Patient Assistant (Receptionist)

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job purpose

To support the Partners and Practice Director in delivering the Vision, Mission and Values of the Bromley by Bow Health partnership.

Job Summary

To be the front face of the organisation and provide outstanding service to patients.

In particular to have responsibility for

• Contact with patients in reception, through phones or via digital means

• Care of patients

• Engagement with patients

• Administration

• Continuity of care

  The post holder occupies a particular position of responsibility and trust, as they have access to sensitive patient, staff and business information. The post holder should have excellent organisational skills and have the ability to work as part of a team and also on their own initiative.

Core Tasks and functions

Contact with patients

• Provide an excellent first experience of the service by a professional and welcoming manner whenever in contact with patients in person, on the phone or through electronic communication

• Provide an excellent experience of the surgery by maintaining the waiting area to a high standard and ensuring that all information materials on display are relevant, accessible and up to date

  Care of patients

• Process requests for repeat prescriptions according to practice guidelines

• Book interpreter/advocates as requested

• If possible assist with interpreting as necessary

• Process requests for patient transport

• Deal with patient samples in a clinically safe manner

• Ensure that measures to promote and maintain high levels of hygiene and control of clinical infection are in place

  Engagement with patients

• Encourage patients to engage with the practice through making comments and suggestions

• Actively promote the patient questionnaire and other ways of getting patient feedback

  Administration

• To be a first point of contact for patients requiring general information relating to the practice, procedures, registration finance etc

• Post should be opened, stamped, and sorted to the appropriate persons and distributed to the appropriate site daily, in a timely manner.

• Deliveries should be received, signed for and stored appropriately

• Notes should be made up and stored appropriately

• Fees for non-NHS services should be received and appropriately recorded

• Filing, scanning and retrieval of paperwork

• Registrations and deductions

• Information entered on the clinical system should be clear and accurate.

• To provide general administrative support as required

  Continuity of care

• Handle the appointment system actively to provide, as far as possible, continuity of care with the same clinician

• While handling appointment requests with sensitivity promote self management as far as possible and maintain a balance between routine and same day appointments

• Signpost patients to appropriate alternative sources of advice and support

• Take messages from patients with accuracy and pass on to appropriate person as soon as possible;

• Deal with patient correspondence accurately and in a timely manner

• Scheduling patient treatments or other procedures.

• Ensure records are available and complete prior to patient visits

• Ensure documents forms and consents are completed prior to, and after treatments

• Coordination of reminder procedures

  Participate in meetings and learning

• Play an active role in team meetings and make every effort to build team working

• Be responsible for your own learning and development

  Flexibility

  Provide cover for members of the team during episodes of sickness or annual leave. Be prepared to be flexible, and work at other sites. You should be able to respond flexibly and positively to changes in the requirements of this post. This job description is therefore a guide to the level and range of responsibilities the post holder will be expected to undertake initially, and the duties of the post may be altered from time to time to meet the changing demands.

  The post holder will be expected to undertake additional duties as the requirements of the post changes. Be prepared to undertake any additional duties as directed by your line manager or senior managers.

General requirements

Confidentiality:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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, to 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.
• Reporting potential risks identified

Equality and Diversity

The post-holder will support the equality and 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 feeling 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.
• 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

Essential

• GCSE level A to C in English and Maths

Desirable

• Customer Care training

Experience

Essential

• Minimum of 6 months working directly with members of the public in a busy customer care environment.
• Experience of answering telephone calls in a high call volume environment
• Experience of working as part of a team

Desirable

• Experience of working in a GP Practice

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

Bromley by Bow Health Partnership

Address

Alderney Building

Bancroft Road

London

E1 4DG

Employer's website

https://www.bbbc.org.uk/health-centres/ (Opens in a new tab)