Just the tonic for customer service
Posted on March 17th, 2008
Treating patients as customers is all in a day’s work at Brinnington Health Centre in Stockport.
Manager Paul Ansbro, responding to changes in general medical practice culture, encourages non clinical staff to undertake continuous professional development and is delighted that receptionist Sharon Williams recently gained an NVQ in Customer Service.
‘This is a time when medical practice is moving into new areas and customer service is very important,’ he said. ‘General practice has not always seen patients as customers and it is a new thing for receptionists to see them that way.
Sharon, who works full time at the health centre, was also keen to achieve a relevant qualification and improve her ability to do her job. She studied for two days at Stockport learndirect centre, which is provided by Business Advice Direct, and the rest of her learning was undertaken at work with the full support of her employer.
‘The course made me think more about my role and more aware of what patients need,’ she said. ‘It has been very helpful in my day to day work and enabled me to improve the way I undertake certain aspects of the job.’
She added: ‘It was really good to get a qualification and I was lucky because my manager was very supportive and actively encouraged me to train while at work. I feel that it has been very worthwhile.’
Paul was also very pleased with the training and said: ‘I feel most definitely that the NVQ training has been beneficial and helped Sharon to do her work even better. She is a very good member of staff anyway, but the training has made her appreciate fully how patients feel. She really understands their needs and deals with them exceptionally well.’
Paul continues to encourage his non clinical staff to undertake NVQ training to help them perform their jobs to the best of their ability.
He said ‘We are very keen for staff to continue their professional achievements as the GPs and nurses continue to do throughout their career.’
