The Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, saves staff time with CST MediCall pagers

The Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) team at Freeman Hospital, Newcastle Upon Tyne, appreciates the advantages of their MediCall paging system. It eases staff workload and patients are more relaxed and attend their appointments on time. Patients often compliment the department on its quality of care and service and the department prides itself on being the most advanced and efficient ENT Department in the North East.

The Outpatients Department has four separate sections and it used to be quite common to ‘lose’ patients who might be in the wrong area.  Many needed to be sought for their appointments and as a result, patients often became stressed when they learned they were late for their sessions.

Implementing the Call Systems Technology (CST) MediCall paging system has changed all of this and delivered other improvements too, both for staff and patients.

“It didn’t take long for ENT staff to engage with the system,” comments Tom Davison, Head of Audiology.   “Once installed, it soon proved itself.”

Tom Davison was the instigator behind the system. He had been impressed by a CST pager he was given at a TGI Friday restaurant and how it improved customers’ experience and saved staff time. He thought that the same benefits might accrue at the ENT Department and he therefore contacted CST.

“Patients now present themselves for their appointments and are far more relaxed, which makes their appointments more effective. This saves staff time too,” says Tom Davison.

The ENT Department is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in case of emergencies, and caters for adults and children.

For hearing impaired patients, the system has another benefit.  Before, patients needed to listen carefully for their names to be called aloud. Now there is no need to worry, as the MediCall pager they are handed at the main reception vibrates and flashes to tell them when it is their time, so they can relax with a coffee, use the hospital audio loop and watch TV, or go somewhere else to wait. 

The ENT Department now has three systems installed and 80 pagers. The systems have eased congestion and improved the flow of patients through the department. Staff members recognise their value in the comparative ease with which the department now runs compared to how it operated previously.

And the systems are popular with the patients too, as they are very simple to use and take away the worry of missing an appointment.

Juliet Patten, Health Systems specialist at CST, comments, “Hospital outpatient departments are often daunting places for visitors but CST has found that handing patients a MediCall pager makes it less so. Patients feel trusted and more in control which makes them relax; it also helps reduce staff stress.”

For details freephone Call Systems Technology on 0800 389 5642 or 020 8381 1338, email the company at solutions@call-systems.com or visit the website: www.call.systems.com/healthcare