Case Study

How Alnwick Medical Group Connected Four Rural Surgeries on One Cloud Phone System

Alnwick Medical Group

Overview

Alnwick Medical Group is a seven-partner practice formed in 2017 from the merger of The Bondgate Practice and Infirmary Drive Medical Group. It serves a large rural area of Northumberland, from Bamburgh in the north to Warkworth in the south, and west to villages such as Glanton and Powburn.

The group operates from its main sites in Alnwick and branch surgeries at Embleton, Longhoughton and Seahouses, and is committed to making it as easy as possible for patients to get in touch.

The Challenge

The surgeries were already on cloud phone systems, but weren't getting the full benefit from their previous supplier and were missing out on valuable features.

The group wanted unlimited lines, better management of busy periods, shorter waits and clear information for patients while they waited. Staff also needed to be able to work remotely, not just because of the pandemic, but because bad weather in rural Northumberland can make getting to the surgery difficult.

It was important that we could advise our patients and keep them as well informed as possible throughout the call.

Tony Brown, Managing Partner, Alnwick Medical Group

The Solution

After reviewing a number of providers, the group chose Smart IT.

Smart IT have extensive experience working with GP practices. Darryl had a clear understanding of our challenges and made some excellent recommendations. I knew from our first meeting that they would become our preferred partners.

Tony Brown, Managing Partner, Alnwick Medical Group

We moved every site onto a single cloud phone system designed for healthcare. Each practice keeps its independence while gaining the benefits of working at scale:

Unlimited lines, so GPs can carry out triage while staff still make outgoing calls
Efficient call queueing so patients can get through easily
Short dialling and call transfers between sites and to staff working remotely
Remote working with no impact on the patient experience

To avoid disruption, we carried out all setup and configuration at our Gateshead head office, then brought each site online one at a time.

Customer Feedback

We now have the reporting functionality to understand our patients’ call journeys, ascertaining where our calls are going and how we can most efficiently deal with them. The comprehensive reporting allows me to make informed decisions on both the allocation of resources and call queues.

Tony Brown, Managing Partner, Alnwick Medical Group

The Result

The switchover was seamless, with no downtime, which was crucial for a GP practice.

Working with the group, we set up detailed call reporting. The practice manager can now see live calls in the queue and busy periods by the half hour, and use that insight to plan staffing and deliver the best possible patient experience.

The switchover from the old system to the new cloud solution was seamless and we experienced no downtime, which was very crucial for us being a GP surgery.

Tony Brown, Managing Partner, Alnwick Medical Group