Maximising team performance in a GP surgery starts with the work people receive. Clear requests, defined responsibilities and time for patient support can be more useful than asking every colleague to work faster.
Before introducing AI reception, map where administrative work begins, how it moves between teams and who is responsible for the next action.
Make ownership visible
A request can reach the practice without reaching the person who can act. Review common journeys with reception, administrative and clinical colleagues. Identify who checks the information, who makes the relevant decision and how the patient learns what happens next.
Use a fictional example to test the handover. If a colleague needs to repeat the whole conversation to understand the task, investigate what information is missing.
Separate supported tasks from professional decisions
Administrative access, care navigation and clinical judgement involve different responsibilities. A proposed technology should have a clear scope. Staff need to know which actions it supports and which decisions remain with appropriately qualified people.
The NHS Digital Technology Assessment Criteria provide a framework for reviewing digital health technology. Use the applicable evidence alongside the practice’s operational review, rather than treating a product description as assurance for every workflow.
Plan how useful capacity will be used
If a change releases time, agree the work that will benefit. It may allow colleagues to follow up requests, help patients use contact routes or complete necessary administration with fewer interruptions.
Report capacity and expenditure separately. A colleague spending less time on one task and more time helping patients is not the same outcome as a reduction in the payroll bill.
- Review completed requests and unfinished work.
- Track corrections and repeated contacts.
- Ask staff where work has moved.
- Agree the next action and its owner.
Review EMMA with the whole receiving team
EMMA by QuantumLoopAI supports administrative patient access for NHS GP surgeries during surgery hours. It does not provide clinical advice or make clinical triage decisions. The actions available must be confirmed for the practice’s proposed configuration.
Bring reception and administrative colleagues to an EMMA demonstration. Ask QuantumLoopAI to show the information they would receive and the route to human help. Include the systems and responsibilities relevant to the proposed practice configuration.
Team performance is easier to assess when the intended benefit is concrete: a clearer request, an understood responsibility and less avoidable follow-up. Define that benefit before the review so the practice can judge whether the service delivers it locally.
Explore EMMA for GP surgeries or book an EMMA demonstration to review the workflow and evidence relevant to your practice.
For a related practical guide, read Receptionist Relief: A Better Working Day in GP Practices.
