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Practice team resources: Practice essentials

Passing the baton

Discussing teamwork and the handover in practice with optometrist and OT  clinical multimedia editor, Ceri Smith-Jaynes

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Ceri Smith-Jaynes

Ceri Smith-Jaynes

05 December 2019

The option of part-time working is one of the nice things about optometry, but in order to provide continuity for patients, good communication between all members of the practice team is crucial. The last thing a patient wants to hear is: “I’m sorry, I don’t know; I wasn’t in yesterday.”

So how do you let tomorrow’s staff know that Mrs Carter’s repair is delayed but you couldn’t get through to her on the phone? Some practices will leave a sticky note somewhere or write it on the record and put it in the drawer-of-random-things-to-do. Nonurgent tasks get put by for a quiet day – except it’s never a quiet day and, before you know it, those spectacles have remained uncollected for six months because the patient didn’t answer the first phone call. The more staff you have, the slicker the system needs to be.

A handover system

Whichever way you choose to do your handovers, ensure a clear system is in place. Your handover system should:

  • Be simple and intuitive
  • Be scheduled for every day
  • Identify the person who scheduled each task and who is to follow it through
  • Identify the date on which a task needs to happen
  • Comply with information governance and protect patient identifiable data
  • Be free from clutter and social matters.

Some practices will run WhatsApp groups, email threads, or electronic systems, but in the days of information overload it could be simpler to buy a day-per-page diary and write the task down.

Optometrists and dispensing opticians need to make it clear on the clinical record what was recommended, any advice given, what needs to happen next (for example, referral, dispensing, or return for further tests) and when the patient needs to be recalled for their next eye exam. A good record enables the reception team to handle any queries without having to interrupt the busy clinic to ask for clarification.

On top of tasks

How practices manage task handovers

Pen and paper

Day-per-page diary

Old school but simple. Write the task in the diary on the day it arises and again on the day by which it must be done. Initial it so everyone knows who wrote it and the person who completes it ticks it off and initials it again. Colour code anything very important and urgent in red.

Paperless working

Trello

A (mostly) free project management app, which can be accessed by desktop computer, iPad or smartphone. Trello is a visual tool, a bit like an electronic version of a white board covered in moveable sticky notes. Tasks are arranged into ‘cards’ containing checklists, which can be colour coded to help prioritise. By arranging the cards in columns, for example, 'to-do,' 'in progress,' and 'done,' you can see an overview of how well the team are doing.

If you like the idea of paperless project management, have a look at some other applications: Asana, Basecamp, Wunderlist, and Microsoft Teams. You could simply design an Excel spreadsheet and upload it to Google Docs so everyone can access it from anywhere. Just make sure you keep it simple and that the whole team understand how and when to use it.

Face-to-face

Team huddles

There’s nothing like face-to-face meetings for maximum impact but it can only work if members of staff overlap on the days they work. It’s a good idea to keep notes on who agreed to do what and by when, or everyone might assume a task is someone else’s problem or deny all knowledge.

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