Job responsibilities
Job Summary:
The purpose of the role is to:
Work alongside existing staff to provide a sensitive, efficient and confidential service to patients
Offer general assistance to the practice team and project a positive and friendly image to patients and other visitors, either in person or via the telephone
Receive, assist and direct patients in accessing the appropriate service or healthcare professional in a courteous, efficient and effective way
Undertake a variety of administrative duties to assist in the smooth running of the practice
Facilitate effective communication between patients, members the primary health care team, secondary care and other associated healthcare agencies
Duties and Responsibilities:
Duties may be varied from time to time under the direction of the Practice Manager, dependent on current and evolving practice workload and staffing levels:
- Using the Practice coding software to extract all information from clinical letters
- Arranging appointments, referrals, tests and follow up appointments for patients
- Using the Practice Welby Innovate system to file pathology results, run reports, send text messages/letters to ensure patient compliance with Annual Treatment review process
- Dealing with safeguarding documentation
- Monitoring the Practice communication system AccuRx
- Helping the Practice achieve maximum QoF points by running reports and making sure patients attend for review within the given time frame
- Monitoring the Practice generic e-mail and responding to queries
- Responding to any tasks sent in the clinical system
- Helping the GPs to liaise with outside agencies e.g. getting an on-call doctor on the phone to ask advice or arrange admission while the GP can continue with their consultations
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 implement and lead on a full range of promotion and management their own and others health and safety and infection control as defined in the practice Health & Safety Policy 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
- 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
- Responsible for correct hand hygiene
- 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 holder's role
- Undertaking periodic infection control training
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:
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, 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 your own time, workload and resources.
Communication:
The post-holder 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
- 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.
Policy and Service Development Implementation:
- Comply with practice policies and procedures as defined within the staff handbook and the practice policy library
Responsibilities for Financial and Physical Resourses:
- Liaising with IT support services relevant to post and equipment used to instigate repair
Responsibilities for Human Resources:
- Assist with training new staff as required
- Provide annual leave / sickness cover as necessary
- Attend all mandatory training sessions and undertake any additional training required to fulfill the requirement of the role
Freedom to Act:
- Follow standard operating procedures and guidelines
- This job description contains the principal duties of the post and a range of other duties is implicit in these. The duties may be amended from time to time to reflect any changes in the needs of the service in discussion with the post holder.
Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults:
- To ensure awareness and be alert to, the signs and symptoms of abuse in children through regular participation in mandatory and refresher child protection training.
- To be familiar with all relevant Safeguarding Children and Young People, policies and procedures and contact points, taking the appropriate action when there is knowledge or suspicion of a child who has been subject to abuse.
- To be familiar with all relevant Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults, policies and procedures and contact points, taking the appropriate action when there is knowledge or suspicion of a vulnerable adult who has been subject to abuse.