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GP clinics and medical centres

Phone greetings for medical centres

In a medical centre, the first seconds of the greeting decide whether a caller in an emergency hangs up and dials Triple Zero. Only after that come bookings, scripts and test results.

Hear an example

Voicemail · 0:27

Family medical centre

Triple Zero, then healthdirect for after-hours advice, then reception.

Read the transcript

Thank you for calling Jacaranda Family Medical. In an emergency, hang up now and dial triple zero. For health advice after hours, you can call healthdirect on one eight hundred, oh two two, two two two. To book or change an appointment, please stay on the line, and our reception team will be with you shortly.

Two things Australian clinics need in the greeting

Triple Zero first

Triple Zero (000) is Australia’s emergency number. Put it in the first or second sentence, before any menu option, so a caller in an emergency does not wait through a booking menu.

healthdirect after hours

healthdirect gives free health advice on 1800 022 222, where callers can talk to a nurse or doctor. When your clinic is closed, naming it gives callers somewhere to turn that is not the emergency department.

Scripts for medical centres

Main line

Emergency, then menu

You're through to [practice name] reception. In an emergency, hang up and call triple zero. To book an appointment, press one. For test results, press two. For repeat scripts, press three. For all other enquiries, press four.

After hours

Closed, with healthdirect

[practice name] is closed right now. In an emergency, call triple zero. For health advice now, call healthdirect on one eight hundred, oh two two, two two two. We open again at [08:00] tomorrow.

Results line

Test results

You've reached the results line at [practice name]. Our nurses return results calls between [13:00] and [15:00]. Please leave your full name, date of birth and a phone number, and we'll call you back.

On hold

Busy Monday morning

Thanks for holding. Mornings are our busiest time. You can also book online at [website], and many appointments can be made without waiting on the phone.

Telehealth

Phone consultations

For a telehealth appointment, please book as usual and choose a phone consultation. Your doctor will call you at the booked time from a private number.

From the studio

01

A calm, unhurried voice

Callers to a clinic are often unwell or worried. Choose a voice that sounds steady, and slow the pace slightly.

02

Numbers in groups

Write phone numbers the way people say them, in groups of digits, so the voice reads them clearly.

03

No health details on voicemail

Ask for name, date of birth and number only. Clinical details belong in the call back.

Questions

Should the emergency notice come before the welcome?

Right after the practice name is the usual place. One short sentence is enough: “If this is an emergency, hang up and call triple zero.”

Can I use one greeting for several clinics?

Better not. Each clinic has its own hours and name, and callers want to hear the one they rang.

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