Job responsibilities
Job summary
To
provide a comprehensive reception service to achieve an efficient and effective
service in providing the best possible care to patients.
Receptionists
will:
- Greet people in a professional and courteous manner
- Pass on relevant information and answer queries
- Assist people to access the services they need
- Undertake a variety of reception duties to assist in the smooth running
of the Practice
Duties
and Responsibilities in line with Practice policies and procedures:
- Answer the telephone as a priority
- Book/cancel appointments
- Take messages accurately and pass on in a timely
manner
- Organise home visit requests
- Deal with general enquiries and complaints
- To forward any queries relating to prescriptions to
the Pharmacy Technicians
- Give out pathology results
- Register new patients and temporary residents and make
up paper records
- Process deducted patients and send records to Primary
Care Services Agency
- Greet and direct patients and visitors
- Organise translators
- Respond to the needs of GPs and Nurses to enable
efficient clinics
- Input and extract information from the Practice
computer system
- Update the clinical system with information eg
smoking, ethnicity
- Action change of address notification
- Any other filing, record keeping and distribution of
documents as appropriate
- Effectively liaise with Practice, Primary Care
Organisations, patients and other external organisations to assist
promptly with the resolution and administration of queries
- Fully utilise EMISWeb and other IT systems
- Monitor and check tasks and work flows
- Communicate effectively with the reception team to
ensure policies and procedures are kept up to date
- Keep directories and data bases up to date to ensure
an efficient work flow
- Demonstrate duties to new or less experienced staff
- Resolve job related issues, including patient
documentation and help resolve minor problems
- Photocopying
- Dealing with mail internal and external
- Attend meetings when required
- To work safely at all times in accordance with
legislation and Practice policies and procedures
- Be flexible both in the availability and being able to
cover for colleagues absent from work due to annual leave or sickness
- Any other reasonable duties requested
by the Practice Manager or GP
- This list is not exhaustive
In
addition to the above, the post holder will show respect and courtesy to
patients and colleagues, maintain confidentiality of patient and other Practice
information at all times. Working
occasional extra hours may be required.
The
job description is not exhaustive and may be adjusted periodically after review
and consultation. You will be expected
to carry out reasonable duties which may be requested from time to time.
Working relationships
- General
Practitioners
- Practice
Manager and Team Leader
- Other
members of secretarial team
- Members
of the Practice/community nursing team
- Other
members of the Primary Health Care Team
- Patients
- Outside
agencies eg Secondary Care Trusts, Community Services
All
members of staff may be asked to attend periodic Staff Meetings, which may be
held outside their normal working hours. They may also be required to work
extra hours covering for holidays and sickness. This may include Saturday
mornings and possibly weekend work in future on a rota basis.
Conditions
of employment including hours of work, holidays etc are covered in your
Contract of Employment. The staff handbook contains employment policies.
Review:
The
post and the job description reflect the current requirements and objectives of
the post. As the duties of the post
develop and change, the post holder may be required to carry out other
responsibilities.
Whilst
there will be consultation on such issues, employees should understand that, if
agreement cannot be reached, then the employer reserves the right to make
changes to job descriptions where it considers such changes necessary.
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, carers, Practice
staff and other health care 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 health care workers or the business
of the Practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with 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 recognises 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 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 skills 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
recognise 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
