Overview
A busy practice serving 10,000 patients with a dedicated team of 20-25 staff in Harrow, North-West London ICB, Bacon Lane Surgery needed a more efficient and transparent phone system to improve patient access. Lacking visibility into patient demand, the practice suffered operational inefficiencies and long patient wait times. By partnering with X-on Health and implementing Surgery Connect, the practice transformed its approach to patient communications.
The challenge
With no ability to track call volumes or queue times, the practice faced significant barriers to managing patient access effectively. Patients experienced long waits and staff had no clear oversight of demand, making it difficult to allocate resources efficiently. The practice needed a solution that would provide real-time data insights, streamline workflows and improve service delivery.
The solution
Bacon Lane Surgery chose Surgery Connect for its healthcare-specific functionality, transparent pricing and intuitive user experience. Some of the key features Surgery Connect introduced were:
- Call queue automation to manage patient flow and reduce waiting times
- Call recording for additional security and further analysis where necessary
- Wallboard visibility to help staff monitor demand and adjust resources dynamically
- Monthly reporting to enable data-driven improvements
Early results & impact
X-on Health worked closely with Bacon Lane Surgery to ensure a smooth implementation, with engineers handling installation and providing hands-on support for minimal service disruption. Once live, Surgery Connect data empowered the practice to optimise services and make changes internally to become a more digital-first practice. Bacon Lane Surgery’s proactive approach and willingness to embrace new technology played a key role in making the deployment a success.
“I like that it’s constantly improving and is intuitive to use from a user experience – you don’t have to be very technical to understand it”
The Surgery Connect system quickly delivered measurable improvements:
- Queue times reduced from over an hour to 30 seconds on average, significantly improving patient experience and satisfaction as well as overall confidence in patient access.
- 98% of calls are answered, allowing the practice to better manage demand and staffing rotas
- Call recording has proven invaluable for training, dispute resolution and service quality monitoring
- Customised reporting supports monthly performance reviews, helping the team align on service improvements
“I have found the new phone system very efficient with a virtually immediate primary response followed by intelligent assessment of my clinical needs. From anecdotal contact with my fellow patients, my experience seems to be similar to many others” PPG Member
Looking ahead
Now four years into using Surgery Connect, the practice continues to refine its patient access strategy. Features like personalised call routing are being explored to enhance continuity of care for vulnerable patients. With Surgery Connect’s scalability, Bacon Lane Surgery is well-positioned to adapt as patient needs evolve.
Summary
Working together, X-on Health and Bacon Lane Surgery have created a smarter, more accessible patient communication system that meets the demands of modern healthcare.
Bacon Lane Surgery Contact Details
Website – https://baconlanesurgery.co.uk/
Email – nhsnwl.baconlanepracticemanagement@nhs.net
Address – 11 Bacon Lane, Edgware, HA8 5AT