Job responsibilities
Job responsibilities:
- Ensure adequate staffing levels in Reception on a daily basis
- Ensure adequate reception and associated facilities for the practice
- Organise the daily tasks for the reception team, ensuring all work is completed where practical
- Deal with more complex enquiries from patients and complaints where appropriate.
- Ensure communication systems are running smoothly, and doctors and reception staff are kept fully informed of changes in procedures on a day to day basis
- Have full understanding of appointment system and to coordinate the system where appropriate.
- Have a clear understanding of telephone system, daytime and out of hours.
- Have a clear understanding of any emergency procedures (fire/loss of power/telephone system) to support and coordinate the daily activities of the reception team in the event of any of the above
- Ensure an effective and efficient reception service is provided to patients and any other visitors to the practice
- Support the Practice Manager, Partners and Operations Lead in the day to day running of the practice
- Undertake any other additional duties appropriate to the post as requested by the Partners or the Practice Manager.
- The above list of duties is not exhaustive and may be subject to change as deemed necessary
- In the event of long term absence of the Receptionist Team Leader, take on the role of Team Leader and associated job functions
Role of Receptionist: -
- Deal with general telephone enquiries from patients and general public 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 electronic Visits section in SystmOne, ensuring careful recording of all relevant details and where necessary refer to duty doctor.
- Ensure completion of all necessary paperwork for all surgeries and clinics held.
- Advise patients of relevant charges for private (non General Medical Services) services, accept payment and issue receipts for same (Information and receipts to be obtained from Practice Administrator).
- 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.
- 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:
o Open up premises at the start of the day when first to arrive, de-activate alarm 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, 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 Practice Manager.
- The above list of duties is not exhaustive and may be subject to change as deemed necessary.
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 implement and lead on the full range of promotion and management of 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 (but not be limited to):
- Ensure job-holders across reception adhere to their individual responsibilities for infection control and health and safety, using a system of observation, audit and check, hazard identification, questioning, reporting and risk management.
- Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of health and safety and infection control statutory and best practice guidelines and ensure implementation across the business
- 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 across the business
- Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills, and initiate and manage the training of others
- Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards, and initiation of remedial/corrective action where needed
- Actively identifying, reporting, and correction of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
- Keeping own work areas and general/patient areas generally clean, identifying issues and hazards/risks in relation to other work areas within the business, and assuming responsibility in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness across the business in consultation (where appropriate) with other sector managers
- Undertaking periodic infection control training (minimum annually)
- Routine management of own team/team areas, and maintenance of work space standards
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