Job responsibilities
Welcoming patients to practice, booking and rearranging
appointments, maintaining and monitoring the practice appointment system.
To ensure an effective and efficient reception service is
provided to patients and any other visitors to the practice.
Answer incoming phone calls, transferring calls or dealing
with the callers request appropriately, taking messages to pass onto the
appropriate person (as per practice protocol).
Care Navigation - Signpost patients to the most appropriate
service (internally or externally).
Deal with all general enquiries, explain procedures and make
new and follow-up appointments.
Using your own judgment and communication skills ensure that
patients with no prior appointment but who need urgent consultation are seen in
a logical and non-disruptive manner.
Explain practice arrangements and formal requirements to new
patients and those seeking temporary cover and ensure procedures are completed.
Chaperone patients as and when required.
Action medication queries / repeat prescription / online
repeat prescription requests
Ensure all incoming and outgoing tasks are actioned
appropriately and in a timely manner; GP2GP transfers / appointment
cancellation updates / PDS updates / new patient address / pathology / online
service requests / letter to action / tasks from clinical staff.
Understanding and fully utilising SystmOne.
Input data into the patients' healthcare records as
necessary.
Monitor and maintain the reception area and notice boards.
Support all clinical staff with general tasks as requested.
Ensure correspondence, reports, results etc are scanned /
filed promptly and in the correct records, ensuring that all recent
correspondence is available when patients are seen.
Input patient data ensuring correct Read/SNOMED codes are
used.
To receive incoming and initiate outgoing telephone calls in
order to facilitate timely and appropriate communications with others, taking
messages and dealing with appropriate queries.
To maintain the computer clinic system in an accurate and
secure manner.
To assist with the gathering of statistics and information
when required.
Assist with coding/ summarising as required.
You will be required to cover for members of the
reception/secretarial team during periods of sickness and annual leave, across
all of the sites in order to maintain operation efficiency.
Any other duties deemed reasonable by the Partners/Practice
Management Team.
Confidentiality
In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us
with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health
and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that
staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately
In the performance of the duties outlined in this Job
Description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information
relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare
workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a
business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded
as strictly confidential
Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other
healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to
authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures
relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.
Health & Safety
The postholder will assist in promoting and maintaining
their own and others health, safety and security as defined in the practice
Health & Safety Policy, the practice Health & Safety manual, and the
practice Infection Control policy and published procedures. This will include:
Using personal security systems within the workplace
according to practice guidelines
Identifying the risks involved in work activities and
undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks
Making effective use of training to update knowledge and
skills
Using
appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and
safe way and free from hazards
Actively
reporting of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when
recognised
Keeping
own work areas and general / patient areas generally clean, assisting in the
maintenance of general standards of cleanliness consistent with the scope of
the job holders role
Undertaking
periodic infection control training (minimum annually)
Reporting
potential risks identified
Demonstrate
due regard for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
Equality and Diversity
The postholder will support the equality, diversity and
rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:
Acting in a way
that recognizes the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way
that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current
legislation
Respecting the
privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues
Behaving in a
manner that is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and
respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.
Information Governance
The practice is committed to improving the way it manages
information. Information Governance pulls together a variety of initiatives
relating to how NHS agencies use information and aims to improve the security,
confidentiality, quality, and accessibility of this information.
It is essential that you understand these initiatives and
are aware of your responsibilities in managing information on a day-to-day
basis. Several policies have been developed detailing staff obligations in
relation to these areas, around IT Security, Records Management and Freedom of
Information. It is a condition of your employment that you act in accordance
with these policies and participate in training offered by the practice in
relation to these.
All papers and files are the property of the Practice and
remain so irrespective of origin or authorship.
Personal & Professional Development
The postholder will participate in any training programme
implemented by the practice as part of this employment, such training to
include
Participation in an annual individual performance review,
including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of won personal and
/or professional development
Taking responsibility for own development, learning and
performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are
undertaking similar work
Quality
The postholder will strive to maintain quality within the
practice, and will:
Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk
Assess own performance and take accountability for own
actions, either directly or under supervision
Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on
own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance
the team's performance
Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients'
needs
Effectively manage own time, workload, and resources
Ensure self and team carry out all mandatory training (CPR,
Safeguarding, Information Governance, etc)
Communication:
The postholder should recognise the importance of effective
communication within the team and will strive to:
Communicate effectively with other team members
Communicate effectively with patients and carers
Communicate effectively with other partner agencies
including but not limited to, Community Staff, Practice and community
pharmacists, Nursing Homes and other third sector partners.
Recognise people's needs for alternative methods of
communication and respond accordingly as per Accessible Information Standards.
Contribution to the Implementation of services:
The postholder will:
Apply practice policies, standards, and guidance
Discuss with other members of the team how the policies,
standards and guidelines will affect own work
Participate in audit where appropriate
Develop protocols to support business change
Corporate
Important note
This job description reflects the duties we currently
anticipate the post holder undertaking. However, due to the nature of the role
this may change over time. You will be expected to undertake tasks/duties
required to maintain the efficient running of the practice which may not be
detailed on this job description, but which are commensurate with your grade
and within your capabilities. Any permanent changes to this job description
will be made following consultation with the postholder.
Probation period:
There will be a
probation period of six months, the rate of pay for the first four months will
be £11.50 per hour. A review will take place at three months, upon satisfactory
outcome, the rate of pay will uplift to £12.20 from month four.
