Booking Officer, Band 3

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Responsibilities

- To provide an efficient, friendly and courteous front of house service to all patients and visitors attending the department. To be the first point of contact for most people accessing the Therapy Service, by receiving patients at the reception desk and dealing with telephone and email enquiries from patients and health care professionals, in order to ensure the smooth running of the department. To maintain a smart, professional appearance at all times and keep the reception work area tidy.

- To check all demographics and update the IT system in accordance with Trust policy, taking responsibility for patient confidentiality at all times. To register all patient referrals on the IT system and populate and manage pending/waiting lists, ensuring that all details relating to the patient are accurate. To book support services e.g. transport, interpreters.

- To ensure timely review and triage of referrals by clinicians and subsequent processing of those referrals. Organise clinics including the booking of appointments, changing and cancelling appointments in negotiation with patients and generate appropriate paperwork. Ensure high utilisation of clinics to maximise capacity. Recording timely and appropriately on the hospital IT system. To monitor the progress of referrals, identifying problems and taking appropriate actions to ensure efficient management of referrals. To action appointment re-scheduling ensuring that clinical priorities are maintained and liaising directly with service leads where capacity problems exist.

- To record appointment and contact outcomes on the hospital system and service databases. Highlighting patient queries, results or correspondence to clinical team member and taking relevant action.

- To efficiently monitor and maintain waiting lists and provide service leads with timely information to enable action on capacity shortfalls. To use appointment capacity effectively to ensure optimum use to meet new and follow-up clinical and wait time constraints.

- To use verbal and non-verbal communication tools to communicate effectively with patients/carers. This may include negotiating appointments and giving basic advice. This will include patients/carers who may or may not have barriers to communication through language and cultural differences, cognitive or physical impairment e.g. dysphasia, deafness, blindness and depression.

- Communicate confidently and effectively with key staff at all levels within and external to the Trust to ensure smooth running of the service. This will include highlighting capacity issues and any potential delays due to internal or external factors. To deal with patient and health professional queries using tact and sensitivity and maintaining confidentiality at all times.

- To send out letters and information to patients who have been referred to Therapy, asking them to contact the department to arrange an appointment. To be responsible for booking, cancelling or changing appointments for patients, and accurately recording the outcomes of appointments where appropriate.

- To utilise the service databases for recording patient activity and outcomes. Take part in clinical governance activities including implementation of data collection systems to ensure continued service evaluation and compliance with clinical governance. To support and implement service improvements.

- To liaise with relevant team members to ensure the smooth running of any process changes/developments. To cover colleagues during absences/annual leave/sick leave. This includes the departmental secretary with response to solicitors/legal services requests for notes and reports in order to fulfil legal obligations, and liaison with the Legal and Complaints department as necessary. To assist in the training and development of colleagues.

- To accurately input data and perform other administrative tasks as requested. To register patient data accurately and in a timely way, in accordance with trust and departmental policy.

- To be able to organise, prioritise and manage own workload with minimal direct supervision, adapting daily work plan to meet rapidly changing priorities where the workload is unpredictable.

- To liaise and work with line management to ensure compliancy of daily service management. Highlight any issues to line management which may have a detrimental impact on workload or staff etc.

- To accurately file the therapy records after the patient has been discharged, retrieve patient records and order medical records as required by the therapists.

- To assist with provision of absence cover for colleagues or any duties as requested by management to meet service demand.

- To be a supportive member of the team and share knowledge and skills by assisting with training and appraisal as required.

- To complete all training in accordance with Trust policy and to assist with on-the-job training for new staff.

- To comply with Trust and Departmental policies and procedures e.g. Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), Manual Handling, Data Protection Acts and patient confidentiality at all times. This will include demonstrating compliance with the terms of all safeguarding policies and processes relevant to the safeguarding of adults and children in the care of GHNHSFT and to undergo regular mandatory training concerned with safeguarding matters.

Communications and Working Relationships

- To communicate effectively with patients, relatives and carers in order to provide patient centred care. Patients may have communication, perceptual or cognitive/understanding difficulties.

- To communicate effectively and work collaboratively with clinical and administration staff across the MSK Service to ensure delivery of a coordinated multidisciplinary service.

- To work and communicate effectively with wider Healthcare communities, including: GP Practices, other departments within the Trust, medical staff, support staff e.g. hospital transport, interpreters, health records, domestic staff, volunteers, I.T staff and our community care colleagues.

General Working Conditions

Mental and Emotional effort

- Dealing with difficult situations with people who are distressed or angry

- The work pattern and workload are unpredictable and priorities can change daily

- Ability to adapt to new policies/procedures quickly and effectively

Most Challenging Part of the Job

- Working in a busy environment with frequent interruptions and multi-tasking

- Working flexibly across sites, prioritising workload efficiently

- Having to think on your feet and problem solve.

- High levels of concentration are required to complete tasks accurately, in an environment of frequent interruptions due to telephone enquiries, emails, patients and staff enquiries

- Ensuring 100% accuracy of data inputting

- Maintaining patient confidentiality in open plan reception areas

- Trying to meet patients expectations when there are a shortage of appointments

- Dealing with anxiety and sometimes aggression from patients/relatives

Physical Effort and Working Conditions

- The post holder will be expected to sit predominantly at a desk but have frequent interruptions, with the need to move around the Therapy department.

- Dealing with sensitive and confidential information

- Prolonged use of a telephone and computer systems

- Daily physical handling of health records and post over varying distances. This can range from one set of notes to bags containing multiple sets

- Dealing with sensitive and confidential information

- High levels of concentration are required in an environment of frequent interruptions either by telephone or face to face contact.

Health and Safety

It is the duty of every employee to work in such a way that accidents to themselves and to others are avoided, and to co-operate in maintaining their place of work in a tidy and safe condition, thereby minimising risk. Employees will, therefore, refer any matters of concern through their respective line managers.

Data Quality

As part of your employment you may be required to record Patient Information (computerised or on paper). You have a responsibility to ensure that information is entered accurately, completely and consistently. It is particularly important that patients demographic details are kept up to date. Problems should be reported to your manager.

Contact Details

Zajee Mathew (Lead Administrator)

zajee.mathew@nhs.net

0300 422 8527

Kerrie Hodges

kerrie.hodges2@nhs.net

Person Specification

Qualifications and Training

Essential

• Educated to GCSE grade C or above (or equivalent) in literacy or numeracy
• NVQ in Administration level 3 or equivalent relevant professional experience
• Computer literate in Microsoft Office packages

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Able to communicate effectively and have a good understanding of English, punctuation and grammar.
• Able to plan, problem solve and prioritise own workload effectively and independently
• Excellent attention to detail
• Excellent frontline customer care skills and front of house/reception experience

Experience

Essential

• Appropriate experience in a hospital or office environment and dealing with the general public
• Experience of working in a team

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Flexible team worker
• Proactive/takes own initiative
• Committed to personal development
• Professional approach and image

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

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Cross site (Cheltenham and Gloucester)

Gloucestershire

GL1 3NN

Employer's website

https://www.gloshospitals.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)