A Chard parent calls at lunchtime on a Monday — the school has flagged their 8-year-old may have a vision problem and they want to book an NHS children's sight test as soon as possible. Your optometrist is mid-test, your dispenser is adjusting a frame, and the phone rings unanswered. The parent, already worried, tries the next number on the list. ForgeMason picks up the call, explains that children under 16 receive free NHS sight tests, checks availability, and books the appointment — so a worried parent becomes a booked patient before the practice team even knows the call came in.
Chard is the main service town for a large swathe of south Somerset and the Somerset-Devon border — patients travel from Ilminster, Crewkerne, Axminster, and outlying villages because the town has the services they need. For many, your practice is the closest or most trusted optician. When that patient calls and doesn't get through, the alternative isn't just another local practice — it may mean a 20-mile trip to Taunton or Yeovil. The stakes of a missed call here are higher than in a city. ForgeMason ensures that every patient who reaches out — whether for a routine recall, a new prescription, or an urgent query — gets a response that retains them for your practice.
Sight test appointments booked for both NHS and private patients. Type identified from the first call.
Automated sight test recall at 2 years (or custom interval). Patients book before their vision changes undetected.
Appointments booked outside clinic hours. Evening callers book next-day slots without waiting to call back.
Flash, floaters, sudden vision loss — urgent calls escalated immediately. Routine calls handled normally.
Lens reorder requests captured and forwarded. Patients don't need to come in just to reorder.
Automated post-appointment review requests build your profile for local optician searches.
Free 20-minute demo. See how ForgeMason works for your Chard practice.
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