A clinic receptionist notices a pattern. Most calls in the first hour are not about appointments at all. They are about opening hours, parking, which entrance to use and whether the clinic is open on the bank holiday. Each call is short. Together, they fill the morning.
Practical questions are the easiest to answer and the most repetitive. Answering them online frees reception for patients who need them.
The practical questions
- What are your opening hours?
- Are you open on bank holidays?
- Where exactly are you?
- Is there parking, and does it cost?
- Can I get there by public transport?
- Is there step-free access?
- Which entrance do I use?
- Where do I wait when I arrive?
These questions sit alongside the admin questions covered in clinic websites and the admin questions patients ask first.
Example conversations
These scripts use information a clinic might publish. Your answers should come from your own pages.
Patient: What time do you close on Fridays? Assistant: The clinic is open until 6pm on Fridays, as shown on the opening hours page.
Patient: Is there parking? Assistant: There's a small car park at the rear, with two accessible spaces by the entrance. The practical information page also lists a public car park a short walk away.
Patient: Which entrance do I use? Assistant: The main entrance is on the high street. If you need step-free access, the side entrance on Mill Lane has a ramp, as the practical information page explains.
Patient: Are you open on the bank holiday? Assistant: The holiday hours are listed on the opening hours page. If you need urgent care when the clinic is closed, please contact the appropriate urgent care service.
Spell out the route from car to consulting room
A patient using crutches after a knee injury wants to know exactly what lies between the car park and the treatment room: a kerb, a heavy door, a flight of stairs or a lift. Describe that route in a few plain sentences, including where the lift is and how wide the doorways are. It answers the question before it is asked and spares the patient an anxious call.
Hours that change with the season
Clinics often shorten hours in August, close between Christmas and New Year or run extra evening sessions in January. Each change creates a wave of "are you open?" questions. Put a dated notice at the top of the hours page for every change, and remove it once it has passed, so patients never read last month's arrangements.
First visits feel easier with clear directions
New patients are often nervous, and getting lost on the way in adds to it. A short "your first visit" section with a photo of the entrance, where to park, which floor to go to and what happens at reception helps them arrive calm and on time. Clinics that add this usually notice fewer late arrivals and fewer calls from patients standing outside wondering which door to use.
Borrowing from dental practices
Dental receptions field the same queries, as opening hours and parking questions for dental practices shows, and many have solved them with a single well-kept information page. Private clinics can copy the approach almost unchanged.
Same-day patients
Patients asking about same-day appointments often ask about location and parking in the same breath, because they are planning to come in soon. Same-day questions are covered in walk-in and same-day appointment questions.
The hours it saves
Each practical question takes a minute or two. Across a week, that adds up to hours of reception time. The general cost of repetitive questions is described in the hidden hours you lose to repetitive questions.
Answering at any hour
SpideyChat for private clinics answers practical questions from your own pages at any hour, in the patient's language, and captures appointment requests for the team.
A five-minute check
Hand your phone to someone who has never visited the clinic and ask them to find out how to get there by bus, where to park and which door to use. Note where they get stuck and fix those parts first. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about answers on the features page.