What does customer service have to do with healthcare? Everything actually! And I am
going explain what customer service means to us at the VeinCare Centre.
Unlike many businesses, we don’t have a physical product that you can walk out with
in a bag. You can’t buy what we do online and download it - or have it delivered. Everything
we do is about service. In relation to healthcare it means service provided by knowledgeable
and well-trained staff, who can answer your questions, give you the information you need
and who know what they are doing when you have treatment. It means providing help and
information quickly and in detail, whether your initial contact is by telephone, email
or via our website. So for example, we will spend quite a bit of effort and time dealing
with requests for information from people all around the world, even when there is no
prospect of treating that person. We are happy to provide information whenver possible without
making a “sale”.
To us it also means listening to our patients. We want to understand their needs and concerns.
We want to know what outcome they expect from our treatment. We will aim to meet and exceed
these expectations. But we are healthcare professionals, not sales' people, so when
in our opinion a medical intervention cannot meet expectations, we will say so. We have
a duty to be honest and open in all our dealings with our patients. We provide a medical opinion
and we regard our patients as equals in the decision-making process. We explain all options,
including that of no treatment.
We know that our patients have a choice about where they go to have their vein treatment.
We regard it a privilege that our patients put their trust in us and allow us to operate
on them. After all, we are complete strangers until the first consultation. We value that
trust given to us and in return, we are courteous and respectful and we do everything we can
to be worthy of that trust.
Customer service also means “going the extra mile” . We will provide extra treatments
and appointments at no extra fee if they are needed. We will do our best to accommodate
urgent requests for treatment. Only last month, a patient had very severe and painful varicose
eczema and our team volunteered to miss their lunch break and to stay late so that this
patient could have treatment more quickly than scheduled in order to avoid developing
an ulcer.
My wife Jane and I are the directors of the VeinCare Centre and we are proud to have such
a great team who provide excellent customer service. Some call it customer service, some
in healthcare called it person-centred care, we call it our mission statement which is
“to deliver excellence in healthcare and to put our patients at the centre of all that
we do”. Our Veincare team does this by being genuinely interested in each patient, by caring
about what they do in the clinic and by looking after the safety of our patient with pride.
Customer service in healthcare is everything. So how do we know we are delivering good customer
service. Well, we regularly ask our patients to leave feedback. Here’s a review we received
on Google - 2 months ago : “As a recent patient of the Melbury Clinic I would like
to say that it has outstanding customer service. The website was fully informative and gave
me a comprehensive understanding of the services offered by the Clinic. Every member of staff
was communicative warm and helpful. The doctor explained all the benefits and risks associated
with the procedure and I felt trust and confidence in his practice. During a fairly long operation
the staff remained concerned and focussed on my general well-being and I felt that they
were highly competent. I was sent written confirmation of all appointments and copies
of letters sent to my GP. I was encouraged to contact the Centre if I needed any assistance
and I felt very able to do this if the need arose. The premises were well signposted from
the main road and there was plenty of parking. The Clinic was spotless and I was offered
refreshments as soon as I arrived. As an ex-health professional I was very impressed by all aspects
of the Clinic.” And here’s another on the most trusted healthcare review site, IWantGreatCare,
“The Melbury Clinic really does achieve its mission statement.” There are nearly
200 reviews on this site and on google that provide clear evidence of great customer service
and some of our patients are so pleased, they agree to say so in front of a camera.
I'd had... my right leg had a varicose vein on it since my 20's and it had got progressively
worse, particularly having had children and I just got fed up with it really. It was getting
painful and it just looked unsightly. I didn't want to wear a skirt or shorts. So, I decided
to see what treatment there was available. Mr Gajraj scanned my leg and showed me that
there was reflux in my vein and that was causing the swelling and the pain. The swelling where
the veins were went down quite quickly. I had a little bit of bruising but otherwise
the pain went and a lot of the swelling went, straight away, really. It has made a big difference
to me, because it means I feel confident to wear shorts and I am doing more exercise than
I was, and so, it has motivated me really to get fitter and to wear shorts and, of course,
my legs just look better. I feel better, because they look better.
So, great customer service and person-centred care are at the heart of what we aim for.
When treating veins, we put our patients at the centre of everything we do.