Care Navigator

Job description

Job responsibilities

• Work with people, their families and carers to improve their understanding of the patients condition and support them to develop and review personalised care and support plans to manage their needs and achieve better healthcare outcomes.
• Help people to manage their needs through answering queries, making and managing appointments, and ensuring that people have good quality written or verbal information to help them make choices about their care.
• Signpost patients appropriately to self-help resources as required, proving them with written and digital sources where necessary.
• Printing and issuing pathology forms and specimen pots as required. Advising patients if there are specific requirement they need to follow when collecting the sample. Collecting in the sample and ensuring this is placed in the pathology collection box.
• Ensuring patient phone calls are managed in a timely manner, politely, supporting patient needs.
• Ensuring Tasks within the clinical system are actioned in a timely manner.
• Raising Tasks within the clinical system where appropriate.
• Administration of patient letters via the Anima Document Management system or Document Management System in SystmOne.
• Support practices to keep care records up to date by identifying and updating missing or out-of-date information about the persons circumstances.
• Work with PCN and other community services as required, in an appropriate and polite manner to facilitate patient.
• Updating patient records accurately and in a timely manner
• Answering patient phone calls ensuring patients queries are process in accordance the practice requirements, signposting patients as appropriate
• Ensuring all visitors are signed in and out of the building.
• Ensure that patients without appointments but who need 'urgent consultations are booked into appropriate slots and referred to a GP where necessary

Key Tasks

Projecting the practice values as the first point of contact at the practice

a. Unlocking and locking up of the premises securely.

b. Answering phone calls from patients and dealing with queries appropriately

c. Providing advice and support to patient face-to-face

d. Booking patients into the clinical system when they arrive for their appointment.

e. Ensuring clinical documentation is scanned on to the patient records in line with the practices processes

f. Develop an in-depth knowledge of the local health and care infrastructure and know how and when to enable people to access support and services that are right for them.

g. Support the coordination of patient care by working with colleagues or clinicians within the practice.

h. Chaperone patients as required.

i. FP10 management as per the practice policy when opening and closing the practice.

j. Identifying and escalating safeguarding concerns to the Safeguarding Lead within the practice.

Coordinate and integrate care

a. Regularly liaise with the range of multidisciplinary professionals and colleagues involved in the persons care, facilitating a coordinated approach and ensuring everyone is kept up to date so that any issues or concerns can be appropriately addressed and supported.

b. Support patients by way of raising requests for an appointment in our digital triage system Anima if they do not have the means to raise the request themselves. Monitoring the request if the patient down not have sufficient IT access and liaising with the patient accordingly.

c. Support patients by way of raising administration request (Med 3, requests for letter etc) in our digital triage system Anima if they do not have the means to raise the request themselves.

d. Identify when action or additional support is needed, alerting a named clinical contact in addition to relevant professionals, and highlighting any safety concerns.

e. Keep accurate and up-to-date records of contacts, appropriately using GP and other records systems relevant to the role, adhering to information governance and data protection legislation.

f. Work sensitively with people, their families and carers to capture key information, facilitating the patient journey with a focus on maintaining n their health and wellbeing.

g. Record and collate information according to agreed protocols and contribute to evaluation reports required for the monitoring and quality improvement of the service.

3. Professional development

a. Work with a named clinical point of contact for advice and support.

b. Undertake continual personal and professional development, taking an active part in reviewing and developing the role and responsibilities, and provide evidence of learning activity as required.

c. Adhere to organisational policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, equality, diversity and inclusion training and health and safety.

Miscellaneous

a. Establish strong working relationships with GPs and practice teams and work collaboratively with other care coordinators, social prescribing link workers and health and wellbeing coaches, supporting each other, respecting each others views and meeting regularly as a team.

b. Act as a champion for personalised care and shared decision making within the practice.

c. Demonstrate a flexible attitude and be prepared to carry out other duties as may be reasonably required from time to time within the general character of the post or the level of responsibility of the role, ensuring that work is delivered in a timely and effective manner.

d. Identify opportunities and gaps in the service and provide feedback to continually improve the service and contribute to business planning.

e. Contribute to the development of policies and plans relating to equality, diversity and reduction of health inequalities.

f. Work in accordance with the practices policies and procedures.

g. Contribute to the wider aims and objectives of the practice and our PCN to improve and support primary care.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Proficient in MS Office and web-based services
• GCSE Maths & English Grace C or above
• Ability to actively listen, empathise with people and provide personalised support in a non-judgemental way
• Ability to provide a culturally sensitive service supporting people from all backgrounds and communities, respecting
• lifestyles and diversity
• Commitment to reducing health inequalities and proactively working to reach people from diverse communities
• Ability to support people in a way that inspires trust and confidence, motivating others to reach their potential
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, with people, their families, carers, community groups, partner agencies and stakeholders
• Ability to identify risk and assess / manage risk when working with individuals
• Have a strong awareness and understanding of when it is appropriate or necessary to refer people to other health professionals/agencies, when what the person needs is beyond the scope of the care navigator role e.g. when there is a mental health need requiring a qualified practitioner
• Ability to maintain effective working relationships and to promote collaborative practice with all colleagues
• Ability to demonstrate personal accountability, emotional resilience and work well under pressure
• Ability to organise, plan and prioritise on own initiative, including when under pressure and meeting deadlines
• High level of written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work flexibly and enthusiastically within a team or on own initiative
• Knowledge of, and ability to work to policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, and health and safety
• Experience of data collection and using tools to measure the impact of services
• Knowledge of the personalised care approach
• Understanding of the wider determinants of health, including social, economic and environmental factors and their impact on communities, individuals, their families and carers
• Understanding of, and commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion
• Strong organisational skills, including planning, prioritising, time management and record keeping
• Knowledge of Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults policies and processes
• Ability to recognise and work within limits of competence and seek advice when needed
• Understanding of the needs of older people / adults with disabilities / long term conditions particularly in relation to promoting their independence
• Understanding of the needs of older people / adults with disabilities / long term conditions particularly in relation to promoting their independence
• Meets DBS reference standards and criminal record checks
• Willingness to work flexible hours when required to meet work demands

Desirable

• Knowledge of how the NHS works, including primary care and PCNs
• Ability to provide motivational coaching to support peoples behaviour change
• Knowledge of how the NHS works, including primary care and PCNs
• Basic knowledge of long-term conditions and the complexities involved: medical, physical, emotional and social

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working in a GP practice, adult health and social care, learning support or public health / health improvement
• Experience of working within multi- professional team environments
• Experience or training in personalised care and support planning
• Experience of data collection and using tools to measure the impact of services

Desirable

• Experience of working in health, social care and other support roles in direct contact with people, families or carers (in a paid or voluntary capacity)
• Experience of supporting people, their families and carers in a related role
• Experience or training in personalised care and support planning
• Experience of working with elderly or vulnerable people, complying with best practice and relevant legislation

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

Southend Coastal Surgeries

Address

99 Tyrone Road

Thorpe Bay

Southend-on-Sea

Essex

SS1 3HD

Employer's website

https://www.southendcoastalsurgeries.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)