Job summary
Are you a skilled and compassionate individual with experience in GP practice reception and administration, as well as team leading? Do you thrive in a fast-paced environment, making a positive impact on patients' lives? If so, we want YOU to join our dedicated admin team at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre!
About the Role:
As a Senior Patient Care Advisor, you'll be the friendly face and voice of our GP practice, providing outstanding care, team leadership and five-star patient care to our 7000 patients while ensuring smooth administrative operations. You'll work alongside a supportive team to help streamline patient services, manage appointments, and provide essential support to both patients and healthcare professionals.
Why Marshalls Cross Medical Centre?
Supportive Team: Join a team of dedicated professionals who prioritise patient care.
Training and Development: Ongoing opportunities for professional growth.
Rewarding Role: Make a meaningful difference in patients' lives every day! If you're passionate about delivering exceptional care and have the experience we're looking for, apply today and take the next step in your career with Marshalls Cross Medical Centre!
Main duties of the job
To oversee and supervise staff, to support and maintain the smooth running of the entire front desk and the back-office administration activities required to deliver effective high quality patient services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre. Ensuring that all staff are fully trained for their role and all tasks are performed accurately and efficiently in accordance with Trust policies and procedures, as well as all local policies and procedures.
To greet, assist and direct patients and visitors in accessing the appropriate service or healthcare professional in a courteous, efficient and effective manner.
To provide supervisory assistance to the practice team and display a positive, professional and friendly image to patients and other visitors, either in person or via the telephone.
To lead a dedicated team of Patient Care Advisors to support the effective delivery of the practices targets and ensure best practice is carried out and maintained.
Responsible for the day-to-day supervision of all administrative staff and associated functions, ensuring all functions are carried out in accordance with agreed procedures, protocols and time-scales, and reporting to the Practice Manager as necessary. Promote a harmonious and professional atmosphere in this public facing role.
Help the practice management team to always provide high quality services, and to ensure that QOF / EMIS searches and all data is accurately up to date.
About us
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.
We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.
Our services:
Acute Care
Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.
Primary Care
Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.
Community Services
Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.
Specialist Regional Services
We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.
Achievements:
- Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
- Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
- National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme
Job description
Job responsibilities
KEY DUTIES
Supervise the clerical and admin team, including any Bank staff by,
Providing a proactive and effective day-to-day management of the admin team ensuring all services are properly integrated to meet the needs of the service users / patients as well as any demands.
Ensure adequate staffing levels and organise rotas ensuring all functions are covered as required.
Deal with more complex enquiries from patients including informal complaints relating to reception functions or issues patients face.
Continually assess and evaluate systems and quality, recommending changes and improvements to the practice manager as appropriate.
Regularly evaluate quality of individual and team performance.
Bi-monthly 1-2-1 reviews with all admin staff.
Attending and holding daily team meetings (huddles).
Support the annual appraisal process for reception staff
Organising the staff rotas to effectively cover the areas of responsibility.
Opening premises at the start of the day if first to arrive, making all necessary preparations to receive patients - following the opening protocol.
When last to leave at the end of the day, ensuring that the building is totally secured, and all internal lights/equipment is off - following the closing protocol.
Keeping all working environment clean, tidy and free from clutter always.
Ensuring that the medical consulting rooms and waiting areas are fully stocked with essential information / supplies and are maintained to a good standard for administration purposes.
Conducting daily checks to ensure Health and Safety and Legal requirements are adhered to including checking and recording room and fridge temperatures.
Reporting all faults and/or repairs in a timely manner using the Trusts electronic reporting system.
Undertaking all additional duties and tasks requested by the Practice Management team that are commensurate to the post.
To participate and support H&S standards and documentation under the guidance of the Practice Management Team.
Maintain and record incidents using the Trusts Incident Reporting system.
To conduct monthly fire audits of the department and the corridor leading to the department.
Carry out the relevant training course and be the fire marshal for the practice.
ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES
Ensure an effective and efficient reception service is provided to patients and visitors to the practice by:
- Acknowledging a patients attendance at the desk within 2/3 minutes of arrival and advise any patients queueing for appointments of the self-check-in service.
- Advising patients waiting for information that you will be with them as soon as possible and to call for assistance where necessary.
- Observing appointments and clinics that are running late and advise patients waiting and offer apologies.
- Dealing with all general enquiries, explaining procedures and making new and follow-up appointments using the EMIS system.
- Using sound judgment and communication skills to ensure patients with no prior appointment but who need urgent consultation are seen in a logical and non-disruptive manner, in line with the Practices guidelines.
- Ensuring that all new patients are registered on the electronic system promptly and accurately, this should be on the same day that they attend the practice to register.
- Being aware of your surroundings and of the patients in the waiting room and responding to the needs appropriately.
- Being aware of which Clinicians are currently working in the building and whether they have arrived for their clinics.
- Explaining practice arrangements and formal requirements to new patients and those seeking temporary cover, whilst ensuring the Practice procedures are completed.
- Receiving and making telephone calls as required on behalf of the practice and registered patients.
- Diverting calls and taking messages, ensuring accuracy of detail and prompt and appropriate delivery.
- Entering requests for home visits onto the home visiting sessions within EMIS ensuring careful recording of all relevant details and where necessary; referring to the visiting Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Advanced Clinical Practitioner or GP for advice.
- Actioning repeat prescription requests as per practice SOP.
- Receiving urine and blood samples, conducting dip testing and sending samples off for analysis in line with Practice procedures.
- Ensuring that all medical samples are correctly labelled.
- Completing identified admin tasks daily and reporting any areas of concern in a timely manner.
- Completing scanning, EDTs and clinical coding as necessary.
- Ensuring Practice emails are checked and responded to daily or are appropriately filed.
- Advising patients of relevant charges for private (Non-General Medical Services) services, accepting payments and issuing receipts.
- Entering patient information on the appropriate Practice systems in line with correct procedures and timeframes.
- Managing difficult/confrontational situations in a calm and reassuring manner and if a patients/visitors behaviour becomes unacceptably abusive or aggressive referring to your line manager for support.
- Screening enquiries for the doctors and medical staff.
- Ensuring you provide a professional, timely and detailed handover to the receiving member of staff in your team.
- To have a comprehensive knowledge of the Trusts information systems, including the GP programmes, EMIS, Docman etc.
- Retrieving and re-filing records as required.
- Ensuring correspondence, reports, results/scanned documents are filed promptly and in the correct records.
- Accurately collecting, storing and retrieving personal patient details and information in line with data protection and Caldecott requirements.
- Ensuring all recent correspondence is available when patients are seen by clinicians.
- Ensuring all paper records are kept in good repair with all necessary information on the outside cover clearly visible, until they are archived through the correct procedure.
- Opening and date stamping post and then forwarding it onto the relevant parties in line with Practice procedures.
- Writing letters and correspondence on behalf of the surgery and medical staff.
- Liaising with couriers and delivery companies.
- Ensure all staff are adhering to practice policies in relation to patient records, notes and correspondence and support staff with any further developments or training needs.
- Ensuring all referrals are sent in the correct manner and time frames, ensuring the team prioritised any urgent referrals.
- Provide support and guidance to other team members in dealing with enquiries and offer non-clinical advice to patients, staff and other surgeries. This may require tact and persuasive skills when resolving problems and difficulties when there is a need to overcome barriers to understanding.
- Deal with complaints on a first line basis or refer to the relevant department / member of staff.
TEACHING & TRAINING RESPONSIBILITIES
Induction and training of all new staff to agreed standards and complete any necessary paperwork.
Oversee e-learning, training and development of all admin staff.
LINE MANAGEMENT/SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES
Deputise in the absence of the Practice Management Team.
Always support the administration team.
Support the development of Practice protocols and procedures, review and update as required, ensuring that any policy decisions or changes are communicated to the admin team, implemented and monitored.
Ensure Practice premises are properly maintained, cleaned and that adequate fire prevention and security systems are in place.
Support the development and review Health & Safety policies and procedures and keep abreast of current legislation.
Arrange appropriate maintenance for Practice equipment if necessary.
To support the Patient Care Advisors and meet regularly to understand what tasks are being undertaken and what is needed.
To ensure that there are adequate staff members on shift and identify any areas of additional support needed.
Propose any changes to working practices and procedures to cover any system changes brought about by local and national guidance.
To ensure that the day-to-day allocation of workload for the team is achieved and both own and the teams work is prioritised appropriately.
To support the senior management team with the development and maintenance of the practices aims and objectives.
To support staff on a day-to-day basis and help to deal with both confidentially and competently with either distressed or aggressive service users.
Liaise with the clinical team to ensure the smooth running of the department.
Cover roles within the department as and when required.
To be involved in or take the lead (as appropriate) in specific projects that may be undertaken from time to time.
To assist in the process of change management ensuring staff are fully informed.
FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
To assist the management team with the production of legal reports or letter requests and create invoices to send to the companies of charges along with invoices for patient charges.
Bank any cash monies into the general office and ensure the financial spreadsheet is always up to date.
RESEARCH & AUDIT
- To support the Primary Care Business Manager in retrieving data and notes for audit and analysis as well as supporting the management team in maintaining and ensuring the continued quality assurance audits are completed in the time scale.
- Attend practice meetings which may include actions from the clinical team to produce audits or research.
- Assist the Research Leads and Management Team in practice to provide research and development opportunities.
Job description
Job responsibilities
KEY DUTIES
Supervise the clerical and admin team, including any Bank staff by,
Providing a proactive and effective day-to-day management of the admin team ensuring all services are properly integrated to meet the needs of the service users / patients as well as any demands.
Ensure adequate staffing levels and organise rotas ensuring all functions are covered as required.
Deal with more complex enquiries from patients including informal complaints relating to reception functions or issues patients face.
Continually assess and evaluate systems and quality, recommending changes and improvements to the practice manager as appropriate.
Regularly evaluate quality of individual and team performance.
Bi-monthly 1-2-1 reviews with all admin staff.
Attending and holding daily team meetings (huddles).
Support the annual appraisal process for reception staff
Organising the staff rotas to effectively cover the areas of responsibility.
Opening premises at the start of the day if first to arrive, making all necessary preparations to receive patients - following the opening protocol.
When last to leave at the end of the day, ensuring that the building is totally secured, and all internal lights/equipment is off - following the closing protocol.
Keeping all working environment clean, tidy and free from clutter always.
Ensuring that the medical consulting rooms and waiting areas are fully stocked with essential information / supplies and are maintained to a good standard for administration purposes.
Conducting daily checks to ensure Health and Safety and Legal requirements are adhered to including checking and recording room and fridge temperatures.
Reporting all faults and/or repairs in a timely manner using the Trusts electronic reporting system.
Undertaking all additional duties and tasks requested by the Practice Management team that are commensurate to the post.
To participate and support H&S standards and documentation under the guidance of the Practice Management Team.
Maintain and record incidents using the Trusts Incident Reporting system.
To conduct monthly fire audits of the department and the corridor leading to the department.
Carry out the relevant training course and be the fire marshal for the practice.
ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES
Ensure an effective and efficient reception service is provided to patients and visitors to the practice by:
- Acknowledging a patients attendance at the desk within 2/3 minutes of arrival and advise any patients queueing for appointments of the self-check-in service.
- Advising patients waiting for information that you will be with them as soon as possible and to call for assistance where necessary.
- Observing appointments and clinics that are running late and advise patients waiting and offer apologies.
- Dealing with all general enquiries, explaining procedures and making new and follow-up appointments using the EMIS system.
- Using sound judgment and communication skills to ensure patients with no prior appointment but who need urgent consultation are seen in a logical and non-disruptive manner, in line with the Practices guidelines.
- Ensuring that all new patients are registered on the electronic system promptly and accurately, this should be on the same day that they attend the practice to register.
- Being aware of your surroundings and of the patients in the waiting room and responding to the needs appropriately.
- Being aware of which Clinicians are currently working in the building and whether they have arrived for their clinics.
- Explaining practice arrangements and formal requirements to new patients and those seeking temporary cover, whilst ensuring the Practice procedures are completed.
- Receiving and making telephone calls as required on behalf of the practice and registered patients.
- Diverting calls and taking messages, ensuring accuracy of detail and prompt and appropriate delivery.
- Entering requests for home visits onto the home visiting sessions within EMIS ensuring careful recording of all relevant details and where necessary; referring to the visiting Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Advanced Clinical Practitioner or GP for advice.
- Actioning repeat prescription requests as per practice SOP.
- Receiving urine and blood samples, conducting dip testing and sending samples off for analysis in line with Practice procedures.
- Ensuring that all medical samples are correctly labelled.
- Completing identified admin tasks daily and reporting any areas of concern in a timely manner.
- Completing scanning, EDTs and clinical coding as necessary.
- Ensuring Practice emails are checked and responded to daily or are appropriately filed.
- Advising patients of relevant charges for private (Non-General Medical Services) services, accepting payments and issuing receipts.
- Entering patient information on the appropriate Practice systems in line with correct procedures and timeframes.
- Managing difficult/confrontational situations in a calm and reassuring manner and if a patients/visitors behaviour becomes unacceptably abusive or aggressive referring to your line manager for support.
- Screening enquiries for the doctors and medical staff.
- Ensuring you provide a professional, timely and detailed handover to the receiving member of staff in your team.
- To have a comprehensive knowledge of the Trusts information systems, including the GP programmes, EMIS, Docman etc.
- Retrieving and re-filing records as required.
- Ensuring correspondence, reports, results/scanned documents are filed promptly and in the correct records.
- Accurately collecting, storing and retrieving personal patient details and information in line with data protection and Caldecott requirements.
- Ensuring all recent correspondence is available when patients are seen by clinicians.
- Ensuring all paper records are kept in good repair with all necessary information on the outside cover clearly visible, until they are archived through the correct procedure.
- Opening and date stamping post and then forwarding it onto the relevant parties in line with Practice procedures.
- Writing letters and correspondence on behalf of the surgery and medical staff.
- Liaising with couriers and delivery companies.
- Ensure all staff are adhering to practice policies in relation to patient records, notes and correspondence and support staff with any further developments or training needs.
- Ensuring all referrals are sent in the correct manner and time frames, ensuring the team prioritised any urgent referrals.
- Provide support and guidance to other team members in dealing with enquiries and offer non-clinical advice to patients, staff and other surgeries. This may require tact and persuasive skills when resolving problems and difficulties when there is a need to overcome barriers to understanding.
- Deal with complaints on a first line basis or refer to the relevant department / member of staff.
TEACHING & TRAINING RESPONSIBILITIES
Induction and training of all new staff to agreed standards and complete any necessary paperwork.
Oversee e-learning, training and development of all admin staff.
LINE MANAGEMENT/SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES
Deputise in the absence of the Practice Management Team.
Always support the administration team.
Support the development of Practice protocols and procedures, review and update as required, ensuring that any policy decisions or changes are communicated to the admin team, implemented and monitored.
Ensure Practice premises are properly maintained, cleaned and that adequate fire prevention and security systems are in place.
Support the development and review Health & Safety policies and procedures and keep abreast of current legislation.
Arrange appropriate maintenance for Practice equipment if necessary.
To support the Patient Care Advisors and meet regularly to understand what tasks are being undertaken and what is needed.
To ensure that there are adequate staff members on shift and identify any areas of additional support needed.
Propose any changes to working practices and procedures to cover any system changes brought about by local and national guidance.
To ensure that the day-to-day allocation of workload for the team is achieved and both own and the teams work is prioritised appropriately.
To support the senior management team with the development and maintenance of the practices aims and objectives.
To support staff on a day-to-day basis and help to deal with both confidentially and competently with either distressed or aggressive service users.
Liaise with the clinical team to ensure the smooth running of the department.
Cover roles within the department as and when required.
To be involved in or take the lead (as appropriate) in specific projects that may be undertaken from time to time.
To assist in the process of change management ensuring staff are fully informed.
FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
To assist the management team with the production of legal reports or letter requests and create invoices to send to the companies of charges along with invoices for patient charges.
Bank any cash monies into the general office and ensure the financial spreadsheet is always up to date.
RESEARCH & AUDIT
- To support the Primary Care Business Manager in retrieving data and notes for audit and analysis as well as supporting the management team in maintaining and ensuring the continued quality assurance audits are completed in the time scale.
- Attend practice meetings which may include actions from the clinical team to produce audits or research.
- Assist the Research Leads and Management Team in practice to provide research and development opportunities.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Good standard of general education
- GCSE Maths or equivalent
- GCSE English or equivalent
- Word processing / IT Qualifications
Desirable
- European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL)
- Leadership / Management Qualification to Level 3
Knowledge & Experience
Essential
- Experience of working in a GP surgery environment
- Experience of telephone call handling
- Experience of GP reception duties
- Experience of managing repeat prescriptions
- Experience of using EMIS
- Experience of using Docman scanning
- Experience of leading/managing a team
- Experience with coding and using read codes
Desirable
- Experience of triaging calls
- Experience of EDT filing
- Experience of using System One
- Experience of Open Exeter
- Experience of sorting mail including NHS mail
- Experience of carrying out daily room checks including fridge temp monitoring
- Knowledge and experience of Clinical coding
- Experience of summarising
- Knowledge of QOF framework
Skills
Essential
- Excellent communication skills (Written and Oral)
- Good IT skills
- Time management and ability to work to deadlines
- Problem solving skills
- Interpersonal skills
- Willingness to develop and learn new skills
- People Management skills
Other
Essential
- Ability to use own initiative
- Resourcefulness
- Flexibility
- Adaptability
- Self-motivated and enthusiastic.
- High workload capacity and capable of sustained effort over a long period.
- Team working
- Calm and resolute under pressure.
- Personal and professional integrity and confidence.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Good standard of general education
- GCSE Maths or equivalent
- GCSE English or equivalent
- Word processing / IT Qualifications
Desirable
- European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL)
- Leadership / Management Qualification to Level 3
Knowledge & Experience
Essential
- Experience of working in a GP surgery environment
- Experience of telephone call handling
- Experience of GP reception duties
- Experience of managing repeat prescriptions
- Experience of using EMIS
- Experience of using Docman scanning
- Experience of leading/managing a team
- Experience with coding and using read codes
Desirable
- Experience of triaging calls
- Experience of EDT filing
- Experience of using System One
- Experience of Open Exeter
- Experience of sorting mail including NHS mail
- Experience of carrying out daily room checks including fridge temp monitoring
- Knowledge and experience of Clinical coding
- Experience of summarising
- Knowledge of QOF framework
Skills
Essential
- Excellent communication skills (Written and Oral)
- Good IT skills
- Time management and ability to work to deadlines
- Problem solving skills
- Interpersonal skills
- Willingness to develop and learn new skills
- People Management skills
Other
Essential
- Ability to use own initiative
- Resourcefulness
- Flexibility
- Adaptability
- Self-motivated and enthusiastic.
- High workload capacity and capable of sustained effort over a long period.
- Team working
- Calm and resolute under pressure.
- Personal and professional integrity and confidence.
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.
