The Appointment Directory provides a simple, searchable catalogue of local services and appointment types. Designed for reception staff, it helps teams quickly find the right appointment option and understand booking rules.

Overview

The directory is fully integrated into the top-level navigation and serves as a reference tool for:

• Understanding appointment types available
• Identifying which staff team handles what
• Finding booking rules and duration
• Supporting new receptionist training

Appointment Types

Each appointment entry includes:

Core Information

• Name — Clear, descriptive appointment type
• Staff Team — Which team handles this appointment
• Duration — Appointment length in minutes
• Colour Coding — Visual identification by staff team
• Notes — Additional guidance or rules, with rich formatting and images

Status

• Enabled/Disabled — Control visibility
• Default Appointments — System-provided templates
• Custom Appointments — Surgery-specific types

Rich-Text Notes and Images

Appointment notes use the same rich-text editor as symptom instructions and the Practice Handbook. Admins can:

• Format notes with headings, bold, lists, links and highlights
• Insert JPG or PNG images (up to 2MB each) via the image button in the editor toolbar, with optional alt text for screen readers
• Resize an inserted image — select it and choose Small, Medium, Large, or Original size

Images are private to your practice: they are stored with your surgery’s data and served only to signed-in members of your surgery. Notes — including any images — appear on the appointment’s card in the directory.

Appointment cards are narrow, so an image on a card is necessarily small. Anyone can click an image to view it full-screen — no need to be an admin. It opens scaled to fit the screen, and can then be zoomed in and moved around:

• Zoom with the + / − buttons, the scroll wheel, a pinch on a touchscreen, or a double-click on the image
• Move around a zoomed image by dragging it
• Reset to the fitted view with the reset button, a second double-click, or the 0 key
• Close with Esc, the close button, or a click on the background

Images can also be reached with the keyboard: tab to the image and press Enter to open it, then use +, − and 0 to zoom.

CSV note: importing a CSV overwrites the notes of any appointment it updates with the plain text from the file, replacing rich formatting and images for those entries.

Staff Teams

Staff teams organise appointments and provide visual grouping through colour coding.

Dynamic Teams

Admin team members can add, edit, and manage staff team options. This allows surgeries to reflect their actual organisational structure.

Team Features

• Custom Labels — Surgery-specific team names
• Colour Coding — Visual identification
• Ordering — Control display order
• Enabled/Disabled — Show or hide teams

Built-in Teams

Common team types are available by default:

• Practice Nurse (PN)
• Healthcare Assistant (HCA)
• Doctor (Dr)
• All Staff
• And more…

Surgeries can modify, add, or remove teams to match their structure.

CSV Import

Rapid bulk updates are possible through CSV import functionality.

Import Process

1. Prepare CSV file with appointment data
2. Upload via admin interface
3. System validates and processes
4. Appointments created or updated

CSV Format

• Headers: Name, Staff Team, Duration, Notes, etc.
• One row per appointment type
• Validation ensures data quality
• Errors reported for correction

Use Cases

• Initial setup from existing lists
• Bulk updates after reorganisation
• Regular maintenance updates
• Importing from other systems

Filtering

The directory supports multiple filtering options to help staff find appointments quickly.

Filter Types

1. Search

   • Text search across names and notes
   • Instant results as you type
   • Highlights matching terms

2. Staff Team Filter

   • Filter by specific staff team
   • See all appointments for a team
   • Useful for team-specific workflows

3. Status Filter

   • Show enabled only (default)
   • Include disabled for admin
   • Quick visibility toggle

Filter Features

• Combine multiple filters
• Clear filters easily
• Persistent preferences
• Fast performance

Reception Workflow Support

The directory is designed to support reception staff workflows:

Quick Reference

• Fast lookup of appointment types
• Clear booking rules
• Duration information
• Staff team identification

New Staff Training

• Comprehensive catalogue
• Clear, plain English descriptions
• Visual colour coding
• Notes for additional guidance

Integration with Symptoms

• Referenced in symptom instructions
• Links between symptoms and appointments
• Consistent terminology

Colour Coding

Appointments are colour-coded by staff team for quick visual identification.

Benefits

• Instant team recognition
• Faster scanning
• Visual organisation
• Reduced cognitive load

Customisation

• Per-team colour assignment
• Surgery-specific palettes
• Accessible colour contrasts
• NHS design principles

Admin Management

Surgery admins can fully manage the appointment directory:

Actions Available

• Add new appointment types
• Edit existing appointments
• Import from CSV
• Manage staff teams
• Enable/disable appointments
• Set default values

Bulk Operations

• CSV import for bulk updates
• Bulk enable/disable
• Team-wide changes
• Efficient maintenance

Integration with Symptoms

The appointment directory works closely with the symptom library:

Cross-Referencing

• Symptoms reference appointment types
• Consistent naming maintained
• Directory supports symptom guidance
• Unified terminology

Workflow Support

1. Staff checks symptom instructions
2. Instructions reference appointment types
3. Staff looks up appointment in directory
4. Clear guidance on booking rules

Best Practices

For Admins

• Keep directory up to date
• Use clear, consistent naming
• Add helpful notes — a small image (e.g. a room map or equipment photo) can save explaining
• Organise by staff teams logically
• Import CSV for bulk updates (remembering it replaces rich-text notes with the CSV’s plain text)

For Reception Staff

• Use search to find appointments quickly
• Filter by staff team when needed
• Reference notes for booking rules
• Report missing types via suggestions

For New Staff

• Browse directory to learn options
• Use colour coding to identify teams
• Read notes for guidance
• Ask colleagues for clarification

Future Enhancements

Potential improvements under consideration:

• Quick-book rules integration
• Enhanced CSV validation
• Appointment availability integration
• Analytics on directory usage

Related Pages

• Symptom Library — How symptoms reference appointments
• Multi-Surgery & RBAC — Admin permissions
• Developer Guide — Technical implementation

Screenshots

Appointment Directory – reception view