Following on from the last 5 Monday Morning Email’s we are uncovering the ‘8 things’ you should never say to a patient & this Monday we dig into – “We are flat out, so you will just have to wait.”

Whether it’s a busy day because you are short clinical staff or if it is busy because patients have been running late and you are also overbooked the most frustrating things a patient can here is “We are flat out, so you will just have to wait.” Of course, patients don’t always understand everything that is going on behind the scenes, but their irritation is still warranted. If you can, try to give patients a maximum number of minutes they could be waiting, then give them regular updates. Try & offer them a water, juice, etc. to calm them down while they are waiting.

Trying to brush off a patient’s aggravation by saying you’re busy only makes things worse. Apologize and make your best attempt to smooth things over once the patient is able to be seen.