"Attending Women's Outpatients"

The appointments were running over an hour late and it was still morning. I had another appointment the same day 25 miles away and was beginning to get anxious. There seemed to be only 1 doctor working with the backlog and only 1 member of staff weighing and measuring so they must have been feeling some pressure. However, the staff were so great, it was worth the wait to be treated as I was.

The person who checked my details was rather unsmiling, poor eye contact, a little unwelcoming but the staff beyond that point were fantastic. There was no excessive formality, their manner was relaxed, friendly, upbeat and made me feel safe and at ease. They seemed genuinely pleased to work with patients. It almost doesn't matter if it was genuine; if patients can be made to feel this positive, the whole experience becomes calm and productive with good communication and relationships. This climate is essential for effective patient care, especially when appointments are running late.

I also work in a profession where good relationships are key. When their importance and impact is often completely underestimated, the medical staff at my appointment in Grantham excelled. The car parking cost by the end had far exceeded the change I had and, again, the staff at A &E exit were really helpful. It was a mini master class in how to treat service users.