Administrator/Receptionist

Job description

Job responsibilities

Duties and responsibilities:

The duties and responsibilities to be undertaken by members of the practice administration team may include any of the following which may be varied from time to time under the direction of the Practice Manager.

Reception

Receiving patients, consulting with members of practice team

Ensure an effective and efficient and polite reception service is provided to patients and any other visitors to the practice

Processing personal and telephone requests for appointments, visits and telephone consultations, and ensuring callers are directed to the appropriate healthcare professional

Deal with all general enquiries, explain procedures and make new and follow-up appointments

Asserting judgement to ensure that urgent appointments are given in accordance to the practice policy

Explain practice arrangements and formal requirements to new patients and those seeking temporary cover, and ensure procedures are completed

Enter requests for home visits onto the duty doctor appointment screen, ensuring to carefully record all relevant details and referring to duty doctor where necessary

Arranging transport for patients

Be aware of what is going on in the patient waiting area and be alert to problems

Processing and distributing incoming and outgoing post

Undertake any other additional duties appropriate to the post as requested by the partners or the practice manager

Ensure that all visitors to the practice are signed in and out of the visitors book

Taking messages and passing on information

Processing repeat prescriptions in accordance with practice guidelines

Computer data entry/data allocation and collation; processing and recording information in accordance with practice procedures

Providing clerical assistance to practice staff as required from time to time, including word/data processing, filing, photocopying and scanning

Keeping the reception area, notice-boards and leaflet dispensers tidy and free from obstructions and clutter

Be able to cover all reception positions as necessary

To ensure that all clinical staff are ready for their patient surgeries: the room has its PC switched on, systems and printers are up and running

Undertake any other additional duties appropriate to the post as requested by the partners or the practice manager

Telephone

Have working knowledge of telephone, during and after hours

Answer calls in a polite and professional manner

Receive and make telephone calls as required. Divert calls and take messages, ensuring accuracy of detail and prompt appropriate delivery

Appointments

Process appointment requests for today/future appointments from patients by telephone and in person

Deal with visits/requests

Repeat Prescriptions

To collect repeat prescription requests from the post box and reception

To retrieve requests for prescriptions made via EPS

To liaise with patients and chemists regarding queries and requests

To ensure repeat medication is issued in line with the protocols that are already in place and ensure that any queries raised are dealt with quickly and correctly

To ensure that patient queries on medication are highlighted to the relevant GP

To regularly go through prescriptions not picked up and unlikely to be picked up as a result of the timescale, to remove the details from the patient records and then destroy the prescription

Scanning duties

Sort and date stamp all incoming patient-related mail

Scan patient-related documents onto their medical record using read codes as agreed by the clinical team

Add any additional information about the source of the document

Forward the document to the doctor or nurse who initiated the referral or who is most appropriate to receive the information

Ensure incoming letters are scanned onto the patient record within a 48/72-hour timescale

Scan all internal paper documents on to the relevant patients record and then store the documents in line with surgery policy

Coding

Identify relevant clinical information contained in patient correspondence

Code or free text the clinical information on to the patient record as per practice protocol

Deal with queries relating to coding

Administration

To have a thorough knowledge of all practice procedures

To work in accordance of written policies

Photocopy and scan as requested

Carryout tasks relating to patient records, including filing, document management, and ensuring patients can access reports, prescriptions and that they are easily accessible.

Computer

Registrations of new patients computer data entry and medical records

Process patients changes of address computer data and medical records (have knowledge of practice area)

Process repeat prescription requests in accordance with practice guidelines

Other Tasks

Work through and tick off all opening/closing instructions, using the checklist provided.

Clear rooms after surgeries

Make and serve refreshments, ensure the kitchen is kept clean and tidy and air and tidy the waiting room in turn with other staff

Ensure building security have thorough knowledge of doors/windows/alarm

Any other tasks allocated by managers

Premises:

Open up premises at the start of the day when first to arrive, de-activate alarm and make all necessary preparations to clinical rooms, ready to receive patients

When last to leave at the end of the day, ensure that the building is totally secured, internal lights are off and the alarm activated

Keep the reception office and patient reception area, notice boards and leaflet dispensers tidy and free from obstructions and clutter

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 post-holder 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

Equality and diversity:

The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:

Acting in a way that recognises 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

Personal/professional development:

The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, with such training to include:

Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own 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 post-holder 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 teams performance

Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs

Effectively manage own time, workload and resources

Communication:

The post-holder should recognize the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:

Communicate effectively with other team members

Communicate effectively with patients and carers

Recognise peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly

Contribution to the implementation of services:

The post-holder 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

Person Specification

Skills

Essential

• Use of GP IT - Emis skills
• Use of Docman

Desirable

• Emis skills
• Use of Docman

Qualifications

Essential

• Eligible to work in the U.K.
• Clean & Tidy Appearance
• General Secondary Education to GCSE level or equivalent
• GCSE C or above Maths & English
• Able to provide complete education/employment history
• IT skills

Desirable

• Health care qualifications
• Receptionist or Customer Service qualification

Experience

Essential

• 1.Offering high levels of customer service
• 2.Dealing with patients/customers face to face
• 3.Dealing with patients/customers on the telephone
• 4.Microsoft office skills
• 5.Working in a busy and pressurised environment
• 6.Working as part of a team

Desirable

• Desirable
• Previous experience within General Practice or other NHS environment.
• Previous EMIS Web clinical system experience.

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Annandale Medical Centre

Address

The Elms

High Street

Potters Bar

Herts

EN6 5DA

Employer's website

http://www.annandalesurgery.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)