Focus on

A commitment to improving the patient experience coupled with the importance of communicating this goal to staff and stakeholders in a structured way led Pennine MSK Partnership Team to achieving the Customer Service Excellence (CSE) Standard.

As a flagship service providing specialist rheumatology, orthopaedics and chronic pain services to the people of Oldham, high standards of customer service are essential to the Pennine MSK team. “Our customer base ranges from the patients themselves to our partners and staff,” says Anne Browne, PMSKP Partner and Nurse Consultant, Rheumatology.

“Plus we have 21 seconded and contracted specialists such as podiatrists, physiatrists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists – all working across the Oldham area.”

With such a diverse and dispersed range of customers to communicate with, the team felt the need for a common standard for excellent patient care that everyone could understand, and which could be quickly communicated.

“Part of our brief is to shorten the waiting time for the assessment, treatment and investigation of chronic pain. This makes a common approach to excellent customer service absolutely vital.”

Before CSE, the team had a number of customer service initiatives in place; for example, patient and GP satisfaction surveys, participation groups, weekend and evening openings, a staff suggestion scheme, complaints audits and a nurse helpline.

“Customer satisfaction was high, but the team felt that the CSE standard offered a way to supply objective assessments of performance, and focus on areas for improvement and pinpoint where to make organisational changes,” says Anne Browne.

Helpful pre-assessment visit from SGS United Kingdom Ltd.

In the run-up to assessment, SGS’ CSE assessor carried out a one-day pre-assessment – essentially a gap analysis – and a document evidence review.  

“We found the pre-assessment visit very helpful firstly because it was good to get a third party view, and secondly because they got everyone involved from the start. The assessor involved the partners and staff in coming up with ideas for taking the project forward,” shares Anne Browne.

“Preparing for assessment proved a thought provoking and meaningful experience and a good foundation for a culture of continual improvements to customer care.”

Initially, the PMSKP team formed an advisory group comprising staff from across the organisation. This aimed to focus on areas of best practice and identify the potentials for improvements based on the CSE criteria.    

Anne Browne explains, “We had previously applied some core CSE principles, such as timeliness and quality of service. But as soon as we received the CSE documentation outlining our assessment criteria, we started focusing on detail.”

Support from CSE Assessor and Staff

The CSE assessment involved an external, independent review of PMSKP’s application and supporting documentation, together with onsite interviews with patients, staff and stakeholders.

“The assessment process was rigorous and thorough and required commitment from our team and the assessor,” says Anne Browne. “We felt both supported by our assessor and that he had an excellent knowledge and understanding of customer care issues.     

The CSE assessor guided PMSKP through the preparation process and was always available to answer any queries.

Anne Browne continues, “We felt consistently supported by our assessor. After our meetings with the assessor we were able to keep everyone informed of our progress towards CSE, and why this is central to our vision of providing a flagship service.”     

“Following our assessment, we were quickly told we would be recommended for CSE certification. We felt very proud of our team and our service,” says Anne Browne.

“Now we want to build on our experience and continue increasing our responsiveness to our customers’ needs and constantly improving our customer service.”    

Improvements in Place  

PMSKP has made a number of improvements to customer service, including external customer care training for staff; a more engaging website and newsletters for staff; more and higher-quality information for patients; encouraging more patient feedback through satisfaction surveys; and appointing a business operations manager who subsequently manages these changes.

Norma Nutter, a member of PMSKP’s Patient Advisory Group, feels strongly that PMSKP is really getting it right with its customer service. “I go for self-referral for injections in my elbow and hip, which gives me a lot of relief. The service is brilliant. PMSKP give me a date; you get on the phone and you make the appointment,” she shares.  

“And if you leave a message, they always get back to you. If it’s not a convenient time for you, they’ll change it. There’s no waiting time when you get there either. The doctor actually went in at 8 in the morning just to give me my injections. They really treat you like you’re a human being,” Norma Nutter adds.

Anne Browne says, “Although we’ve always strived to continually improve the patient experience, preparing for the CSE assessment helped us to appreciate the importance of communicating this to our patients, staff and stakeholders in a more structured way.”

“We would recommend this process to other organisations as a tool for improving customer service. It was an inspiring and worthwhile experience that helped us make constant  improvements to our customer care,” she affirms.

On achieving CSE certification in March 2009, PMSKP also gained the right to use the prestigious CSE hallmark.

To aid continuous improvement, SGS will undertake an annual review of PMSKP. This review will cover how the organisation is continuing to use the CSE standard to focus on excellent customer service.

For more information please contact:
SGS United Kingdom Ltd
SGS House
217-221 London Road
Camberley
Surrey
GU15 3EY
United Kingdom

t: +44 (0) 1276 697999
f: +44 (0) 1276 697696
Email SGS UK