A procedure booked into an ordinary slot
A patient rings to book a mole removal they discussed with the GP last week. Reception find a free slot with the same doctor on Thursday and book it. On Thursday, the doctor is in the small consulting room without a couch suitable for the procedure, the nurse who usually assists is on a different floor running bloods, and the patient has not seen the information sheet or consent form they were meant to read in advance.
The procedure goes ahead late, or is rebooked. Elsewhere in the week, a joint injection list has a gap because a cancellation was not backfilled, and a coil fitting is booked into a slot too short for the time the clinician needs.
Why procedures do not fit the diary
A consultation needs a doctor and a room. A procedure needs a doctor who performs it, a room with the right equipment, sometimes an assistant or chaperone, a longer slot, specific stock, and paperwork sent to the patient in advance. Most practice systems let you create an appointment type with a longer duration, but they do not check the rest.
The knowledge of what each procedure needs sits with the doctors and nurses who do them, and reception pick it up by experience. New reception staff have no way to know that one procedure needs the treatment room and another needs a nurse present.
Post-procedure admin is its own trail. Samples sent to the lab for analysis, follow-up appointments and aftercare information all depend on the procedure being recorded as a procedure, not as a normal appointment.
What mis-booked procedures cost
| Booking mistake | What happens on the day |
|---|---|
| Wrong room | Procedure delayed while rooms are swapped |
| No assistant | Procedure cannot start or is rebooked |
| Slot too short | The rest of the session runs late |
| Forms not sent | Consent conversation squeezed into the appointment |
| Stock not checked | Item missing when the patient is on the couch |
Procedures often carry a higher fee than a consultation, so a rebooked one is lost income as well as a disappointed patient.
How we make procedure bookings check themselves
- We record each procedure type with its requirements, as defined by your clinicians: which doctors perform it, the room or equipment, whether an assistant is needed, slot length and the information sent beforehand.
- When reception book a procedure, the booking tool only offers slots where all of those line up, reading doctor, room and nurse availability from your practice system.
- The patient is sent the pre-procedure information and forms your clinicians have written, with a reminder if forms need returning and have not been.
- The day before, a readiness check lists each procedure with any unmet requirement, such as a form not returned or the assistant now on leave, for someone to fix.
- After the procedure, any sample sent for analysis is logged so the result can be tracked back to it, and aftercare messages and follow-up bookings follow the rules for that procedure type.
Which procedure a patient needs, and whether it goes ahead on the day, is always the clinician's decision. The system only makes sure the practical conditions have been checked.
A procedure list that runs on time
Reception can book procedures confidently without memorising each one's needs. Doctors walk into a room that is set up, with an assistant present and a patient who has read the information. The day-before check catches most problems while there is still time to solve them.
The practice manager can also see how procedure lists are used, which ones leave gaps and which have waiting lists, and plan sessions around that rather than around habit.
Does this happen on your procedure days?
- Procedures are booked into normal consultation slots
- Rooms are swapped on the day because the right one was not booked
- An assistant or chaperone has been missing when needed
- Patients arrive not having seen the pre-procedure information
- Only experienced receptionists know what each procedure needs