Medical Receptionist

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job summary:

To be responsible for undertaking a wide range of reception, telephone and administrative duties. This will be under the direction of the Reception Supervisors and Patients Services Manager, with the aim of providing comprehensive support to the multidisciplinary team at the Practice, and the best possible service to our patient population.

Provide general assistance to the Practice Team and project a positive and friendly image to patients and other visitors, in person, by phone or via electronic means.

Receive, assist and direct patients in accessing the appropriate service or healthcare professional in a courteous, efficient and effective way.

Allocated duties will vary on a day to day basis depending on current and evolving workloads, skill mix and staffing levels.

Job responsibilities:

The duties and responsibilities to be undertaken by members of the practice reception team may include any or all of the items in the following list. Duties may be varied from time to time under the direction of the Practice Manager, dependent on current and evolving practice workload and staffing levels:

• Opening up/locking up of practice premises and maintaining security in accordance with current practice protocols.
• Maintaining and monitoring the practice appointments system.
• Monitor flow of patients into the waiting room, ensuring the appointment system accurately reflects the arrival of patients.
• Processing personal and telephone requests for appointments, visits and telephone consultations, in accordance with practice guidelines; ensuring callers are sign-posted to the appropriate healthcare professional / service.
• Ensure an effective and efficient reception service is provided to patients and any other visitors to the practice at all times.
• Deal with all general enquiries, explain procedures and make new and follow-up appointments.
• Using your own judgement and communication skills, ensure that patients with no prior appointment but who need urgent consultation are seen in a logical and non-disruptive manner.
• Receive and make telephone calls as required. Divert calls and take messages, ensuring accuracy of detail and prompt appropriate delivery.
• Have a working knowledge of the telephone system.
• Enter requests for home visits onto the electronic appointment system, ensuring to carefully record all relevant details and referring to the duty doctor where necessary.
• Enter patient information onto the computer as required, in accordance with practice guidelines.
• Administrative tasks as required for examples scanning documents onto medical records
• Scan and photocopy when requested to do so.
• Keep the reception and waiting areas, notice-boards and leaflet dispensers tidy and free from obstructions and clutter.
• Any other duties appropriate to the post that may be agreed from time to time.

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, and the practice infection control policy and published procedures. This will 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.
• 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.
• 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:

• 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 that is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgemental 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:

• 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.

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

Secondary Responsibilities:

Dr Stocks & Partners is a large two site Practice and all staff are required to generally support the Practice and its patients. As such there are a variety of responsibilities that apply regardless to this role. These are just some examples and should not be regarded as in any way exhaustive. Full training will be provided where required.

• Complete all mandatory training.
• Act as Chaperone if requested.
• Cleaning (limited and when no cleaner on site or to aid with infection control).
• Setting up rooms; distributing, collecting and logging prescriptions in clinical rooms at the start and end of each day. Topping up of items such as hand towels, couch rolls, urine pots, swabs etc.
• Helping with large clinics or events which may be out of hours (Saturday flu clinics).
• Basic life support or other emergency support if first on the scene.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Experience in patient/customer care.
• Experience working in an office environment.
• Basic IT knowledge and experience, including carrying out basic internet navigation.
• Experience of data entry.

Desirable

• Experience of working in healthcare setting.
• Knowledge and experience of using Microsoft Office Word, Excel, Outlook.

Skills and Experience

Essential

• Good communication and organisational skills.
• The ability to work both independently and as part of a wider team.
• Initiative and discretion.
• High stress tolerance.

Desirable

• Experience of using EMIS Web

Qualifications

Essential

• GCSE in English and Maths

Desirable

• Qualified to NVQ level 2 in customer service
• Qualified to NVQ level 2 in administration

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Little Common Surgery

Address

82 Cooden Sea Road

Bexhill-on-sea

East Sussex

TN39 4SP

Employer's website

https://www.oldtownsurgery.org.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)