The 8am rush, answered on the first ring
At 08:00 every patient who needs an appointment rings at once, and reception can answer one call at a time. An AI receptionist on your Line number answers all of them, takes the request in the patient's own words, logs the repeat prescription, routes the results call to the clinical line, and passes everything to the care navigator with the details in order. It makes no clinical decision. Start with Molly, the pre-built receptionist, or build your own agent for the way you work.
- Incoming call · 14 in the queueMon 08:03
Meadow Lane Surgery, how can I help?
Molly, AI receptionistI need to see a doctor. I've had a cough for three weeks and I'm not sleeping.
I'll pass that to the care navigator in your words. Can I take your name and date of birth?
Molly, AI receptionistSandra Hale, 3 May 1961.
Thank you, Sandra. Do you feel this needs to be seen today, or can the care navigator call you back this morning?
Molly, AI receptionistThis morning is fine.
The care navigator will call you before 10:30 on this number. I'll text you to confirm the request is in the queue.
Molly, AI receptionistRoutine request · care navigator queue · 08:03
Reason recorded in Sandra's words with her preferred callback time. Text sent: request received, callback before 10:30. No symptoms in the text.
Everything a GP receptionist does, done by the agent
A GP receptionist takes the request, asks the questions the practice has agreed, and gets it to the right person. The clinical decision is never theirs. Each row below is a thing the agent does on the call, or straight after it.
| What a receptionist does | How the agent does it |
|---|---|
| Answers every call in the 8am rush | Takes every call at once, so the queue message goes away. Answers 24/7, only when the desk is busy, or only when nobody picks up. |
| Takes a routine appointment request | Records the reason in the patient's words, the preferred time, and whether they will accept a phone appointment. Passes it to the care navigator with the details in order. |
| Confirms who is calling | Asks for the name, date of birth, and the first line of the address, or whatever identity check your practice sets. |
| Logs a repeat-prescription request | Takes the patient's details and the medication as they name it, records the request, and routes it to the prescription team. Gives no dosage or supply advice. |
| Routes a test-result call | Takes the patient's details and routes the call to the clinical line, or books the callback slot the practice sets for results. Reads out no results. |
| Gives the urgent wording and routes | When a caller uses the words your practice lists as urgent, or says it cannot wait, gives your approved urgent wording, word for word, and routes the call to the duty clinician or the urgent line. Makes no assessment. |
| Answers the fixed questions | Opening hours, how to register, where to park, how to order online, and what the practice does not do. Answered from your knowledge base. |
| Books the nurse clinics | Flu jabs, blood-pressure checks, and other admin clinics you run from a shared Google or Microsoft calendar. Books the slot and texts the time. |
| Sends a neutral text after every call | The practice name, what will happen next, and when. Never the reason for the call, the medication, or the result. |
Workflows a GP surgery builds with the practice manager
A trigger, a few conditions, and actions in the workflow builder. The practice sets the wording, the queue, and the routing. The agent follows them and makes no clinical decision.
- 1The agent confirms identity your way and asks what the patient needs
- 2Records the reason in the patient's words, the preferred time, and whether a phone appointment is acceptable
- 3If the caller uses words on your urgent list or says it cannot wait, gives your urgent wording and routes to the duty clinician
- 4Otherwise posts the request to the care navigator queue in the shared inbox
- 5Texts the patient that the request is received and when the callback will come
The care navigator works a written queue in order, instead of a ringing phone.
- 1The agent confirms identity and takes the medication as the patient names it
- 2Records the request and the pharmacy the patient uses
- 3Routes it to the prescription team's queue, or to your online ordering route if the practice prefers
- 4Texts the patient the practice's standard turnaround wording, with no medication named
Prescription requests reach the team in writing, and the phone line stays free for other calls.
- 1The agent confirms identity and records that it is a results call
- 2If your practice gives results by callback, books the slot in the results clinic diary
- 3Otherwise routes the call to the clinical line with the patient's details
- 4Nothing about the test or the result is said or texted
Results are given by a clinician, every time, and the request never goes missing.
Built in the workflow builder: a trigger, conditions, and actions. The agent is one of the actions.
Tools and integrations the agent works with
A receptionist is only useful if they can get into the diary and the CRM. Connect the tools and the agent uses them on the call.
A Monday with the agent on the phones
What actually happens when the phone is covered all day.
The line opens. The agent takes the first calls before the queue message plays once.
Fourteen calls at once. Each patient gets through, gives the reason in their own words, and gets a text saying the request is in the queue.
The care navigator opens the shared inbox and works a written list, sorted by the time each call came in.
A caller says the words 'chest pain'. The agent gives your urgent wording and routes the call to the duty doctor. No assessment made.
A patient rings for a blood-test result. The agent confirms identity and books the results callback slot at 14:20. Nothing about the test in the text.
The practice closes. Out-of-hours callers hear your approved wording and are directed to 111 or 999, in the words you set.
- Every clinical decision. The agent gives no medical advice, makes no assessment of symptoms, and never decides who is seen first. The care navigator and the clinicians do.
- Urgent symptoms. When a caller uses the words on your urgent list or says it cannot wait, the agent gives your approved urgent wording and routes the call to the duty clinician or the urgent line.
- Results, prescriptions, and anything a patient wants in writing about their care. The agent routes these to the clinical line and keeps medical detail out of every text.
Questions GP surgeries ask
Straight answers on setup, limits, and cost.
Related
Line for clinics and practices
The whole phone system for your trade: numbers, routing, texts, and the inbox.
AI receptionist
What the receptionist does on every call, and what it costs.
Workflow builder
Triggers, conditions, and actions for calls and messages.
Integrations
Zapier, Make, n8n, and the REST API.
Last reviewed .
Put a receptionist on your number today
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