Customer service can be a demanding yet rewarding role at the best of times, but working in the Patient Services Team for Nutricia Homeward - when patients and carers rely on your support to receive the medical nutrition they need to tube feed at home - means the stakes are considerably higher than in most other customer service fields. 

Ana Ramalhao and Michael Phiri-Thorne are, respectively, a Senior Patient Coordinator and Patient Coordinator at Nutricia Homeward, both with backgrounds in face-to-face customer service working for major brands such as Virgin and Nandos. To mark Customer Service Week, we spoke to them about their day-to-day roles and the ways in which customer service at Nutricia Homeward is uniquely rewarding and challenging. 

What does a Nutricia Homeward Patient Coordinator do?

ANA: It starts with stock checking and arranging deliveries, this is really important. We need to check that Nutricia Homeward patients’ have enough medical nutrition and supplies and ensure we're not sending too much or too little of anything. This is based on what their healthcare professional (HCP) has requested for them and on what they've used the previous month. 

There are always new patients to set up, and then there are times when HCPs request a change, so a patient may need to change from one product to a different one. These kinds of situations arise and need to be addressed every day. 

On top of that, there are the inbound calls you receive, where you might be required to deal with any number of issues; it could be that a patient has a query about their next delivery or is running low on supplies, or their situation has changed. There are so many possible things that could occur, and there’s no predicting what you’re going to get each day. 

MICHAEL: It was a massive eye-opener for me when I first started, realising that as well as stock checking and arranging deliveries we also spend a lot of our time talking to HCPs, GPs, Dietitians and nursing homes. 

We also receive delivery queries. If a patient calls in we can give them an ETA (estimated time of arrival) for their delivery that day, we can check with our delivery department or go and check online for them. If there are any queries we can't find an answer to straight away we can call our warehouse. We always make sure that our patients have all the information they need. 

What is the most interesting aspect of your work?

MICHAEL: I like the interaction side of things. What makes me happy is the opportunity to speak to patients on a daily basis and resolve anything that comes up - even just having a general chat with them if they need it; we’re sometimes the only people our patients may speak to that day. It’s very important that we’re not just stock checking and arranging deliveries, but also being there as a person; being human. 

It's the human aspect that makes a huge difference in what we do. I’ve worked for Nutricia for 12 years now, and looking after dedicated areas you get to know the patients - as well as the HCPs - and you build a rapport with them. Having that sort of relationship where they know they’re always going to get help on the other end of the phone and they can rely on me to help them with whatever they need - that’s the part of the job that gets me out of bed in the morning. 

ANA: I’m a big nerd, and I love numbers, so I really enjoy checking out reports and data and seeing the progress we’re making. For example, how many stock checks are we doing? How many patients are we covering in a specific area? Can we get more people to cover an area to increase the number of patients who get a call from us every month? I love looking at data to figure out what we can do better, because it all links in to providing the best experience the patient is going to have. There are so many things you can do with the numbers, and I find that absolutely fascinating. 

What would you say is the most challenging aspect of your job?

ANA: Whenever a patient sadly passes away, that’s incredibly challenging. Some people might think that when you have 30,000 patients they just become numbers to you, but that’s really not the case. As soon as you get a phone call that a patient has passed away, it really hits you. I had a very sad call with a dad whose daughter had passed away, and he was just crying on the phone - he couldn’t really speak. But you have to stay strong, professional and be there for them, because what they don’t need is someone else crying with them on the phone. 

It’s also difficult when you sometimes get patients or families complaining about the service, or aspects of the service they’re not happy with. On one occasion I had to speak to a mum who was quite upset: there’s so much equipment her child has to take to school; she’s constantly having to stay on top of everything, the supplies she has, the many appointments she has to take her child to. And now, on top of all that, an issue had arisen where she felt she had to make a complaint. That’s always challenging, because the whole point of our work is to help patients and their families and to offer a smooth service that makes their life easier. When you get a call like that you just have to really listen and focus on what you can do to make things better for that person at that time. 

What are the parts of your work that you find most rewarding?

MICHAEL: Customer service can obviously be hard when you get people calling in who aren’t entirely happy, but it’s amazing when you get those calls from people who are grateful and really happy with the service we provide for them. It’s what has kept me doing this job all these years! 

One time from last year stands out in particular, when a patient called me because she was having trouble trying to get a certain prescription from her GP, struggling to get hold of them on the phone. I took the problem by the horns and said, “Why don’t you let me do that? I’ll call the GP for you.” I called the GP, advised them of what was needed, and then made sure the prescription was sent over electronically. I contacted the deliveries department to make sure it all went through as it was supposed to and the patient received their delivery the next day. The following week they sent a lovely email with a picture of the patient smiling with her carer. That was a really amazing moment for me. 

ANA: Nutricia is a brilliant company, and the people that work here are amazing - I’ve never had colleagues like them before. Working for a company with a purpose like Nutricia makes you proud, and everyone in my team has one goal: providing the right support to our Nutricia Homeward patients. It’s so rewarding that we’re able to do that, and I’m so proud I can play a part in helping people like that. 

What does Customer Service Week mean to you?

MICHAEL: It's amazing for us to be able to share our stories, and give people a sense of the massive difference Nutricia Homeward Patient Services makes in patients’ lives. Customer Service Week is a great opportunity for new people coming into the company to get an understanding of what we do and how rewarding this role can be. 

ANA: We don’t do our jobs for the recognition; we do it for the patients. That said, it is great that Customer Service Week makes it possible to highlight that we are not your usual customer service team. As Michael said, we will contact your GP if you’re too worried or don’t have time. We will liaise with your child’s school to find out the supplies they have and if they need anything else. We are there for our tube feeding patients in so many ways, and I cannot think of another company that goes to such tremendous lengths to make people’s lives easier.