Signposting, Prioritisation and Telephone Communication Training by Telelearning

GP Receptionist Training:

Signposting, Prioritisation and Telephone Communication

Specialist telephone training for GP receptionists and other first point of contact non-clinical staff

Training overview: Our GP receptionist training programme will provide delegates with the skills and understanding required to probe, signpost and prioritise by communicating effectively.

The benefits of GP receptionist training

The role of the receptionist is more important than ever before. Having changed dramatically in today’s increasingly demanding General Practice environments, they are no longer ‘appointment clerks’ when dealing with calls at the front desk.

Many receptionists and non-clinical staff are now asked to help manage some of the demands for appointments with clinicians. This means ensuring only those patients that need to be seen are given the appointments or call backs arranged and by the correct clinician, at the correct time from a clinical safety point.

To achieve this, receptionists must have the ability and skills needed to communicate effectively on the telephone. By finding out the right information when initially handling the call by probing, the receptionist will then be able to signpost and prioritise care.

As a result, ensuring receptionists have the skills they need through effective training is vital.

This course at a glance


Learning time: 3.5 hours

Suitable for: Non-clinical staff, primarily doctor's receptionists

Signposting, Prioritisation and Telephone Communication Training Programme 

  • Telephone interactions – the purpose of probing
  • What signposting really means and why it is an important part of the work of a doctor's receptionist
  • The benefits and risks of working on the phone
  • The differences between face-to-face and telephone communications
  • The importance of good communication skills
  • How to overcome barriers to communication
  • Understand what is really meant by active listening
  • What makes someone a difficult caller?
  • How do you manage difficult callers?
  • Good practice when taking a call
  • The importance of prioritisation and signposting skills (including managing emergencies where requested)
  • Summary and closure
doctors receptionist training

What is covered by the training programme

GP receptionist training gives non-clinical staff the communication skills to probe, signpost and prioritise.

Developing communication skills

Our training programme will give receptionists and other non-clinical staff the ability and skills they need to communicate effectively on the phone. This will involve building rapport, trust and confidence, linked with an ability to sympathise and understand the context for the patient.

Delegates will learn to use these communication skills to ensure callers are satisfied with the solution they offer, to arrive at a mutually agreeable outcome. This may include signposting outside the service or a non-clinical member of staff managing the patient's request.

Delivering excellent customer care

Good customer care skills are increasingly recognised as being of critical importance amongst GP receptionists and all patient-facing staff, especially when it comes to dealing with difficult or demanding callers.

During the training, delegates will learn how to communicate effectively, how to provide excellent customer service, and how to deal with difficult, demanding, or frequent patients.

How the GP receptionist training programme is delivered

The Signposting, Prioritisation and Telephone Communication session will be delivered inhouse and will include experiential learning through participative activities to demonstrate how and when to use the skills and strategies discussed, group exercises and discussion.

*Please note we do not use role play, as this has been found to be too unsettling for staff who are not used to this method of training.

If you would like to find out more about our GP receptionist training please fill in the enquiry form below and we will be in touch.

Learning outcomes of this course


  • Understand the importance of ‘probing’
  • Understand what signposting really means and how to help prioritise
  • Understand the differences between face-to-face and telephone communication
  • Understand what is needed for effective communication over the phone
  • How to identify and overcome some of the barriers to communication
  • Understand what active listening is and what this can achieve
  • Learn how to identify different behaviours and how to manage them
  • Understand best practice in a call process
  • How to manage an emergency

Signposting, Prioritisation and Telephone Communication Training Enquiry

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