Job responsibilities
Job Purpose
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
Main Duties & Responsibilities
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.
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 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. 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 Alliance may only be divulged to authorized persons in
accordance with the Alliances 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 Alliances Health & Safety
Policy to include:
Identifying the
risk involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that
manages those risks.
Ensuring that all
accidents or dangerous accidents are reported and investigated and follow up
action taken where necessary.
Equality and Diversity
The
post-holder will support the quality, 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 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-judgemental and
respects their circumstances, feelings, priorities and rights.
Quality
The
post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the Alliance, 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 enhanced 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.
