Business Communications.

In addition to all of the above new technologies there are the more traditional forms of communication, which still have their place in today’s business. Communication such as Face to Face, in writing via letters, memos etc. The advantages of these more traditional methods of communication are that they offer the personal touch to the customer.

It is important that all functional areas with in a business communicate with each other. For example take a section of the NHS, The Paediatric Wing of the L& D Hospital. This includes four wards, which operate 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The employment structure is as follows: (see spider gram on following page).

All of the departments must communicate amongst themselves and with each other in order that the paediatric wing runs efficiently and that patients receive the best possible care. We all rely on Doctors and consultants to make accurate diagnosis. The Dr’s rely on their medical secretaries to document and forward their diagnosis on to the relevant people. All medical students rely on the more senior doctors for support. All doctors rely on the nurses to carry out basic care, medication and treatments necessary to patients well being, student nurses rely on senior nurses to aid and support them while they are training. All medical staff rely on pharmacy to organise, check and distribute medication to nursing staff for administration, on porters to ferry patients to and from theatre, x-ray and other departments and to collect urgent specimens, on lab technicians to carry out accurate testing on specimens and relay urgent results, on domestic staff to maintain hygiene standards on the wards and on clerical staff to input accurate data and maintain clerical needs of the wards. Clerical workers rely on IT departments to maintain services so that they can carry out their duties efficiently and so it goes on.

These communications are carried out between the members of all paediatric staff in a number of many ways. These ways include:

• Verbally, face to face or via the telephone
• In writing, letters, memos, e-mail to GP's, parents of patients, other departments, other hospitals
• By fax, to other departments or other hospitals, GPs, health visitors
• By pager, On call senior nurses, consultants, registrar and senior house officers always carry bleeps which means they can be contacted wherever they are in the hospital
• Via air call through the main switchboard should a consultant need to be contacted whilst outside the hospital
• By regular departmental meetings, for example senior nurses consultants and senior house officers on duty on any particular day have meetings known as handovers. This is where the previous shift hands over all medical history, concerns and recommended treatments to the new shift starting. Also regular meeting regarding changes, difficulties and discussions about the effects of changes implemented.