Surgery Connect can be set up by Supervisors in the practice and allows you to customise the settings specifically for your surgery
Before your agreed ‘Go-Live’ date, we will look at setting up Surgery Connect by uploading the Users, creating Groups, setting Calendars and configuring call-flows
You may also be using Deskphones in the practice and we will also show how to link those to the Surgery Connect system once they have been installed by our engineer
In this guide, we will follow through the process in order, to ensure your service is ready when you go live
The Training Team will book sessions with you to guide you through the process and the Service Delivery Team are on-hand to help you if necessary
CONTENTS
Changing default settings
Find full User Training videos HERE
Step by step guide
Logging In
You will have received an email to enable you to set a password and you can then use your NHS email address and the password you set to log in
If you have not set a password, you can use the Forgot your password link at the bottom of this screen to set one now
Log in to Surgery Connect - sso.x-onweb.com - with your NHS email address and Surgery Connect password
As a Supervisor, you will then be presented with nine options for the different applications of the Surgery Connect system
(Standard Users with Group Management and Clinicians will only see four options)
Select the Service Delivery Console
Each time a new console or portal is opened, it will open on a new tab in your browser
Introduction to the Service Delivery Console
The Service Delivery Console has menus at the top of the page to access Users, Extensions (the physical phones in the practice), Groups, Calendars and the Numbers and call flows.
These areas are also accessible via the Dashboard lower on the page.
The first time you access each area, you will see an introduction page
There is a Manage button at the bottom of the page to move on
For more information on the Service Delivery Console, see our further guides
Setting up Users
On Surgery Connect, numbers are allocated to Users rather than phones within the practice so each User will have their own Internal Short Dial number (extension number)
If you create a new spreadsheet to upload your Users, please ensure the column headers are the same as the below
Name | Short Dial | Permissions | Voicemail | |
Dr An Example | 201 | Clinician | Yes |
Name: User’s Name (as it will appear on Surgery Connect)
Email: User’s email address (usually their NHS email as this will become their User Name on Surgery Connect, although any email address can be used)
Short Dial: The number to contact that User on Surgery Connect (you can use existing numbers or allocate new ones. Most practices use the 200 - 299 number range for their Users)
Permissions: The User’s access level on Surgery Connect
Standard User with Group Management | Most Users will have this permission level
They will be able to access Surgery Connect in the practice, and remotely, and access their own call recordings via the User Console but not change any system settings |
Supervisor | Users with Supervisor permissions can access Surgery Connect both in the practice and remotely, can access all call recordings for the practice (including downloading and deleting if necessary)
They can manage Users and system settings (including changing information given to patients when they call the practice) |
Clinician | Users with Clinician permissions can access Surgery Connect both in the practice and remotely and can access all call recordings for the practice (listen and download only, not delete)
They do not have access to change system settings. |
Voicemail: Will Voicemail be required for this User so that patients can leave a message. You can set up new Users without Voicemail (as a default) and add it later if needed.
Once you have entered all the Users’ details on a spreadsheet, you can import them into Surgery Connect
From the Service Delivery Console select Users from the menus or click Manage Users in the dashboard
You will see the User table
There may only be you and an Outbound Calls User, but you can import your Users here
See our further guides on Adding Users in Bulk and Adding Users Individually
Editing Users
Once added, you can change a User’s details in the User table
Click the Edit button (Blue pen icon)
You can then change the details in the pop up window
When you are happy, click the Save User button
See our full guide on Editing Users
Other useful User guides include:
Setting up Groups
Organise your users into groups, aligned with the surgery teams they're in. In Surgery Connect, telephone numbers and short dials can be associated with Groups
That way, anyone in the group can answer - and when they do, they hear a message before the call is connected - called a whisper - telling them it's a call to the Group
From the Service Delivery Console select Groups from the menus or click Manage Groups in the dashboard
You will then see the Groups table
You can create new Groups for both internal and external calls, and manage the members of the Group
Four groups are created automatically and you can allocate your Users as members
You do not have to use the Groups we have set up, however these are common queries and you can use the Groups to separate calls when creating your call flow
To allocate members to the Group, click the Edit button
Click the drop down icon and select the Users that will be members of the Group
This should be anyone who answers those calls at any point in the week, even if only for brief periods
The people answering the calls at any given time (active Group members) can be managed in the User Console or via Auto Step In in the Configuration Console
Auto Step In can add Group members automatically if the queue meets preset criteria
You can also allocate a Short Dial for the Group so that you don’t have to call specific people but can ring a Group with a question
It can be useful to allocate a different numbering range to your Group short dials (400+) so it’s apparent if you are calling an individual or a Group within the practice
As a default, calls through Groups are distributed to the Group member who is available and has been longest idle, so who hasn’t taken or made a call
If that User doesn’t answer within 4 rings, the call will move to the next Group member
The call will be presented to each member of the Group in turn, but this can be changed in the Configuration Console
Once you have added the required members and short dial, click the Save changes button
Other useful Groups guides include:
Changing default settings
Clinical System Integration
Surgery Connect can integrate with your clinical system so that patient details can be retrieved automatically when a call is presented
The Integration can also be used to log Users in and out of Surgery Connect (and desk phones) automatically
The Service Delivery Team will provide you with full guides and downloads for your Clinical System Integration
Once the software has been downloaded, it will need to be activated on each PC and laptop
This is best done once the handsets have been installed by our engineer (if you are using them) as you can then continue the setup by linking the desk phone to the PC/laptop as described in the Installation Guide
When a User logs in to the clinical database for the first time following the Integration activation, Surgery Connect will run the initial set up and will need the application PIN
This will link the User’s clinical database log in to their Surgery Connect log in. The PIN can be found in the Configuration Console
See our App Pin - Clinical Integration guide
The settings for the Integration software can be changed in the Configuration Console using the Global settings in the menu on the left-hand side
You can specify the action taken when logging in and out of the clinical database
Setting up Calendars
Calendars are used to control the opening times on Surgery Connect
This can either be for the main practice number, or for Groups if call times need to be restricted
From the Service Delivery Console select Calendars from the menus or click Manage Calendars in the dashboard
You will then see the Calendars table. The Main Calendar will control the opening times of your main practice number
You can change the opening times by using the Edit button. This will change the times for each day, Monday to Friday
Click the Advanced Calendar Settings button to view the Calendar or to vary the opening times
Clicking the Advanced Calendar Settings button will allow you to view and edit your calendar. Pre-set Modes will be displayed on the left-hand side and they can be added to the Calendar using drag and drop to create an Event
The messages and actions for each Mode can be customised in the call flow via X-flow and new Modes can be created if more options are required
Events can be added to the Calendar in advance if the phone lines need to be closed, for example when in staff training
NOTE: Bank Holiday dates are added to your calendar automatically
Other useful Calendar guides include:
Setting up Call Flows
Call flows are managed through X-flow and control the messages and actions taken when a caller dials a number connected to Surgery Connect
Each number that is to be used in the practice will need a call flow, this is for both internal and external numbers
When creating Users and Groups, the call flows for the Short Dial numbers are created automatically, however you will need to create call flows for any external numbers that you want to use and are bringing from your current provider (Porting) or that have been issued as new numbers for you
From the Service Delivery Console select Numbers from the menus or click Manage Numbers in the dashboard
You will then see the Numbers table
When adding Users, Surgery Connect will automatically create a call flow for the Short Dial number
If you allocate a Short Dial number to a Group, this will also automatically create a call flow. Alongside any number for a Group you will also see a Test number
The Test number can be called once the call flow is created and will follow the flow as though it was an inbound call. See our guides on testing and deploying your call flow
NOTE: Test numbers can also be used before you go live to demonstrate to staff members how the new system will work. If Users are logged in and available, calls through the Test number will follow the call flow and will ring Users. This can be used as a Training exercise and calls can be answered and transferred around the practice before your go live date
Any external numbers will also need call flows. You can see the numbers you are porting, or any new numbers issued that do not yet have call flows, by using the Unassigned Number filter at the top of the table
Call flows can be created for any of these numbers by using the blue Edit pen
Call flows can be customised to the requirements of your practice
Click the blue graph icon, Edit, to open X-flow and view and amend the call flow
Other useful Call Flow guides include:
Extensions
Extensions are the physical phones installed in the practice, referred to as desk phones. The desk phones do not have their own extension number, only a name, so a User must be logged in so that they can receive calls.
Full training is given for the desk phones, or you can use the training videos which can be found HERE
Once the phones are installed, you can make outbound calls without logging in, however Users can log in and even practise making and receiving calls before you go live. You can use the Test number next to your Main Call Flow to simulate an inbound call
As a default, all desk phones are enabled for any User in the practice to log in to, although the manual login list on the desk phone can be amended to show selected Users if necessary
If you are using the Integration software, desk phones can be paired with a PC to enable automatic login of a User when they access the clinical database
From the Service Delivery Console select Extensions from the menus or click Manage Extensions in the dashboard
You will then see the Extensions table
To allocate a number to a phone in any room where a User won’t be logged in, for example a Staff Room or Meeting Room, a Generic User will need to be created so that the extension has its own number
Other useful Extensions guides include:
User Console
You can access the User Console on a daily basis and, as a Supervisor, you are able to see the calls for the practice as they are happening, access the call recordings and select the Users to be taking calls in the Groups
Watch the User Console for Supervisors webinar for an overview