Symphony Healthcare Services Limited

Patient Services Advisor - Ilminster, Somerset

The closing date is 07 December 2025

Job summary

Symphony Healthcare Services has fantastic opportunity for a calm, efficient and reliable person to join our team as a permanent, part-time Patient Services Advisor at The Meadows Surgery in Ilminster, Somerset,to help support the smooth running of these sites.

You will be flexible, hardworking and have excellent customer service skills, coupled with a genuine interest in working with patients, to deliver a high-quality health care service to the Ilminster community.

The Meadows Surgery provides care to approximately 4300 patients and has been situated in a purpose-built building in a residential area of Ilminster since 2012.

The Patient Services Advisor team are our front of house colleagues and the first point of contact for our patients. The role will be a busy mix of reception based duties and administration tasks and responsibilities.

The post is 21.5 hours per week and the rate of pay is £12.65 per hour.

Main duties of the job

This role requires courteous, calm and effective communication skills both over the phone and face-to-face in busy medical practices.

You will provide administration and reception duties, which will involve assisting and directing patients in accessing the appropriate services or healthcare professional in accordance with agreed procedures, protocols and timescales.

You will need to be able to work accurately and prioritise your own workload effectively while working as part of a team, while also meeting competing deadlines.

You will also be confident to proactively alert management / clinical staff to issues of quality, risk and safeguarding, as part of your daily role.

You will have sound IT skills and experience of using packages such as MS Office (Outlook, Word etc.).

Knowledge of the NHS / General Practice would be desirable, but not essential.

***Please read the full Job Description (JD) attached carefully before applying***

About us

Symphony Healthcare Services was established in 2016 as part of the award-winning Symphony Programme Vanguard, developing new models of care. We now support 16 practices across Somerset providing care for over 100,000 patients.

Symphony has developed a model where each practice is encouraged to operate autonomously, but as a subsidiary of NHS Somerset Foundation Trust (SFT), and with the backing and economies of scale from a central support team (particularly for HR, finance, corporate and strategic management matters).

Providing NHS services is at the heart of what we do. Our vision is to ensure that primary care is sustainable for patients and practices in Somerset, and we aim to be a national exemplar for primary care provision. We work closely with our practice teams to support, develop and transform patient care and working practices with innovation and technology at our core.

Symphony welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and underrepresented groups. When undertaking recruitment and selection for our services, Symphony are committed to equality of opportunity for all.

Symphony offers a NHS or NEST Pension, a fantastic range of employee benefits and salary sacrifice schemes (see attached poster), along with flexible working from day of employment and an agile approach to home / office-based working (where applicable).

We look forward to hearing from you and receiving your application.

Date posted

20 November 2025

Pay scheme

Other

Salary

£12.65 an hour

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time, Flexible working

Reference number

E0215-PSATH11-2025

Job locations

The Meadows Surgery

Canal Way

Ilminster

Somerset

TA19 9FE

Job description

Job responsibilities

Identify and book appointments and home visits in line with practice protocols, including cross-organisation bookings.
Search for, register if necessary and book onto the computer system patients as they present at the desk.
Deal with enquiries, signposting and requests, either face to face or over the telephone from a variety of external sources, such as patients, relatives, clinical team, hospital, pathology, and work colleagues.
Deal with distressed/aggressive patients safely and appropriately as they present at the desk or over the telephone
Be able to prioritise patients in need of urgent medical attention who present to reception in person or telephone in and direct them to the correct clinical intervention/appointment

***Please read the full job description attached before applying***

Job description

Job responsibilities

Identify and book appointments and home visits in line with practice protocols, including cross-organisation bookings.
Search for, register if necessary and book onto the computer system patients as they present at the desk.
Deal with enquiries, signposting and requests, either face to face or over the telephone from a variety of external sources, such as patients, relatives, clinical team, hospital, pathology, and work colleagues.
Deal with distressed/aggressive patients safely and appropriately as they present at the desk or over the telephone
Be able to prioritise patients in need of urgent medical attention who present to reception in person or telephone in and direct them to the correct clinical intervention/appointment

***Please read the full job description attached before applying***

Person Specification

Knowledge and skills

Essential

Computer literate and good keyboard skills.
Ability to listen carefully and communicate effectively and sensitively (verbal and written) to patients and staff at a range of levels.
Excellent organisational skills.
Strong attention to detail and the ability to transfer accurate information.
Work well under pressure.
Use own initiative within clear boundaries, seeking advice when necessary.
Demonstrate enthusiasm and a strong sense of teamwork.
Ability to complete tasks to a high standard with frequent interruptions.

Desirable

Knowledge of the NHS/General Practice
Knowledge of medical terminology

Qualifications

Essential

English & Maths GCSE or equivalent (grade A*-D/ grade 9 to 3)

Experience

Essential

Experience of working within a team.
Recognise the significance of different situations (including emergencies) and take appropriate action, following standard policies and procedures.

Desirable

Experience of working in a customer focused environment.
Experience of working within an administration team.
Experience of working in the NHS or similar health care setting.

Person Specification

Knowledge and skills

Essential

Computer literate and good keyboard skills.
Ability to listen carefully and communicate effectively and sensitively (verbal and written) to patients and staff at a range of levels.
Excellent organisational skills.
Strong attention to detail and the ability to transfer accurate information.
Work well under pressure.
Use own initiative within clear boundaries, seeking advice when necessary.
Demonstrate enthusiasm and a strong sense of teamwork.
Ability to complete tasks to a high standard with frequent interruptions.

Desirable

Knowledge of the NHS/General Practice
Knowledge of medical terminology

Qualifications

Essential

English & Maths GCSE or equivalent (grade A*-D/ grade 9 to 3)

Experience

Essential

Experience of working within a team.
Recognise the significance of different situations (including emergencies) and take appropriate action, following standard policies and procedures.

Desirable

Experience of working in a customer focused environment.
Experience of working within an administration team.
Experience of working in the NHS or similar health care setting.

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.