Receptionist/Care Navigator

Job summary

Thorpe Surgery has an opportunity for a care navigator to join our team on a part-time basis for 30 hours per week. Shifts vary from 8.00am - 2pm and 12.30pm - 6.30pm Monday to Friday.

This is a maternity cover position only, on a fixed term contract for 8 months, commencing February 2026.

Since this post is a maternity cover role, it is temporary and time-limited. The successful candidate will need to:

• Quickly adapt to the role: Reception in a GP practice is fast-paced, requiring an immediate understanding of processes such as booking appointments, managing patient queries, handling prescriptions, and using clinical systems.
• Confidently use practice systems: Many GP surgeries use specific software (e.g., EMIS, SystmOne). Previous knowledge of such systems allows the new care navigator to start contributing almost straight away.
• Understand NHS and practice protocols: Care Navigators deal with sensitive information, confidentiality, safeguarding, and patient triage. Prior experience helps avoid errors that could impact patient safety.
• Work under pressure with accuracy: The role often involves dealing with anxious or unwell patients, prioritising urgent calls, and supporting clinical staff. Experience equips someone to manage these situations calmly and professionally.
• Minimise disruption to the team: Since this is maternity cover, the team needs someone who can hit the ground running to ensure continuity of service for patients and minimal additional workload for colleagues.

Main duties of the job

• Greeting and directing all patients.
• Making appointments.
• Answering queries and complaints from patients and outside agencies, signposting to the appropriate staff member as appropriate.
• Accepting, issuing and handing out prescriptions, letters, completed forms, specimen bottles, etc.
• Advising patients of practice procedures.
• Accurately maintaining patient medical records, photocopying, filing and scanning.

About us

Thorpe Surgery form part of Clacton PCN and have a list size of 8000. Our clinical system is Emis web. We offer all staff to join NHS pension scheme.