Overseas Visitor Support Officer

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Relationships

The post holder will liaise regularly with the Finance Team (including Income & AR), booking team and also clinicians, service managers local immigration teams and NHS Counter Fraud.

Overseas visitors

The post holder will be expected to interview, assess, and identify whether an overseas patients claim for free NHS treatment is valid, based on the latest guidance on implementing the overseas visitor hospital charging regulations, and comprehensively manage the case.

They will provide support to finance colleagues to ensure (where appropriate) that funds are recovered in a timely manner either from the patient, insurance company or via a reciprocal agreement. The post holder will act as an advisor for queries on overseas visitors across the Trust.

The post holder will be expected to:

Have knowledge and understanding of complex DHSC Overseas Visitors charging guidance. To implement and monitor compliance with the Trust policy and procedure for overseas visitors.

Liaise regularly with the Outpatient Booking Centre in respect of referrals regarding NHS eligibility.

Be responsible for conducting regular training and raising awareness with multi professional teams (medical, nursing, managerial and administrative). This includes attendance at staff inductions plus the adhoc provision of training.

Implement the recommendations and advice of Trust audits and national guidance. Disseminate appropriate detail of the procedure to first stage officers and managers working in patient areas.

Work with colleagues within the Finance department to ensure appropriate mechanisms are in place to support raising invoices on a timely basis and to facilitate collecting information required to ensure payments are received promptly.

Be responsible for debt chasing in a timely manner for the overseas patients unpaid debt and follow standard credit control process in place within the accounts receivable office.

Produce regular feedback reports for the Trust in terms of income achieved.

Act as a resource on legislation and best practice regarding Overseas Visitors and entitlements.

The post holder will be required to secure payment from chargeable patients and undertake debt chasing for the unpaid debt by following the standard credit control process in place within the Accounts Receivables team.

Budgetary Resource Management

The post holder will be responsible for:

Ensuring Income targets are met, specifically to maximise the income the Trust achieves for NHS charge eligible patients.

Timely submissions of overseas patient activity to the NHS BSA Overseas patient portal.

Timely costing and quarterly billing plus provision of patient level backing data to host ICB for NHS charge exempt patients (EHIC) and charge exempt services.

Being the main point of liaison for the referral of overseas debt over £500 to the Department of Health.

Acting as the main conduit between the patient and the general office obtaining deposits or full payment where appropriate.

Maintaining confidential and accurate records of all patient interviews and eligibility documentation plus keeping records of payment by instalments.

Maintaining records of patients who have time-limited visas who are currently entitled to NHS treatment, to ensure new documentation is requested on expiry.

Provide monthly summaries of financial and activity performance by site as well as feedback reports on income achieved.

Communication and liaison with other Agencies

To contribute to excellent communication and public relations with both internal and external stakeholders by ensuring good information flows.

To liaise with GPs in assisting them to identify overseas visitors.

To act as the key liaison on behalf of the Trust with the UK Border Agency local immigration teams. This will involve the referral of potential ineligible patients who require status checks and unlawful asylum seekers.

To encourage a culture of staff involvement and openness.

To attend meetings of the Overseas Visitors, Support Group and DHSC/BSA/UK Border Agency workshops as appropriate.

To support with Emergency Preparedness Resilience and Response and undertake any duties as outlined by the Chief Operating Officer.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Good General standard of education to include at least 5 GCSE's or equivalent and/or qualified by NHS Experience

Desirable

• Finance Qualification

Skills/Knowledge

Essential

• Knowledge of DHSC overseas visitor charging regulations
• Knowledge and understanding of recent developments in the NHS
• Good understanding of complex DHSC rules concerning overseas visitors
• Knowledge of NHS Finance
• Self-starter with the ability to work on initiative
• ECDL or evidence of competence in Microsoft Office
• Evidence of producing monthly reports using Excel
• Ability to analyse problems and propose realistic solutions
• Ability to meet statutory deadlines and prioritising workload
• Good written and verbal communication skills with colleagues, patients and staff
• Confident presenter and trainer
• Ability to interpret national NHS overseas patient charging regulations into Trust policy
• Evidence of strong patient of customer facing communication skills frequently dealing with complex or sensitive information
• Must have the ability/sensitivity to communicate with patients in occasionally emotionally charged situations or where English in not the first language

Experience

Essential

• Committed to self and staff development
• Able to work under pressure and to plan and prioritise workload effectively
• Enthusiastic and positive with 'can do' attitude

Desirable

• Experience of dealing with overseas visitors or patients in an NHS organisation
• Experience of working within an accounts receivable and/or credit control environment

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Crown Street

Liverpool

L8 7SS

Employer's website

https://www.liverpoolwomens.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)