Reception staff at Norwich’s St Stephens Gate medical practice have been nominated for a national award. The team are in line for a nationwide award at the prestigious General Practice Awards as reception team of the year.

Judges have praised the ability of the team to both help patients find the best appointments they can and the way the team support clinicians at the practice.

Kelly Lewis, Patient Services and Resources Manager, said: “In the last year the team have handled more than 50,000 calls and 40,000 online forms while offering a whole variety of appointment types. 

At the same time, hundreds of patients come through our doors every day, even at the height of Covid-19, so we have never been busier.

Our passion is to make sure our patients get the best possible service we can offer and to work with the clinicians to help them with their workload, too.”

The team are a mix of generations and genders with some serving the NHS over a long period, and others having joined from different backgrounds such as retail.

Kelly added: “The mix of people we have is really a key strength. We are always trying our best and new ideas mixed with traditional values really drives us.”

The Patient Services team also include Care Navigators who offer proactive calls to a number of vulnerable patients as well as contacting patients who have been discharged from hospital to help explain what they can expect to happen next.

The award citation also mentioned hands-on help for clinicians during same-day triage, and undertaking work such as follow-up calls to free up clinical staff to take on more appointments.

Dr Tess Cafferty said: “We get so many compliments about our lovely staff that it is great to see they have been acknowledged for a national award. We are proud, but not surprised. They really help us make a different to our patients.”

The team will find out if they have won at a prestigious ceremony in London on December 10.

 More information on the awards