Receptionist

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job Responsibilities:

• To have a thorough knowledge of all practice procedures and to work in accordance with written protocols.

• Ensure an effective and efficient reception service is provided to patients and any other visitors to the practice
• Deal with all general enquiries, explain procedures and make new and follow-up appointments.
• Contact patients to make appointments for QoF, Chronic Disease Management and other routine appointments as required.
• 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.
• 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, ensuring to carefully record all relevant details and referring to duty doctor where necessary.
• Action repeat prescription requests and ensure that they are ready for collection by the patient within 48 hours, either on the computer or manually.
• Handing completed repeat prescriptions and checking names and addresses.
• Advise patients of relevant charges for private (non General Medical Services) services, accept payment and issue receipts for same.
• Enter patient information on to the computer as required.
• Patient notes and correspondence:

o Retrieve and re-file records as required, ensuring strict alphabetical order is adhered to

o Ensure correspondence, reports, results etc. are filed promptly and in the correct records, ensuring that all recent correspondence is available when patients are seen.

o Ensure records are kept in good repair, with all necessary information on the outside cover clearly visible.

• Tidy the waiting room in turn with other staff.
• Premises:

o Open up reception at the start of the day when first to arrive and make all necessary preparations to receive patients.

o When last to leave at the end of the day, ensure that the building is totally secured.

o Have working knowledge of the telephone transfer system.

• Ensure that all new patients are registered onto the computer system promptly and accurately.
• Email and photocopy documents as requested.
• Undertake any other additional duties appropriate to the post as requested by the partners or the practice manager or reception manager.

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, 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

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

Person Specification

Qualifications

Desirable

• GCSE Maths- Grade C or above
• GCSE English- Grade C or above
• Business Administration qualification

Experience

Desirable

• Working in a GP Surgery.
• Call handling.
• Reception duties.
• Customer service

Personal skills

Desirable

• Hard working, flexible, able to work as part of a team, proactive.

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

The Ferryhill & Chilton Medical Practice

Address

The Surgery

Durham Road

Ferryhill

County Durham

DL17 8JJ

Employer's website

http://www.ferryhillandchilton.nhs.uk/welcome,38155.htm (Opens in a new tab)