Raigmore reception

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Book in at hospital's new centralised arrivals desk

PATIENTS attending the Outpatients Department at Raigmore Hospital this week will have noticed a change to the way they book into their clinic.
All patients attending clinics one, two and five are now being asked to report to a centralised arrivals desk in the Outpatient Entrance to have their registration details checked and booked in on the system as part of a Highland Quality Approach initiative that started on Monday (01 April).
Mairi Fraser, senior staff nurse in the outpatients department at Raigmore Hospital explained that the changes will result in a more streamlined way for patients to book into clinics meaning they are less likely to be running late and the patient experience will be greatly improved.
She said: “Outpatients is one of the busiest departments within the hospital with 3000 of patients attending each month to approximately 200 different clinics across thirteen different locations.
“Surveys done last summer by the hospital’s Patients Council demonstrated that patients had concerns about confidentiality when giving their details to reception with so many people sitting nearby in waiting areas. They also showed there were frequently no seats within waiting areas, the clinical corridors were very busy and there was a lot of noise.”
A number of planning days were carried out with staff to see how things could be improved for both patients and staff working in the area and it was agreed to pilot a central reception for clinics one, two and five.
Mrs Fraser said: “By moving the reception out of the clinical area our patients can now book into the clinics in a more suitable environment before being shown to the clinical waiting area.
“Waiting areas are now quieter, clinics are running smoother and the experience for both our patients and staff has improved.”
Mrs Fraser explained that patient, consultant and nursing staff feedback would be taken every day for the next few weeks to see how the pilot is going.
She said: “So far this week 83% of patients are now reporting a good to excellent experience compared to 62% last summer.
“While we are happy that more people are experiencing better customer care we want to push that figure up and will continue to work with our patients and staff to improve the service.”
Dr Rod Harvey, Associate Medical Director at Raigmore Hospital, is pleased with how well the pilot project has started and the increase in patient satisfaction.
He said: “It is a new system which we will all need to get used to but initial reports show that the majority of people are happy with it and I hope that continues. However we would look for support from our patients to help us ensure that this runs as smoothly as possible.
“This new system affects clinics one, two and five only. Can I remind patients to bring their clinic letters with them telling them which clinic they need to go to so that they are clear about which reception desk to book in at to make their journey as smooth as possible.
“In particular patients who have been to the clinic before should be aware of the new system as when attending the clinic as they may need to stop at the centralised reception on arrival instead of going straight to the clinic waiting area which they will have done previously.
“We would like to thank our patients and staff for their continued support as we look to improve the smooth running of our outpatients department.”