Job responsibilities
Job summary:
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 duties/responsibilities:
- Ensure an effective and efficient reception service is provided to
patients and any other visitors to the practice
- Provide care navigation/signposting of patients
- Deal with all general enquiries, explain procedures and make new
and follow-up appointments.
- Using your own judgment and communication skills, ensure that
patients with no prior appointment but who need urgent consultation are
seen in a logical and non-disruptive manner.
- Explain practice arrangements and formal requirements to new
patients and those seeking temporary cover, and ensure procedures are
completed.
- Liaise with other clinical staff including District Nurses, Health
Visitors etc.,
- 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 into clinical system, ensuring to
carefully record all relevant details and referring to duty doctor where
necessary.
- Advise patients of relevant charges for private (non General
Medical Services) services.
- Retrieve
and re-file records as required, ensuring strict alphabetical order is
adhered to.
- Ensure the kitchen is kept clean and tidy and air and tidy the
waiting room in turn with other staff.
- Premises:
Open up premises at the start of the day when
first to arrive, de-activate alarm and make all necessary preparations to
receive patients.
When last to leave at the end of the day, ensure
that the building is totally secured, internal lights are off and the alarm
activated.
- Ensure efficient running of appointment system and monitor flow of
patients into Treatment/Consulting rooms.
- To work in accordance of written protocols
- Fax and photocopy as requested
- Be able to cover reception positions as necessary
- Process patients changes of address computer data and medical
records (have knowledge of practice area)
- Have working knowledge of telephone/on call system, during and
after hours
- Ensure building security have thorough knowledge of
doors/windows/alarm and report any concerns
- Carry out any other tasks allocated by managers
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.
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-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, 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
- Responsible for undertaking own mandatory training as per practice
policy
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
- Ensure they have a full and clean driving license
