Balmoral Surgery

20/10/2026

📞 An update on our new virtual receptionist, Emma!

Emma has already answered over 1,000 calls since joining our practice! 🎉

Although there have been a few teething problems, we are in regular contact with our supplier to work through these, and we are pleased with how things are going so far.

We’d like to thank our patients for their patience and support as we introduce this new way of contacting the practice. ❤️

We also wanted to explain why we have made this change.

💬 Why have we introduced Emma?

📞 1. Improving telephone access

For the past few years, our patients have rated our telephone access as “poor” in the National Patient Survey. We want to improve this. Even with additional reception staff, there will always be times when everyone is busy on the phone. Emma can answer multiple calls at the same time, helping more patients get through without having to wait for a receptionist to become available.

💙 2. Supporting our Care Navigators

Our Care Navigators work incredibly hard in a busy and demanding environment. Feedback from the National Patient Survey has also highlighted areas where we would like to improve patient satisfaction with our reception team. We hope Emma will help ease some of the pressure on our Care Navigators, giving them more time to support patients and helping to create a better experience for both patients and staff.

👥 3. Filling a staffing vacancy

We have made three attempts to recruit to a vacant Care Navigator position but, unfortunately, have been unsuccessful. The vacancy has remained open for several months, and introducing Emma is one way we are working to manage demand while continuing to support our existing team.

We understand that any change to the way you contact your GP practice can take some getting used to, and we appreciate that Emma may not be everyone's preferred option initially.

However, we have introduced Emma with two important aims: to make it easier for patients to contact us and to reduce the pressure on our hardworking team.

Thank you for bearing with us as we continue to make improvements. Your patience and feedback are appreciated as we work to make the experience better for everyone. 💙

15/10/2026

Introducing Emma, Our Virtual Receptionist

In response to ongoing patient feedback regarding telephone access, we are pleased to introduce Emma, our virtual receptionist, who will be answering all incoming calls during our opening hours from today.

We recognise that there may be some teething problems as we introduce this new service. Please be assured that we are working closely with the company involved to address any issues that arise and to improve the service wherever possible.

We welcome your feedback and have a feedback form available at reception for anyone who would like to share their thoughts or experiences.

Thank you for your patience, understanding and continued support as we work to improve access to our telephone service.

03/10/2026

💉 350 flu jabs given this morning! 🎉

A huge well done to our fantastic team for making it happen, and a big thank you to all our patients for supporting your practice.

If you’re eligible for a flu vaccination, we still have appointments available. Please contact the surgery during our opening hours to book your appointment.

Thank you for helping us keep our community protected this flu season! 💙

23/09/2026

Sincere apologies to any of our patients who have been trying to call the surgery this afternoon. We are half day closing today and our phones should have switched over to the out of hours service at 1pm but this didn’t happen. This has now been rectified. Once again we are very sorry if you have been trying to call. We will be open as normal tomorrow at 8am.

03/09/2026

Meet EMMA - Our new virtual Care Navigator - Starting from 28th September

We all know how it goes. It’s 8am. You’re trying to get through to the surgery. You’re hitting redial, waiting on hold, and meanwhile the school run is calling, or you’re already late for work. By the time you get through, you’re frazzled — and so is the person on the other end.

Our reception team works incredibly hard. But they’re managing the phones, the front desk, appointments and admin, all at the same time. And the honest truth is that there simply aren’t enough hours in the day for every call to be answered the moment it comes in.

That’s why we’re doing something about it.

From 28th September, when you call Balmoral Surgery, you’ll be greeted by Emma - our new AI phone assistant. Emma picks up straight away. No queue. No hold music. You just tell her why you’re calling, and she takes it from there.

Emma will ask a few simple questions to make sure she has everything the surgery needs. Then your details go straight to the right person here — a clinician or a receptionist — who reviews your request and gets back to you. Because they already have all the information in front of them, things tend to move faster.

To find out more information, please visit our website www.balmoralsurgery.co.uk

02/09/2026

We are now booking appointments for 'flu and Covid vaccinations. Please call to book an appointment, if you are eligible.

Thank you for supporting your practice.

03/08/2026

📢 Protected Learning Time (PLT) – Surgery Closure Notice

Please be aware that the surgery will be closed from 1:00pm on the following dates to allow our team to take part in Protected Learning Time (PLT) training:

📅 Thursday 20 August
📅 Wednesday 23 September

During these afternoons, our team will be undertaking essential training to help us continue providing the highest standard of care for our patients.

If you need urgent medical assistance while we are closed, please follow the instructions on our telephone message or contact NHS 111. In a medical emergency, always dial 999.

28/07/2026

We are currently experiencing network issues that may affect some of our services and access to certain systems. You may experience a longer wait on our telephone lines than usual. Our team is working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.

We apologise for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience and understanding while we work through this issue.

We will provide an update as soon as everything is back to normal. Thank you for your continued support.

08/07/2026

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/beat-the-heat-hot-weather-advice/beat-the-heat-staying-safe-in-hot-weather

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09/06/2026

Our summer newsletter is now available to view on our website.