Job responsibilities
The duties and
responsibilities to be undertaken by members of the practice administration
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 administrative manager, dependent on current and evolving
practice workload and staffing levels:
- Opening up/locking-up of practice
premises and maintaining security in accordance with Practice protocols.
- Processing personal and telephone
requests for appointments, visits and telephone consultations and ensuring
callers are directed to the appropriate healthcare professional.
- 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 into
the computer, ensuring careful recording of all relevant details and where
necessary refer to duty doctor.
- Action repeat prescription requests
and ensure that they are ready for collection by the patient within 48
hours, either on the computer or manually.
- Advise patients of relevant charges
for private (non General Medical Services) services, accept payment and
issue receipts for same.
- Processing and distributing incoming
(and outgoing) mail
- Filing and retrieving paperwork
- Computer data entry/data allocation
and collation; processing and recording information in accordance with
practice procedures
- Initiating contact with and responding
to requests from patients, other team member and associated healthcare
agencies and providers
- Providing clerical assistance to practice
staff, including word/data processing, filing, photocopying and scanning.
- Ordering, re-ordering and monitoring
of stationery and other supplies
- Provision of refreshments for staff
and visitors as required and keeping the kitchen area clean and tidy.
- Keeping the reception area,
notice-boards and leaflet dispensers tidy and free from obstructions and
clutter.
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
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 recognizes 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 which 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 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
- Recognize 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
General Terms and
Conditions
This job is not to be taken as an exhaustive list of duties and
responsibilities and may be amended in the light of changing practice needs.
All changes will be fully discussed with the post holder.
The practice operates a strict No
Smoking policy.
