The little things that get patients worried

Yesterday morning I took my son to my gym to use the swimming pool, my son currently has a fascination with clocks. So as we were changing he pointed out the clock in the changing room. It was 09:30 but the clock displayed 10:30. An hour later as we left the clock still had not been changed.

I had like many others, changed the time of all of our house clocks and my car by 8am. I have to have the right time displayed.

This morning I went to the gym and the clock in the changing room still had not been changed, nor had any other of the clocks around the gym. The digital clock on display in areas had been changed, but it was probably linked to a server and updated automatically.

On Saturday at the gym the wipes for cleaning machinery were out, they were still out this morning.

This tells me that no-one checks a thing in this gym, no-one is responsible for setting standards and checking things, that then leads me to think that no-one probably cleans the place! I wouldn’t know 100% about that as I have only been there two months, and as I go early have never seen a staff member on the gym floor, they are all at the desk moaning every morning (a blog for another time).

So if right now in your practice you haven’t changed your clocks, I can honestly say that your patients’ will start to wonder what else might be wrong, what else are you not doing? Imagine if Big Ben did not have the correct time displayed, it might make front page news.

It is the little things that set patients’ off:

1. Instruments out ready for use when they enter the room
2. Gloves already on
3. Loops being worn with no explanation of their USP

No patient wants to think that the instruments have been used on the patient before them, the same gloves are being worn and the hands have not been washed, and finally that the clinician hasn’t got good eye sight.

Show off your excellence and communicate it well, don’t let a little thing such as the time being wrong put concerns into peoples minds.

And finally to add I have complained about the wipes on my way out but not the clocks, I am waiting to see what will happen there.

Laura