Job responsibilities
About the role:
The Care Navigator is responsible for providing friendly, efficient, and compassionate support to patients,
clinicians, and other staff. This role serves as the first point of contact for the practice, managing the
appointments system, processing requests, and facilitating effective communication between patients and the
healthcare team.
The Care Navigator also assists with a variety of administrative duties to support the smooth running of the
Practice including the provision of secretarial and clerical support to clinical staff and other members of the
Practice team.
The role involves working closely with patients, GPs, the extended primary care team and other relevant health
and social care professionals to ensure care delivery is of a high quality.
Key responsibilities include provision of efficient, professional and high-quality patient support face to face,
over the telephone and online, executing management plans, leading on completion of administrative tasks,
arranging coverage, supporting reception and admin teams, and managing various communication channels
efficiently.
The role will deliver essential patient recall across all areas of QOF and LTC LCS ensuring patient appointments
are well utilised and escalating any issues directly to the Reception Manager for prompt resolution.
The role demands excellent organisational skills, customer service, and the ability to work collaboratively within
a diverse healthcare team, always representing the surgery professionally and ensuring smooth operational
functionality.
About Islington GP Federation:
Islington GP Federation (IGPF) is a growing organisation representing 31 practices; we have established
ourselves as a leader in new ways of working, including running Islingtons extended access primary care
services (I: HUB) as well as supporting the Islington Primary Care Networks (PCNs). Our current range of services
include the Extended Access Service, I: HUB, Community Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), Integrated Community
Gynaecology, practice-based pharmacists and a range of practice support mechanisms.
IGPF works very closely with a range of partners including the regional commissioning group, NHS England,
Healthy London Partnership, Public Health, local hospitals such as UCLH,Whittington Health and the London
Borough of Islington.
IGPF is the host organisation for the Primary Care Network (PCN) workforce and the Islington Training Hub and
has been working for over three years to create training and development programmes that meet the needs of
staff working in primary and community care settings.
IGPF runs four Islington GP Practices-Northern Medical Practice, Barnsbury Medical Practice, City Road Medical
Centre and Hanley Primary Care Centre
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Offer a welcoming and professional first point of contact for patients, visitors, and telephone callers
- Maintain and monitor the Practice appointments system
- Process personal and telephone requests for appointments, visits and telephone consultations and
ensure callers are directed to the appropriate healthcare professional
- Process and distribute incoming (and outgoing) mail, take messages, and provide general
administrative support
- Process repeat prescriptions in accordance with Practice guidelines
- Perform data entry, filing, and other clerical duties as required Maintain organization and tidiness of the reception area
- Work with the Triage GP to contact patients, arrange ongoing care, and complete administrative tasks
- Manage the Practice's electronic, paper, and telephone communications effectively and efficiently
- Liaise with patients about their management plans under clinician supervision
- Provide word processing support for clinicians, including letters, reports, and referrals
- Support operational and quality improvement initiatives, such as QOF, DES, and LCS targets
- Cover for members of the reception and admin team during leave or absence
- Adhere to practice policies, standards, and legislation regarding information governance,
confidentiality, and patient rights
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 careers, 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, to 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
- 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 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 otherswho 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 Recognize 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
