SMARTvoice

How we answer your calls

When you ring the practice, your call is answered straight away by SMARTvoice, our telephone assistant. There’s no 8am queue and no engaged tone: however many people call at once, every call is answered in under a second.

SMARTvoice was built by our own GPs, the team behind this surgery, and designed around the way our practices actually work. It can take most everyday requests in one call: repeat prescriptions, sick notes, medication and pharmacy queries, test result questions, or a message for the practice team. Everything you ask for goes to our staff in writing, so nothing is lost or misheard, and for some requests, if you agree, we’ll text you a secure link to finish online in a tap.

To keep your records safe, SMARTvoice checks your identity using your phone number and a few security questions, so please call from the number registered with the practice.

If you’d rather speak to a person, just ask at any time. If nobody is free straight away, you’ll join the normal phone queue. If you describe symptoms that could be urgent, or tell us something that suggests you or someone else may be at risk, you’ll be given emergency advice or put through to a member of staff straight away.

SMARTvoice may also call you when a medication review or health check is due, so you can answer from home. If we miss you, it can call back at a time that suits you. A clinician at the practice reviews every answer.

A person at the practice always decides what happens next; SMARTvoice never makes decisions about your care. 

For life-threatening emergencies, call 999. For urgent advice when we’re closed, call NHS 111.