being contactable via their extension. The mobile client also acts as a handset and has enabled senior patients to stay connected outside of the surgery when at home or away using the same number.
Automatic call recording has helped as a reference for queries and complaints whilst complying with the surgeries legal obligation to record calls. The new secure system allows them to instantly find recordings through simple filtering, saving valuable time searching for the desired file.
Call routing has facilitated communication between the surgeries and they are now able to respond to calls more efficiently during peak periods, thus reducing patient waiting time. To help manage calls, staff also use their softphone client to easily transfer calls via drag and drop capabilities. The call reporting function also helps provide vital management insight into response rates and abandoned calls, allowing resource issues to be identified.
To manage opening hours, the surgery has set up automated time profiles. Now, when patients ring the main number out of hours, the call is automatically diverted to the out of hour’s service information, helping them to get the support they need, quickly.
SMOOTH IMPLEMENTATION, RELIABLE SERVICE, AND SEAMLESS OPERATIONS
Vesper Road and Morris Lane surgeries have managed to save 18% as a commercial comparison, upgrading to a new solution with key required features now included. Their customer service, for patients especially, has vastly improved. Patients can perceive the two surgeries as one entity, which in turn is positive for the future of the surgeries as the newly integrated platform utilizes one phone number for both surgeries, unifying locations and streamline incoming calls.
