Job responsibilities
Reception duties
Ensure an effective and efficient reception service is provided to patients and any other visitors to the practice
Deal with all general enquiries and explain practice procedures.
Respond to all queries and requests for assistance from patients and other visitors.
Ensure that patients who need urgent appointments are seen on the same day.
Explain practice arrangements and formal requirements to new patients and those seeking temporary cover and ensure procedures are completed.
Receive and make telephone calls as required. Divert calls and take messages, ensuring accuracy of detail and prompt appropriate delivery.
Enter requests for home visits onto the computer system, ensuring careful recording of all relevant details and where necessary refer to Duty Doctor.
Ensure reception and waiting areas are kept neat and tidy.
Appointment system
Ensure total familiarity with all appointment systems including regular and incidental variations (such as flu clinics)
Book appointments and recalls ensuring sufficient information is recorded
Monitor the flow of patients into the waiting room ensuring the appointment system accurately reflects the arrival of patients
Monitor effectiveness of the system and report any problems or variations to the Practice Manager
Medical Records
Retrieve and re-file patient records as required by other professionals
Ensure records are kept in good repair with all necessary information on the outside cover clearly visible
Patient Registrations
Explain practice registration arrangements and requirements to new patients and temporary residents.
Process the registration of new patients in accordance with Practice protocols.
Process changes of address and name onto the patients paper and electronic records in accordance with Practice protocols.
Assist patients to register for access to online services.
Prescriptions
In accordance with Practice protocols, process requests for repeat and acute prescriptions.
File prescriptions that have been signed by the clinical staff
Locate prescriptions ready for patients to collect.
Resolve problems when prescriptions are not ready for a patient to collect as expected.
Contact patients at the request of the prescribing assistants regarding their prescription.
Liaise with chemists as required
Reconcile medications as required from discharge summaries or clinical correspondence
Telephone System
Respond to calls from patients in a supportive and professional manner
Ensure all calls are answered as quickly as possible
Follow practice protocols regarding phone manner
Transfer calls to the relevant members of the practice team
Deal with appointment requests, give test results and handle prescription queries over the phone
Ensure the telephone system is switched from the out of hours service at 8am, and is switched to the out of hours service at 6:30pm
Start and end of day procedures
Open up the premises at the start of the day when first to arrive and make all necessary preparations to receive patients.
When last to leave at the end of the day, ensure that the reception area is totally secured and the internal lights are off
Workload planning
The post holder will be managed by the Practice Manager but is expected to be self-motivated and use their own initiative within guidance.
Prioritise own workload and requests for support to make the most effective use of resources available.
Use judgement and experience to determine the relevant urgency of requests received from patients and other external organisations.
Bring to the attention of the Practice Manager problem areas, backlogs and areas of difficulty.
Personal Development
Following adequate notice undertake appropriate training whenever reasonably possible. Such training may be provided internally or externally.
Take part in Protected Learning Time and other training deemed necessary by the Practice. Such events that maybe held internally or externally. If these are not scheduled within normal working hours the Post Holder will be paid for the additional hours worked.
All employees have a responsibility to participate in regular appraisal (at least annual) with their line manager and to identify performance standards for the post.
As part of the appraisal process employees have a joint responsibility with their line manager to identify any learning development needs in order to meet the agreed performance standards.
Administrative support
Provide administrative support to members of the primary health care team in the following areas ensuring appropriate practice records are kept up to date
o Cytology
o Pathology results
o Immunisation recalls (excluding childhood immunisations)
o Recalls
o Taking minutes of meetings as requested by the Practice Manager
Any other duties
You will be called upon to cover your colleagues in reception at times of sickness and holidays.
Undertake any other additional duties appropriate to the post as requested by the Partners, Practice Manager, or Reception Supervisor.
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 carers, 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, the practice Health & Safety Manual, and the practice Infection Control policy and published procedures.
This will include, but not be limited to:
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
Actively reporting of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas generally clean, assisting in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness consistent with the scope of the job holders role
Undertaking periodic infection control training (minimum annually)
Reporting potential risks identified
Demonstrate due regard for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
Equality and Diversity
The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include but not be limited to:
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, but not be limited to:
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 others who 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
Recognise 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