What Your Waiting Room Says About Your Medical Centre

If books, movies and psychology itself are to be believed (and we think they are), first impressions count.   The waiting room in your medical centre is your patients’ first port of call when they arrive at your practice.   As such it’s also key to their first impressions of your premises and staff.

Your waiting room should create a warm and welcoming feeling that helps your visitors feel comfortable and at ease. But is your current waiting room delivering on this important brief?

Tidiness

It may seem like a mundane detail, but tidiness in your waiting room counts. An untidy waiting room isn’t just uninviting. It’s also likely to prompt your patients to ask whether the rest of your practice is similarly sloppy. People might be ok with some untidiness in their homes, but the thought of untidiness in a medical centre is understandably distressing.

Taking two minutes here and there to tidy and otherwise straighten up your waiting room will keep it looking neat and send the message that your entire practice is committed to reassuringly high standards of cleanliness.

Colour

The psychology of colour is a fascinating topic with practical applications for your waiting room. Research shows that red can increase heart rates and raise blood pressure. Orange can be similarly intense. A waiting room that’s painted or decorated in these hues may lead your patients to associate your medical centre with stress or agitation.

If your waiting room is currently a little too intense, it may be time for a new paint job. Unlike red and orange, shades of blue and green tend to have a calming effect. So consider using these softer colours instead.

Seating & Comfort

Good quality seating, comfortable temperatures and acceptable noise levels are all key to ensuring your patients’ waiting room experience is a positive one. In contrast, uncomfortable seating, temperatures or noise tells patients you’re not concerned about their comfort; a message that’s unlikely to inspire return visits.

If you wouldn’t want to sit in your waiting room chairs for more than 5 minutes or you find the room too stuffy, too cold or too noisy, chances are your patients feel the same way. Make the necessary changes to show them you care.

Sending the Right Message

At Elite Fitout Solutions, we have years of experience helping medical centre owners create waiting rooms that send the right messages about your practice.   If you’d like to discuss how we can help you redesign and refurbish your waiting room to help patients feel comfortable, at ease and cared for, we can help.

Call us today on 1300 765 344 to talk about your next project.