Medical Receptionist

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job Description:

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

Provide general assistance to the practice team and project a positive and friendly image to patients and other visitors, either in person or via the telephone.

Job responsibilities:

Reception

• 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 when required
• Explain practice arrangements and formal requirements to new patients and those seeking temporary cover and ensure procedures are completed
• Handing completed repeat prescriptions to patients and checking names and address
• Advise patients of relevant charges for private (Non-General Medical Services) services, accept payment and issue receipts for same
• Check patient in for their appointments, screen for COVID-19 and check their temperature
• Wipe down the chairs in the waiting areas and the desks, glass and doors every hour if you are covering Front Desk
• File prescriptions, sick notes and path lab forms in alphabetical order
• Action tasks sent by all clinicians
• Check new patient registration forms have been completed correctly and check their ID
• Receive samples from patients and ensure they have been labelled correctly prior to sending to the lab

Appointments

• Deal with practice tasks and book appointments accordingly
• Deal with home visits requests and check the home visit screen to provide summary printouts for the clinician
• Deal with late call requests
• Ensure total familiarity with all appointment systems including regular and incidental variations

• Book appointments and ensuring sufficient information is recorded to enable retrieval of the medical record
• When covering reception to monitor 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 Office Managers/Practice Manager

Computer

• Registrations of new patients computer data entry and medical records
• Process patients changes of address, computer data and medical records (have knowledge of practice boundary)
• Process repeat prescription requests in accordance with practice guidelines

Telephone

• Ensure prompt logging on to the telephone system
• Receive and make telephone calls as required. Divert calls and take messages, ensuring accuracy of detail and prompt appropriate delivery

Administration

• To have a thorough knowledge of all practice procedures
• To work in accordance of written protocols
• Ensure adequate stationery is on the reception desk
• Photocopy as requested
• Display practice leaflets in the designated holders and on the reception desk
• Action out of hours and discharge reports on Emis and highlight any action to be taken
• Process Emis workflow in a timely manner
• Acknowledge incoming ABPI referrals and make appointments accordingly
• Add ABPI results to a spreadsheet so that they can be sent to CSU and the Practice Manager
• Arrange 24-hour BP appointments
• Order supplies from the Pathology Department
• Order x-ray/ultrasound cards
• Access Open Exeter and invite patients who are due/overdue smears and update on Open Exeter accordingly
• Code smear invite on Emis
• Run the new patient template and add date from registration form and process accordingly

Provide administrative support to members of the primary health care team in the following areas ensuring appropriate practice records are kept up to date:

Medical records

• Ensure that records are available upon request
• Sort and summarise incoming notes for new patients
• Retrieve and re-file records as requested, ensuring that strict alphabetical order is adhered to
• Ensure correspondence, reports, results etc. are filed in correct records
• Ensure records are kept neat and tidy and in good repair with all necessary information recorded correctly on the outer cover
• Return patient notes to PCSE for patients that have left the practice
• Print deceased patients records and return with paper records to PCSE
• Pulling/filing notes when required and updating as necessary
• Deal with SAR (subject access request) from Solicitors and provide copies of medical records

Other Tasks

• Ensure rooms are ready to use before and after surgeries
• Ensure adequate stationery in all consulting rooms
• Ensure all noticeboards are tidy in all consulting rooms
• Ensure the hand sanitisers have been filled up in all waiting areas
• Ensure the COVID boxes are filled up in all clinician rooms
• Ensure the GP rooms are filled up with stationary and other stock
• Ensure building security have thorough knowledge of doors/windows/alarm
• Tidy the waiting area in turn with your colleagues
• Make and serve refreshments, ensuring the kitchen is kept clean and tidy
• Undertaken any additional duties appropriate to the post as requested by the Partners/Practice Manager / Office Managers
• The above is not an exhaustive list of duties and you will be expected to perform different tasks as necessitated by your changing role within the organisation and the overall business objectives of the organisation

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:

• 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 and adults.

Equality, diversity and inclusion:

The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and inclusion 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-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.

Safeguarding:

The post-holder will safeguard and promote the welfare of adults and children with care and support needs. Their responsibilities are:

To be alert to the potential indicators of abuse or neglect for adults and children with care and support needs and know how to act on those concerns in line with national guidance and Lancashire safeguarding adult and children procedures

To discuss any concerns, you may have with your Safeguarding Leads: Dr S Duggal and Dr S Jones

To undertake training, including attending regular updates so that they maintain their skills and are familiar with procedures aimed at safeguarding adults and children

To minimise any potential risk to adults and children with care and support needs

Personal/professional development:

The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, with 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 and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work

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

The above list serves to illustrate the scope and responsibilities of the post and is not intended to be an exhaustive list of duties. You will be expected to perform different tasks as necessitated by the development of this role as the practice develops, and the overall business objectives of the practice change.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Qualifications
• 5 GCSE C or above including Maths and English

Desirable

• AMSPAR Diploma (Reception/Secretarial)
• Basic or Intermediate Medical Terminology Course
• NVQ 2/3 Customer Service

Experience

Essential

• Proficient telephone skills
• Previous reception experience or customer service experience

Desirable

• Previous Medical Receptionist experience in a GP Surgery
• Previous use of Emis Web

Skills

Essential

• Communication skills-verbal (face to face and telephone) and written.
• Sound interpersonal skills-tact and diplomacy
• Handling conflict and difficult situations.
• Ability to work on own initiative and as part of a team
• Aptitude to learn and develop new skills
• Ability to use own judgement, resourcefulness and common sense
• Ability to multi-task , manage own time
• And prioritise urgent tasks.

Desirable

• IT skills
• Experience of Microsoft Office
• Ability to book appointments, organise surgeries, file records, prepare consulting rooms etc.

Personal

Essential

• Motivate self and others
• Smart appearance
• Articulate
• Flexibility and Willingness to accept change and new approaches.

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

Ribbleton Medical Centre

Address

243 Ribbleton Avenue

Ribbleton

Preston

PR2 6RD

Employer's website

https://www.ribbletonmedicalcentre.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)