Are you fastidious about keeping a tidy notice board? What information do you promote? Do you laminate the posters? Are the posters all the same size? Do you print posters in colour?
Key Information
The ‘key’ information that you ought to promote in your waiting room (or better still at the entrance to your surgery) are the names of the doctors along with the opening hours and contact phone numbers for the surgery, in and out of hours. The information posted needs to be of a size that is readable and visible to normal sighted people. So there should be no need to provide a magnifying glass at the reception counter!
The Rules of Play
Looking around the waiting room you will probably have the following posters:
How to Complain?
If you are unhappy about the service we have provided, ask to speak to our Practice Manager
Join Our Patient Group
Give your details at Reception if you would like to join our Patient Participation Group
Private Fees
Ask at Reception for a copy of the fees we charge for non-NHS services
Change of Personal Details
Ask for a form at Reception to inform us of a change of name, address, telephone number or email address
Home Visits
If you need a home visit, please phone with your request before 10.30am, unless urgent
Requesting Prescriptions
Please ask for a repeat prescription at least two working days before you need it
Test Results
Tests Results are normally available two days after the sample has been taken. Ask for the results after 2pm.
Talking Privately
If you want to talk to a Receptionist in confidence, please ask to speak in private
Chaperone
If you need to have a chaperone present during your consultation, please tell the Reception Staff
Interpreter
Do you need an interpreter to help during your consultation? Please tell the Reception Staff
Zero Tolerance
Please treat our staff as you would expect be to treated yourself. Intolerable behaviour will not be accepted
Are you Waiting
If you have been waiting more than 20 minutes for your appointment, please speak to the Reception Staff. If you are more than 10 minutes late for your appointment, we are sorry but the doctor may not be able to see you.
Updating Messages and Removing Out of Date Messages
You may think of more ‘messages’ you need to get across to patients. There are some that may need to be regularly updated and short term messages that will need to be taken down after they have served their usefulness.
One example, of a recurring poster, is the one that reports the level of DNAs. It needs to be updated every month.
Short term posters might include the dates of Patient Group meetings or the date of a CQC Inspection. You may promote the flu campaign each year until you have run out of vaccines.
A few Tips
- An annoying feature of ‘posters’ I often spot is misspelling
- Make sure the poster is visible to read from two metres away
- Use PowerPoint to draft posters
See what other practice managers have in their waiting rooms by visiting our Resources Section.
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February 19, 2016 at 12:45 pm
Robert, well timed post, material is available in digital format.
Delivering practice information via digital signage, creates a dynamic and professional image and helps vastly increased service adoption rates. I would also add content on access to care choices and FFT results to the list, along with core health messaging such as for weight loss, diabetes etc.
Bob Marsh (Jayex)
March 11, 2016 at 9:34 am
Our PPG take responsibility and update our posters, We have markers for key infromation to ensure that its not removed, and find that moving the information around to different boards keeps it looking fresh, the same information is avialable just in a different place.
Life channel does not have much impact on our patients.
September 20, 2021 at 4:22 pm
Hi,
Thank you for all this great information.
Regarding laminating, we have mixed views on this in our Practice and one of our GP Partners has asked me to risk assess it….
Help please? 🙂
September 21, 2021 at 9:32 am
Hello Anita
There is little direction on this within the latest National Cleaning Standards 2021 nor a CQC GP Mythbuster, however having discussed the need with a friendly CQC inspector, he advised that he would always want to see laminated posters as they can be wiped.
That saying, if it is a larger than A3 poster this becomes a problem. In this instance, I would try and keep the size down, or refresh regularly.
Likewise there is not real mention of noticeboards within either Mythbuster or National Standard. With noticeboards these should either be able to be wiped clean, or if the fluffy variety, add these to your cleaning schedule.
Fluffy noticeboards: Drawing pins are permitted, although I personally use Velcro to stick to the back of the poster and the hooks attach to the board. Works a treat.
Wipeable noticeboards: I use magnetic discs.
As there is a potential IPC risk, I would strongly suggest that a risk assessment is conducted to highlight to all that could be interested that you have considered this and reduced any potential risk.
Please can I advise that I am updating the Cleaning Standards and Specification Policy and have now added the above considerations as a new section and have tweaked the Cleaning Specifications to include noticeboards so that these do not get forgotten.
I hope that this helps,
Mat
I hope that this helps.