Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

Administration Assistant/ Receptionist – MH Urgent Care Dept

The closing date is 22 July 2025

Job summary

Full Time 37.5hrs per week (This is a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week service delivery based on a rostered shift pattern) - MATERNITY COVER (6 MONTHS)

The Mental Health Urgent Care Department, is a facility where adults, aged 18 years and above, who are experiencing a mental health crisis can receive an urgent biopsychosocial assessment with immediate care planning. It is a new, purpose built department based at the Basildon Mental Health Unit on the Basildon university Hospital site.

The department will offera calm and therapeutic mental health setting to see the majority of urgent/emergency mental health presentations and represent an improvement on the service previously offered in busy emergency departments.

Main duties of the job

The core responsibilities of this role will include:

  • Reception duties within the urgent department waiting area, ensuring all patients that present to the urgent care department are greeted and registered to the department.
  • Ensure 24/7 presence in the reception area of the departments
  • Ensure clear and timely communication to clinical teams of any changes within the patient waiting area which require clinical awareness and intervention
  • Carrying out assigned duties from the service Lead or Coordinator
  • Handling incoming and outgoing telephone calls in a polite and efficient manner. Receive and deal with telephone enquiries, responding appropriately to callers including high risk and challenging client and carers in line with mental health crisis
  • Maintaining strict confidentiality at all times.
  • Liaising with other services and collecting information to ensure a joined up approach to patient care.

About us

EPUT are looking for motivated staff who shares our Trust values of Care, Learn and Empower. In return, EPUT can offer you a range of benefits and development including;

  • Season Ticket Loans
  • NHS discounts for staff
  • Excellent Training facilities and opportunities
  • Buying and Selling annual leave scheme
  • The opportunity to work bank shifts and expand knowledge and experience in other areas
  • Salary Sacrifice schemes including lease cars and Cycle to Work
  • Day One Flexible Employer

The Trust supports and actively encourages flexible working for all employees. We offer many options and you are encouraged to ask the recruiting manager what is possible for this role. If appointed, you will have the opportunity to apply for a flexible working request from the first day of your employment

Join our Staff bank

What is Staff Bank?

Our EPUT NHS staff bank is an entity managed by the trust that hires clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals to take on shifts at our trust hospitals and community settings. Here at EPUT we maintain our own bank of specialist staff to ensure that we are able offer safe and effective care at all times.

All our permanent staff are automatically enrolled onto the staff bank however this does not mean you have to work any additional shifts, but the option is there for you if you wish.

If you are joining our Trust in a fixed term role, please indicate on your New Starter Paperwork that you wish to join our staff bank.

Details

Date posted

15 July 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£24,937 to £26,598 a year per annum plus HCA

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

6 months

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

364-A-9177

Job locations

Basildon Mental Health Unit

Nethermayne

Basildon

SS16 5NL


Job description

Job responsibilities

  • Undertake administrative duties within own level of competence as requested by professionally registered staff
  • Record accurate messages and follow them up appropriately in accordance to department guidelines
  • Communicate face to face with clients seeking further help/information as required being aware of the needs of the clients and act in an appropriate manner particularly with clients who can be verbally challenging
  • Contribute to and support services to provide a high-quality service that takes account of individual needs. To exchange confidential, sensitive information with staff, clients, and carers in person or on the telephone. The unpredictability of clients means that persuasive, reassuring, empathic, skills are required at all times
  • Deal with queries raised by patients, carers and other healthcare professionals both internally and externally to the Trust. These are often of a non-routine nature and involving complex issues such as medication and other clinical treatments where there are barriers to understanding due to the nature of the client group.

COMMUNICATION AND WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

  • Excellent communication skills with patients, carers and other healthcare colleagues (across a range of disciplines) on day-to-day aspects
  • The post holder will have the ability to communicate effectively and sensitively with patients according to their age, understanding, language and ability
  • Responsible for ensuring all correspondence is accurately and appropriately presented using Trust and departmental procedures and medical terminology used by the clinical staff
  • To be skilled and experienced in the full range of administrative work practices, software programmes and specialised functional terms
  • To be proficient with the knowledge of Patient Records management supporting new users and instructing them as necessary. To use the knowledge and experience to meet the needs of the clinical teams by completing non routine tasks on a daily basis
  • To operate the Trusts central telephony systems
  • To update skills as necessary and attend mandatory training and maintain records as per Trust policy
  • Receiving, prioritising and organising appropriate action when dealing with clinical staff requirements
  • Prioritising and organising distribution of incoming and outgoing mail (including email)
  • Use own initiative to organise, prioritise and coordinate workload ensuring that deadlines are met
  • To maintain diaries, both electronic and paper. To arrange appointments and meetings via electronic systems
  • Ability to deal with short notice planning and last minute changes
  • To manage and organise own time and work efficiently and adhere to deadlines to enable the smooth running of the department
  • To report and ensure equipment faults are dealt with by the relevant persons
  • The post holder will contribute to accurate written accounts of events / incidents under the guidance of qualified staff on the Trusts adopted electronic record (Paris). Due regard for confidentiality and information of patients should be taken at all times it is the responsibility of the qualified staff to arrange regular reviews and to countersign all entries that are made in records
  • Contribute to risk management and assessment where appropriate, accurately communicating information to qualified staff and other members of the multi-disciplinary tea
  • Be able to promote the use and development of self-awareness, interpersonal skills in non-mental health settings
  • To ensure full compliance with all Information Governance requirements as set out by the Trust
  • Work collaboratively within the multi-disciplinary team providing a team approach to service delivery

ANALYTICAL AND JUDGEMENT

  • Receiving, prioritising and organising appropriate action when dealing with clinical staff requirements
  • Prioritising and organising distribution of incoming and outgoing mail including emails and tasks operate a letter folding machine
  • Use own initiative to organise, prioritise and coordinate workload ensuring that deadlines are met

INFORMATION SYSTEMS

  • Computer Literate, including electronically accessing Trust Policies and Procedure
  • Understand, access and comprehensively use the Trusts dedicated electronic records system
  • Able to communicate using emails
  • Able to access and utilise e-learning/OLM and maintain and update their continued professional development.

To carry out any other duties commensurate with the duties of this post. This is an outline job description and may be subject to change, according to the needs of the service, in consultation with the post holder

Any other duties as delegated by your Director or Chief Executive Officer commensurate within the responsibilities of this post.

Job description

Job responsibilities

  • Undertake administrative duties within own level of competence as requested by professionally registered staff
  • Record accurate messages and follow them up appropriately in accordance to department guidelines
  • Communicate face to face with clients seeking further help/information as required being aware of the needs of the clients and act in an appropriate manner particularly with clients who can be verbally challenging
  • Contribute to and support services to provide a high-quality service that takes account of individual needs. To exchange confidential, sensitive information with staff, clients, and carers in person or on the telephone. The unpredictability of clients means that persuasive, reassuring, empathic, skills are required at all times
  • Deal with queries raised by patients, carers and other healthcare professionals both internally and externally to the Trust. These are often of a non-routine nature and involving complex issues such as medication and other clinical treatments where there are barriers to understanding due to the nature of the client group.

COMMUNICATION AND WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

  • Excellent communication skills with patients, carers and other healthcare colleagues (across a range of disciplines) on day-to-day aspects
  • The post holder will have the ability to communicate effectively and sensitively with patients according to their age, understanding, language and ability
  • Responsible for ensuring all correspondence is accurately and appropriately presented using Trust and departmental procedures and medical terminology used by the clinical staff
  • To be skilled and experienced in the full range of administrative work practices, software programmes and specialised functional terms
  • To be proficient with the knowledge of Patient Records management supporting new users and instructing them as necessary. To use the knowledge and experience to meet the needs of the clinical teams by completing non routine tasks on a daily basis
  • To operate the Trusts central telephony systems
  • To update skills as necessary and attend mandatory training and maintain records as per Trust policy
  • Receiving, prioritising and organising appropriate action when dealing with clinical staff requirements
  • Prioritising and organising distribution of incoming and outgoing mail (including email)
  • Use own initiative to organise, prioritise and coordinate workload ensuring that deadlines are met
  • To maintain diaries, both electronic and paper. To arrange appointments and meetings via electronic systems
  • Ability to deal with short notice planning and last minute changes
  • To manage and organise own time and work efficiently and adhere to deadlines to enable the smooth running of the department
  • To report and ensure equipment faults are dealt with by the relevant persons
  • The post holder will contribute to accurate written accounts of events / incidents under the guidance of qualified staff on the Trusts adopted electronic record (Paris). Due regard for confidentiality and information of patients should be taken at all times it is the responsibility of the qualified staff to arrange regular reviews and to countersign all entries that are made in records
  • Contribute to risk management and assessment where appropriate, accurately communicating information to qualified staff and other members of the multi-disciplinary tea
  • Be able to promote the use and development of self-awareness, interpersonal skills in non-mental health settings
  • To ensure full compliance with all Information Governance requirements as set out by the Trust
  • Work collaboratively within the multi-disciplinary team providing a team approach to service delivery

ANALYTICAL AND JUDGEMENT

  • Receiving, prioritising and organising appropriate action when dealing with clinical staff requirements
  • Prioritising and organising distribution of incoming and outgoing mail including emails and tasks operate a letter folding machine
  • Use own initiative to organise, prioritise and coordinate workload ensuring that deadlines are met

INFORMATION SYSTEMS

  • Computer Literate, including electronically accessing Trust Policies and Procedure
  • Understand, access and comprehensively use the Trusts dedicated electronic records system
  • Able to communicate using emails
  • Able to access and utilise e-learning/OLM and maintain and update their continued professional development.

To carry out any other duties commensurate with the duties of this post. This is an outline job description and may be subject to change, according to the needs of the service, in consultation with the post holder

Any other duties as delegated by your Director or Chief Executive Officer commensurate within the responsibilities of this post.

Person Specification

Education/Qualifications

Essential

  • Good standard of general education
  • IT skills equivalent to RSA2, NVQ2 or relevant experience of Microsoft Word Packages

Knowledge

Essential

  • Knowledge of Trust ITT Systems and Software Packages, including Mobius/Q-Flow/SystmOne
Person Specification

Education/Qualifications

Essential

  • Good standard of general education
  • IT skills equivalent to RSA2, NVQ2 or relevant experience of Microsoft Word Packages

Knowledge

Essential

  • Knowledge of Trust ITT Systems and Software Packages, including Mobius/Q-Flow/SystmOne

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

Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Basildon Mental Health Unit

Nethermayne

Basildon

SS16 5NL


Employer's website

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

Employer details

Employer name

Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Basildon Mental Health Unit

Nethermayne

Basildon

SS16 5NL


Employer's website

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

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Matron

Louise Borton

louise.borton@nhs.net

Details

Date posted

15 July 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£24,937 to £26,598 a year per annum plus HCA

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

6 months

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

364-A-9177

Job locations

Basildon Mental Health Unit

Nethermayne

Basildon

SS16 5NL


Supporting documents

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