Job summary
The Care Navigator plays a vital role in ensuring the patient accesses the right care at the right time and given the most
appropriate appointment or advice to meet their needs.
As the first point of
contact in General Practice, they support our Total Triage model by helping the patient navigate healthcare services efficiently and appropriately. Total triage is a General Practice workflow,
whereby every patient contacting the practice first provides some information
on the reasons for contact, the request is triaged by an experienced clinician
before an appointment is allocated.
In line with our Total Triage model, and to ensure the
practice communicates with the patient in a timely way, Care Navigators gather key
information from the patient via phone, online, or in person. Using clear
protocols, they direct patients to the most suitable clinician, service, or
self-care resource, which may include GPs, nurses, pharmacists, social
prescribers, or external services.
Their role helps reduce unnecessary GP appointments, supports
clinical decision-making, improves access, and enhances patient satisfaction.
Care Navigators also assist with administrative tasks, referrals, and
follow-ups, contributing to a smooth and responsive patient journey.
Strong communication skills, empathy, discretion, and an
ability to work under pressure are essential for this role.
Main duties of the job
- To assist the smooth day to day
running of the Total Triage Hub, you will be integral in the support of this
team
- Signpost patients to the
appropriate healthcare professional, service or self-care resource to meet
their needs.
- Develop and maintain a detailed knowledge of local community and voluntary sector services to enable signposting of people at risk of loss of independence.
- Develop relationships for the benefit of the practice population with community groups / organisations and health and social care bodies.
- To act as Learning Disability Champion for the practice and proactively manage and support patients in undertaking their learning disability reviews within the practice.
- Maintain accurate patient records,
including data entry, coding, scanning, and system updates (EMIS and Accurx).
- Provide general administrative
support to clinical and non-clinical teams.
- Participate in audits, meetings,
and mandatory training.
- Provide cover during staff absences
and work collaboratively with colleagues to ensure smooth service delivery.
Key Responsibilities
Patient Navigation & Triage Hub
- Signpost
patients to the appropriate healthcare professional, service, or self-care
resource based on clinical protocols.
- Process
and manage all in-person, telephone, and online appointment
requests.
- Respond to
general patient queries, offering appropriate advice or redirecting as needed.
- Ensure all
patient interactions are documented accurately and confidentially.
About us
Riverside Medical Practice is a busy town centre practice, with a strong ethos to providing excellent care to our practice population (circa 12,000 patients) and a supportive and caring environment for our hardworking and valued practice team.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Care
Navigator (GP Practice)
The Care Navigator plays a vital role in
ensuring the patient accesses the right care at the right time and given the most
appropriate appointment or advice to meet their needs. As the first point of
contact in General Practice, they support our Total Triage model by helping the patient navigate healthcare services efficiently and appropriately. Total triage is a General Practice workflow,
whereby every patient contacting the practice first provides some information
on the reasons for contact, the request is triaged by an experienced clinician
before an appointment is allocated.
In line with our Total Triage model, and to ensure the
practice communicates with patients in a timely way, Care Navigators gather key
information from patients via phone, online, or in person. Using clear
protocols, they direct patients to the most suitable clinician, service, or
self-care resource, which may include GPs, nurses, pharmacists, social
prescribers, or external services.
Their role reduces unnecessary GP appointments, supports
clinical decision-making, improves access, and enhances patient satisfaction.
Care Navigators also assist with administrative tasks, referrals, and
follow-ups, contributing to a smooth and responsive patient journey.
Strong communication skills, empathy, discretion, and an
ability to work under pressure are essential for this role.
Main
duties of the Care Navigator
- Signpost patients to the
appropriate healthcare professional, service or self-care resource to meet
their needs.
- Manage appointments and monitor
online consultations (e.g., Accurx).
- Develop and maintain a detailed knowledge of local community and voluntary sector services to enable signposting of people at risk of loss of independence.
- To provide an ambassadorial function for the practice in its relationships with the voluntary sector, volunteer networks, community groups and all relevant statutory agencies.
- Develop relationships for the benefit of the practice population with community groups / organisations and health and social care bodies.
- To act as Learning Disability Champion for the practice and proactively manage and support patients in undertaking their learning disability reviews within the practice.
- Handle incoming calls, emails, and
face-to-face queries professionally.
- Maintain accurate patient records,
including data entry, coding, scanning, and system updates on EMIS &
Accurx.
- Provide general administrative
support to clinical and non-clinical teams.
- Participate in audits, meetings,
and mandatory training.
- Contribute to practice initiatives,
such as flu clinics and patient participation groups.
- Provide cover during staff absences
and work collaboratively with colleagues to ensure smooth service delivery.
Quality Checks
Check the clinical rooms as required daily / weekly to ensure fully equipped and any issues escalated for immediate resolution.
In addition, the Care Navigator provides comprehensive
administrative support to ensure smooth day-to-day practice operations.
Key Responsibilities
The following are the core duties of the Care Navigator.
Duties may vary depending on workload, staffing levels, and individual
training.
Patient Navigation & Triage Hub
- Assist the smooth day to day running
of the Total Triage Hub
- Signpost
patients to the appropriate healthcare professional, service, or self-care
resource based on clinical protocols.
- Process
and manage all in-person, telephone, and online appointment
requests.
- Respond to
general patient queries, offering appropriate advice or redirecting as needed.
- Support
the Total Triage process by gathering relevant information and navigating
accordingly.
- Ensure all
patient interactions are documented accurately and confidentially.
Administrative
& Clerical Duties
- Monitor the appointment system,
assessing demand and availability daily.
- Handle incoming and outgoing
correspondence, including emails and mail.
- Input and code clinical data and
documentation onto EMIS and Accurx.
- Scan and upload patient documents,
ensuring correct clinical coding.
- Perform general clerical tasks as
required.
- Carry out system searches and
support audit activities.
Communication
& Collaboration
- Initiate and respond to
communication from patients, staff, and external agencies.
- Liaise effectively with clinical
staff, the Patient Services Team, and external services (e.g., hospitals,
community teams).
- Attend staff meetings, contribute
ideas, and take meeting minutes when required.
- Provide cover for colleagues during
absences and assist in rota planning for breaks and out-of-hours.
Training
& Development
- Undertake all mandatory training
and practice induction programmes.
- Keep training up to date and attend
refresher courses as required.
- Participate in annual appraisals
and regular one-to-one reviews with management.
- Support new staff and participate
in peer training when appropriate.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Care
Navigator (GP Practice)
The Care Navigator plays a vital role in
ensuring the patient accesses the right care at the right time and given the most
appropriate appointment or advice to meet their needs. As the first point of
contact in General Practice, they support our Total Triage model by helping the patient navigate healthcare services efficiently and appropriately. Total triage is a General Practice workflow,
whereby every patient contacting the practice first provides some information
on the reasons for contact, the request is triaged by an experienced clinician
before an appointment is allocated.
In line with our Total Triage model, and to ensure the
practice communicates with patients in a timely way, Care Navigators gather key
information from patients via phone, online, or in person. Using clear
protocols, they direct patients to the most suitable clinician, service, or
self-care resource, which may include GPs, nurses, pharmacists, social
prescribers, or external services.
Their role reduces unnecessary GP appointments, supports
clinical decision-making, improves access, and enhances patient satisfaction.
Care Navigators also assist with administrative tasks, referrals, and
follow-ups, contributing to a smooth and responsive patient journey.
Strong communication skills, empathy, discretion, and an
ability to work under pressure are essential for this role.
Main
duties of the Care Navigator
- Signpost patients to the
appropriate healthcare professional, service or self-care resource to meet
their needs.
- Manage appointments and monitor
online consultations (e.g., Accurx).
- Develop and maintain a detailed knowledge of local community and voluntary sector services to enable signposting of people at risk of loss of independence.
- To provide an ambassadorial function for the practice in its relationships with the voluntary sector, volunteer networks, community groups and all relevant statutory agencies.
- Develop relationships for the benefit of the practice population with community groups / organisations and health and social care bodies.
- To act as Learning Disability Champion for the practice and proactively manage and support patients in undertaking their learning disability reviews within the practice.
- Handle incoming calls, emails, and
face-to-face queries professionally.
- Maintain accurate patient records,
including data entry, coding, scanning, and system updates on EMIS &
Accurx.
- Provide general administrative
support to clinical and non-clinical teams.
- Participate in audits, meetings,
and mandatory training.
- Contribute to practice initiatives,
such as flu clinics and patient participation groups.
- Provide cover during staff absences
and work collaboratively with colleagues to ensure smooth service delivery.
Quality Checks
Check the clinical rooms as required daily / weekly to ensure fully equipped and any issues escalated for immediate resolution.
In addition, the Care Navigator provides comprehensive
administrative support to ensure smooth day-to-day practice operations.
Key Responsibilities
The following are the core duties of the Care Navigator.
Duties may vary depending on workload, staffing levels, and individual
training.
Patient Navigation & Triage Hub
- Assist the smooth day to day running
of the Total Triage Hub
- Signpost
patients to the appropriate healthcare professional, service, or self-care
resource based on clinical protocols.
- Process
and manage all in-person, telephone, and online appointment
requests.
- Respond to
general patient queries, offering appropriate advice or redirecting as needed.
- Support
the Total Triage process by gathering relevant information and navigating
accordingly.
- Ensure all
patient interactions are documented accurately and confidentially.
Administrative
& Clerical Duties
- Monitor the appointment system,
assessing demand and availability daily.
- Handle incoming and outgoing
correspondence, including emails and mail.
- Input and code clinical data and
documentation onto EMIS and Accurx.
- Scan and upload patient documents,
ensuring correct clinical coding.
- Perform general clerical tasks as
required.
- Carry out system searches and
support audit activities.
Communication
& Collaboration
- Initiate and respond to
communication from patients, staff, and external agencies.
- Liaise effectively with clinical
staff, the Patient Services Team, and external services (e.g., hospitals,
community teams).
- Attend staff meetings, contribute
ideas, and take meeting minutes when required.
- Provide cover for colleagues during
absences and assist in rota planning for breaks and out-of-hours.
Training
& Development
- Undertake all mandatory training
and practice induction programmes.
- Keep training up to date and attend
refresher courses as required.
- Participate in annual appraisals
and regular one-to-one reviews with management.
- Support new staff and participate
in peer training when appropriate.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Good standard of education, to GCSE Level or equivalent.
- Recent, relevant experience in administration, secretarial, reception or customer service role.
Desirable
- Educated to academic Level 2 (i.e., GCSE Grade A-C, NVQ2) or considerable recent NHS administrative experience. Customer Services Qualification level 2 or above (or relevant experience)
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Friendly, empathetic, and professional
- Calm under pressure and adaptable
- Clear, polite, and professional telephone manner
- Motivated and proactive
- Reliable and trustworthy
- Willing to learn and open to feedback
- Polite, professional, and confident manner
- Flexible, cooperative, and adaptable
- Self-motivated and proactive
- Forward-thinking and keen to improve service delivery
- Trustworthy, with high levels of integrity and loyalty
- Sensitive and empathetic, particularly in distressing situations
- Resilient and able to perform under pressure
- Committed to providing outstanding care and service to patients
Experience
Essential
- Excellent communication skills (written and oral)
- IT-literate with good knowledge of Microsoft Office and email systems
- Strong organisational and time management skills
- Team-oriented with the ability to work independently
- Problem solving & analytical skills
- Ability to follow policies, protocols, and maintain confidentiality
Desirable
- Experience of working with clinical systems for example, EMIS, AccuRx and Docman.
- Experience of working in a general practice setting
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Good standard of education, to GCSE Level or equivalent.
- Recent, relevant experience in administration, secretarial, reception or customer service role.
Desirable
- Educated to academic Level 2 (i.e., GCSE Grade A-C, NVQ2) or considerable recent NHS administrative experience. Customer Services Qualification level 2 or above (or relevant experience)
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Friendly, empathetic, and professional
- Calm under pressure and adaptable
- Clear, polite, and professional telephone manner
- Motivated and proactive
- Reliable and trustworthy
- Willing to learn and open to feedback
- Polite, professional, and confident manner
- Flexible, cooperative, and adaptable
- Self-motivated and proactive
- Forward-thinking and keen to improve service delivery
- Trustworthy, with high levels of integrity and loyalty
- Sensitive and empathetic, particularly in distressing situations
- Resilient and able to perform under pressure
- Committed to providing outstanding care and service to patients
Experience
Essential
- Excellent communication skills (written and oral)
- IT-literate with good knowledge of Microsoft Office and email systems
- Strong organisational and time management skills
- Team-oriented with the ability to work independently
- Problem solving & analytical skills
- Ability to follow policies, protocols, and maintain confidentiality
Desirable
- Experience of working with clinical systems for example, EMIS, AccuRx and Docman.
- Experience of working in a general practice setting
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
