In a waiting room you have an audience that cannot leave and has nothing to do. A GP, dentist, physiotherapist, hair salon or garage can use that time to explain everything that is on offer, answer practical questions before they are asked and make the wait feel a little shorter. With Narrow.TV you build that information yourself in a dashboard in your browser.

What a screen in the waiting room delivers

  • Fewer questions at the front desk. Opening hours, how to get help at the weekend, how to rearrange an appointment: if it is on the screen, the receptionist does not have to explain it ten times a day.
  • Awareness of your services. Dental patients often do not know there is a hygienist. Garage customers do not know you also do air-con servicing.
  • A calmer waiting room. A clock and a gentle change of images give people something to hold on to. Someone who can see the time feels less forgotten.
  • No out-of-date leaflets. A leaflet rack soon gets messy. You update a screen from the dashboard, and the change is on screen within about a minute.

Content ideas by type of waiting room

GP surgery and health centre

  • Opening hours, the urgent line and the out-of-hours service.
  • How to request a repeat prescription or send an online consultation.
  • Holidays and cover, and the flu jab season as soon as it is known.
  • An introductory slide for each team member: GP, practice nurse, receptionist.

Dentist and hygienist

  • Explanations of treatments such as a scale and polish or a crown, with a drawing or photo.
  • Brushing tips for children, as a short video or in three steps.
  • Information about cover and what the patient pays themselves, in general terms.

Physiotherapy

  • Example exercises to do at home as short videos, with the name of the exercise on screen as text.
  • Your therapists' specialisms, such as sports physiotherapy or pelvic health physiotherapy.
  • Group classes and their timetable.

Hair and beauty salon

  • A price table of treatments: cuts, colour, blow-dry, by length or by type.
  • Photos of recent work and this season's trends.
  • Haircare and skincare products you sell, with prices, so clients take them home after their appointment.

Garage and car dealership

  • Seasonal offers such as a winter check, tyre change or air-con service.
  • Used cars in the showroom with photo and price.
  • A clock and the weather template with the six-day forecast, for customers waiting for their car.

For car dealerships there are ready-made templates in the Automotive category. For healthcare and hair salons, start with a blank design or a template from the Other category.

Two examples from practice

GP surgery with one waiting room

One landscape digital signage screen on the wall opposite the chairs, with a playlist of six slides: clock with date, opening hours and urgent line, repeat prescriptions, the team, the flu jab and a general health tip. Each slide is on screen for 15 to 20 seconds, so a patient sees the whole series a few times during an average wait. What you need: one digital signage subscription, plus the screen and the player.

Garage with a front desk and waiting area

One screen in the waiting area with offers, used cars and the weather, and one portrait screen at the front desk with a price table of standard jobs. That is two digital signage subscriptions. The current prices are in the pricing section.

What to watch out for in a healthcare or service waiting room

  • No personal data. Do not put names of patients or customers on the screen. Narrow.TV also has no call-through function; the screen is for general information.
  • Reliable sources. If you want to show health information, use material from reliable, recognised sources and check that you are allowed to show it. You can put YouTube videos directly on a slide.
  • Calm over busy. Fast transitions and bright colours do not suit a waiting room. Choose a calm transition, such as fade, and a longer slide duration.
  • Sound off. Video plays without sound by default. That is usually most pleasant in a waiting room; make sure the message can also be followed without sound.
  • Readable from the chair. Sit in the furthest chair yourself and see whether you can read the text. If not, the text is too small or the screen is too far away.

More general advice about slide duration and how much text you can fit is in content tips for digital signage. If you are new to this kind of screen, what is digital signage explains the basics.

How to set it up

If your waiting room TV runs Android TV or Google TV, install the Narrow.TV Player directly from Google Play. Otherwise, connect an Android TV box or stick. Create a screen in the dashboard, enter the pairing code on the TV and the screen starts playing; the steps are in pairing your screen. Set the app as the home screen so the practice does not have to click through TV menus every morning. Try it free for 30 days with one screen.

Frequently asked questions

What should you show on a screen in a GP's waiting room?

Think of opening hours and how to reach the practice, how to request a repeat prescription, holiday cover, the flu jab season and slides introducing the team. General health information is best taken from reliable sources.

Does a waiting room screen need sound?

Usually not. With Narrow.TV video plays without sound by default; you can turn it on per video. In a waiting room, images with text usually work better than sound.

Can I call patients through via the screen?

No, Narrow.TV does not have a patient call system. The screen shows slides you create yourself in the dashboard, such as practice information and explanations of treatments.

Can I use my existing TV in the waiting room?

Yes, if that TV runs Android TV or Google TV. Otherwise, connect an Android TV box or stick via HDMI.