Clinic timings and closed notice: what to display and where. The board, the Google profile, the WhatsApp status, and what the rules allow.

A clinic timings notice states the days and hours of each session, who consults, and the fee if the clinic displays rates; a closed notice states the dates closed, when the clinic reopens and where to go in an emergency. Both go on the board at the door and are mirrored in the Google Business Profile hours, the clinic's WhatsApp status or Business profile, and the message sent to anyone who has booked. The NMC's 2026 guidelines allow a factual announcement of temporary absence and resumption; the clinic rules in states under the Clinical Establishments Act require rates to be displayed in the local language and English.

What should a clinic timings notice say?

• Clinic name as registered, and the address if the board is not at the clinic itself.
• Doctor's name, qualifications and registration number as they appear on the signboard. The signboard rules cover what goes there.
• Days of the week the clinic opens, and the hours of each session ("Mon–Sat, 10 AM–1 PM and 5 PM–8 PM; Sunday closed"). Say "by appointment only" for any session that is.
• Consultation fee, and the follow-up fee if different, where the clinic displays rates. In states where the Clinical Establishments (Central Government) Rules, 2012 apply, rule 9(i) requires every clinical establishment to display the rates charged for each type of service at a conspicuous place in the local language and English.
• The clinic phone number for bookings, and the WhatsApp number if different.
• Local language and English, side by side. Hindi or the state language first for most tier-2 and tier-3 patients.

Keep it to one board. A second board with a second set of hours, left over from last year, is how a patient ends up at the door at 9 AM. The free clinic notice board tool prints a clean one-page notice from the fields above.

What should a clinic closed notice say?

Four lines, nothing more. The dates the clinic is closed, written as dates and not "next week". When it reopens, with the session time. One line on where to go in an emergency: the name and number of the nearest hospital or emergency service, so the notice is useful to a patient in trouble and not only to one with a cold. And the clinic phone or WhatsApp number for anything that can wait. A reason is optional ("Diwali", "doctor on leave"); if given, keep it to two words.

A sample, in the form that fits a board or a WhatsApp status: "Sunrise Clinic will remain closed from 20 Oct to 23 Oct 2026 for Diwali. Reopens Friday 24 Oct, 10 AM. In an emergency go to [nearest hospital], [number]. For bookings: [clinic number]." The Hindi line goes above it.

Where should the notice go, and when?

Is announcing timings or a closure allowed under the NMC advertising rules?

Yes, as long as it stays factual. The NMC Guidelines on Ethical Advertising and Public Communication (public notice of 6 October 2026) list what a medical practitioner may formally announce: starting practice, change of type of practice, change of address, temporary absence from duty, resumption of practice, succeeding to another practice, and a public declaration of charges (clause 8.2(ii)). Clause 9.3 repeats that such announcements are to be factual, non-promotional and limited in scope. A timings board, a closed notice and a "reopening Monday" message are all inside that list.

What takes a notice outside it: anything that promotes. "Reopening with new advanced facilities", a line about results, a photograph of the doctor, a discount for the reopening week. Clause 9.2 of the same guidelines treats self-photographs on the signboard or letterhead of a consulting room as governed by regulations 6.1.1 and 6.1.2 of the 2002 ethics regulations and regarded as unethical conduct. Keep the notice to name, qualifications, timings, charges and the closure. The guide to the 2026 guidelines goes into what else they change.

Closure checklist for the desk

1. Date the closure and the reopening session in writing with the doctor.
2. Message every patient booked for the closed dates; offer the first open session.
3. Paste the closed notice on the board the evening before, over the timings, with the emergency line.
4. Set special hours on the Google Business Profile for those dates.
5. Put the closed notice on the WhatsApp status; put the clinic phone on forward or a missed-call text if nobody will answer.
6. On reopening: take the notice down, clear the status, remove the special hours, and check the follow-up list for patients who were due during the closure.

Where Vitels fits