Case Study

How Cestria Healthcare Centre Moved to Cloud Telephony to Support Triage

Cestria Healthcare Centre

Overview

Cestria Healthcare Centre is a GP practice rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission. As well as everything you would expect from a GP surgery, it offers a range of specialist clinics, and prides itself on treating every patient with compassion, dignity and respect.

The Challenge

Cestria was running a legacy analogue phone system on outdated cabling. It lacked modern features, and struggled when call volumes peaked.

When the pandemic hit, the practice had to move quickly to a triage model. That drove up call costs and put pressure on the limited number of lines, with more patients calling in and staff needing lines to call patients back. Remote working became essential, and the practice had no visibility of how many calls it was handling.

We were looking for more flexibility, a system that would allow us to easily keep our patients informed with updated messages. We lacked the key data needed to measure and assess call handling performance to improve the patient experience.

Denise Minnis, Practice Manager, Cestria Health Centre

The Solution

Darryl, our telecoms sales manager, met the practice manager to understand Cestria's requirements and future plans, and recommended a cloud phone system designed around the needs of GP practices.

Upgraded the cabling to support IP handsets
Gave every member of staff their own line, so there is always a line available for triage
Included all local, national and mobile calls, cutting call costs
Provided a mobile app that turns a mobile or laptop into an office phone for remote working
Set up a real-time portal so the practice manager can update messages, manage call queues and add call handlers instantly
Enabled full reporting on inbound and outbound calls

Customer Feedback

Patient feedback tells us they are very happy with the changes, as they get a response, even if it is just to tell them they are held in a call queue. We can change the messaging too, depending on which campaign we are running, which previously wasn’t the case. Staff also find the system intuitive and easy to use.

Denise Minnis, Practice Manager, Cestria Health Centre

The Result

Cestria now has a flexible, future-proof phone system that supports triage, remote working and business continuity. Patients hear where they are in the queue, messages can be changed to suit each day or campaign, and staff find the system intuitive.

Call costs have fallen, and the practice has the data it needs to plan resources and improve performance. Its sister practice, Coxhoe Medical, runs on the same system.

An immediate benefit was the number of lines. We can all dial out at any time and patients can still ring in. This was so important for the practice to successfully carry out triage.

Denise Minnis, Practice Manager, Cestria Health Centre