Job responsibilities
JOB TITLE: RECEPTIONIST
REPORTS TO: RECEPTION MANAGER
HOURS: 20-37.5 hours per week
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 responsibilities
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.
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 into the visit book, 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.
Prepare lists and notes for all surgeries and clinics held, ensuring
completion of all associated paperwork.
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:
Retrieve and re-file records as required, ensuring strict alphabetical
order is adhered to
Ensure correspondence, reports, results etc. are filed promptly and in
the correct records, ensuring that all recent correspondence is available when
patients are seen.
Ensure records are kept in good repair, with all necessary information
on the outside cover clearly visible.
Make and serve refreshments, 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 that all new patients are registered onto the computer system
promptly and accurately
Undertake any other additional duties appropriate to the post as
requested by the partners or the business 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
