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 judgement 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 on to the clinical system, ensuring careful recording of all relevant details and where necessary refer to the Duty Doctor.
- Direct repeat prescription requests to the appropriate person 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.
- Enter patient information onto the computer as required.
- Make and serve refreshments and ensure that the kitchen is kept clean and tidy and air and tidy the waiting room in turn with other staff.
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.
- Ensure that all new patients are registered onto the computer system promptly and accurately.
Premises
- Open up premises at the start of the day when first to arrive, deactivate the 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 and all computers are off and that the alarm is activated. Check both gates are locked securely.
- Ensure premises are clean and tidy at all times.
Additional Responsibilities
- Undertake any other additional duties appropriate to the post as requested by the Partners or Practice Managers.
- Undertake additional responsibilities which will be arranged as and when you are competent to do so.
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 outlines 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 sensitive data.
Health and 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, diversity, and rights of patients, carers, and colleagues, to include:
- Acting in a way that recognises the importance of people's 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-judgemental, 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 their own personal and/or professional development
- Taking responsibility for their 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 their own performance and take accountability for their own actions, either directly or under supervision.
- Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on their own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the team's performance.
- Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patient needs.
- Effectively manage their 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 people's 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 their own work.
- Participate in audit where appropriate.
