Job responsibilities
Patient and Community Services
- Undertake face to face contact with patients and visitors.
- Welcome patients and communicate with members of the practice team.
- Handle completed repeat prescriptions to patients and check names and addresses.
- Be able to cover all reception positions, as necessary.
- Process appointment requests for same day and future appointments from patients, by telephone, by email, and in person.
- Deal with visit requests and liaise with GPs, Community Nursing Teams, Nursing and Residential Homes, and the Patient.
Administration
- Have a thorough knowledge of all practice procedures.
- Work in accordance of written protocols.
- Work with various IT programmes and Clinical Systems.
- Undertake photocopying as required.
- Deal with the daily post.
- Undertake data entry.
- Process patients' change of address, utilising your knowledge of the practice area.
- Process repeat prescription requests, in accordance with practice guidelines.
- Document, manage, and scan letters, filing into patients' clinical records, using a document management tool.
- Make referrals to community services using NHS email.
Telephone
- Have a working knowledge of the telephone system, during and after hours.
- Take calls and deal with each request appropriately.
- Respond to emergency calls appropriately.
Information Governance
- Comply with all Information Governance Policies.
- Comply with all systems for data security and protection.
- Complete annual IG training.
Premises and Equipment
- Clear rooms after surgeries.
- Ensure building security and report any problems.
- Maintain stock and monitor stationery levels in all rooms.
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 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 and Safety Policy, the practice Health and 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 your knowledge and skills.
- Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way, and free from hazards.
- Actively reporting health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately, when recognised.
- Keeping your 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 holder's role.
- Undertaking periodic infection control training, at a minimum annually.
- 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 your own personal and/or professional development.
- Taking responsibility for your 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 your own performance and take accountability for your own actions, either directly or under supervision.
- Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on your 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 patients' needs.
- Effectively manage your 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 your own work.
- Participate in audits, where appropriate.
- Complete any other tasks allocated by managers.
