What to change
Describe the reply arrangements agreed by the practice in ordinary language and identify when the receiving team works. Only publish a target the practice has approved and can maintain.
A worked example
Illustrative example
A practice says its booking team handles enquiries during its published telephone hours and explains how its response target is counted. The automatic acknowledgement does not describe itself as the promised personal reply.
Put it into practice
Put the working days beside the response wording, and carry the same explanation into the receipt email. A reassuring message is one that helps people plan, rather than one that simply sounds quick.
If your opening hours change over a holiday, check whether the reply explanation needs a temporary note too. Someone sending a message then still needs a realistic expectation.
What to agree before publishing
Choose one real working pattern and ask reception to describe it as though replying to a first-time caller. If the practice counts only days when the booking team works, the website should explain those days instead of assuming everyone interprets “working day” alike. Then ask what a person should do once the expected time has passed. Put that contact route in the acknowledgement so patients can find it later without sending the same question again.
How to check the result
A visitor can work out when a response is expected and what to do if it does not arrive.
A mistake to avoid
Do not invent a precise service target to make the page reassuring when the team has not agreed to it.
Turn reading into a next step
Your action checklist
Work through these checks with your team or supplier. Tick the ones you have resolved and leave unknowns open.
Record what you know, what is still missing and the answer you need from your team or supplier.
Use project decisions only, without personal, patient or confidential details. Entries stay in this page and are not submitted to Kay & Co. Copy or download before leaving; this page does not save your notes.
Further reading
These sources provide background for the topic. The practice examples and checklist are illustrative planning suggestions from Kay & Co.
Related guides
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