Websites & patient experience · Practical guide

Explain arrival outside the building's usual hours

An evening appointment is confirmed, but the building's main door is locked after normal reception hours. The public opening-hours statement makes the patient doubt the booking. An evening appointment can be confusing if the building's main sign says it is closed. Explain the confirmed entrance and contact arrangement for those appointments.

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What to change

Describe the agreed arrival arrangement for appointments outside public reception hours. Separate appointment availability from building access and telephone opening hours.

A worked example

Illustrative example

An evening consultation page explains that patients with confirmed appointments use the named side entrance and follow the arrival instructions supplied with their booking. The daytime reception hours remain clearly labelled.

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Make the service and next step clear on every screen.
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Put it into practice

Ask staff to try the route at the relevant time, since daytime access may use different doors. The booking message should contain the same instructions. Patients should not have to decide whether the closed sign means their appointment has been cancelled.

Identify the relevant appointment times clearly so daytime visitors do not follow evening instructions unnecessarily. The page should help each group recognise the route intended for their visit.

What to agree before publishing

Check the actual entrance and contact arrangement at the times those appointments occur. The main door may be locked while an agreed alternative remains available. Explain which patients should follow the alternative instructions so daytime visitors do not use them unnecessarily. Include the same details in the relevant confirmation. A person seeing a closed building sign needs to know how that relates to their appointment, without being left to infer that a public opening time automatically cancels an individually arranged visit.

How to check the result

A visitor with an evening appointment understands how access differs without assuming they can walk in at any time.

A mistake to avoid

Do not publish internal access codes or promise an unlocked entrance unless that is the practice's verified public arrangement.

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.

Checks to discuss

Record what you know, what is still missing and the answer you need from your team or supplier.

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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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