Job responsibilities
The post-holder will work as part of a team providing face to face and telephone support to patients and clinical staff.
The post-holder will work with reference to practice agreed policies and guidelines.
The post-holder will require a level of training and competence (to be provided via training)
The post-holder will be expected to increase their skills through training to suit the needs of the Practice and have competencies assessed regularly.
Duties and responsibilities:
Opening/Closing premises
- Switching alarm system
- Preparing the clinics
- Checking Health & Safety procedures
- Following the procedures for the telephone system
- Preparing closures of building
- Checking IT systems
Preparing Mail
- Opening mail and distributing accordingly to practice policy
- Processing electronic mail
Appointments
- Booking appointments for patients face to face and via telephone
- Arranging/organising clinics
- Manging appointments via practice policy
Signposting Services
- Self-awareness of signposting patients to the appropriate services
Enquiries
- Ensuring accurate messages are taken for the appropriate clinician
- Processing general enquiries
- Signposting patients
Telephone
- Greeting patients in an appropriate manner
- Dealing with telephone appointments
- Dealing with enquires
- Following practice policy when processing telephone calls
Interpreters
- Ensuring patients are given the opportunity to access the services
Prescriptions
- Processing repeat prescriptions following practice policy
- Understanding the importance of procedures and responsibility
Scanning/Filing
- Processing all clinical correspondence via electronic scanning system
- Processing filing in-line with practice policy
- Maintaining medical records
- Processing medical records in/out of the practice
- Ensuring security procedures are followed
Data Entry
- Processing patient results following practice policy
- Recording data entry accurately
Other patient processes
- Patient communications via telephone or post
Information Governance
- Awareness of Information Governance
- Attending training events & completing the necessary training
Ordering
- Responsible for maintaining stock levels
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 all 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 implement and understand a full range of promotion and manage their own and others health and safety and infection control 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 (but will not be limited to):
- Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines
- Awareness of national standards of infection control and cleanliness and regulatory / contractual / professional requirements, and good practice guidelines
- Following procedures and protocols for correct and safe management of the specimens process including collection, labelling, handling, use of correct and clean containers, storage and transport arrangements
- Following guidelines for hand hygiene.
- Identifying the risks involved in work activities and informing the manager of anything which could compromise patient safety
- Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills.
- Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy, clean and sterile, and safe way, free from hazards. Initiation of remedial / corrective action where needed or escalation to responsible management
- Actively identifying, reporting, and correction of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
- Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas generally clean, sterile, identifying issues and hazards / risks in relation to other work areas within the business, and assuming responsibility in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness across the business in consultation (where appropriate) with other managers
- Following spillage control procedures.
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 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 which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.
Personal/professional development:
In addition to maintaining continued education through attendance at any courses and/or study days the post-holder 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
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.
Learning and Development:
- Make effective us of learning opportunities within and outside the workplace, evaluating effectiveness and feeding back to the team
Other Duties:
- Any other duties, which may be required and agreed with the Practice Manager due to development and changes in General Practice