Job responsibilities
• The post holder will be the main point of contact over the telephone for patients, their carers’ and staff from NHS and independent hospitals, working within the DRSS contact centre
• The work will involve coordinating referrals and booking appointments for patients over a range of elective specialties commissioned by the NHS Devon CCG. Under the NHS Choice Framework, patients will be offered a choice of treatment options, dates and locations
• The job description and person specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the Department and the Organisation
Key accountabilities
• Carrying out a check on each patient’s referral to identify the appropriate outcome for the patient
• Using reference materials provided to identify suitable services in order to offer appropriate choice of appointment to the patient
• Being polite, patient, professional and empathetic when speaking to callers on the telephone
• Answer telephone calls, taking messages and passing on accurately to the relevant departments/person
• Recording referral information accurately on a bespoke database
• Use own initiative to be able to problem solve and answer queries as they arise
Knowledge, skills, training and experience
The post holder will have the following:
• A proven ability to provide excellent customer service
• Experience of working with the general public and an ability to communicate information over the telephone to enable patients to make informed choices will be essential to the post, as well as the ability to work under pressure and to achieve tight deadlines
• Experience in dealing with customers/patients who may be challenging or upset
• Competency with Microsoft Excel, Word, Outlook
• The Patient Choice Facilitator role requires being up to date with The NHS Constitution and policies, particularly the NHS Choice Framework
• NVQ Level 3 in Administration and/or ECDL or equivalent level of knowledge and working experience.
• Speed and accuracy for intermediate level of keyboard skills. This is necessary to populate and alter database information
• The dexterity to use duplicate monitors on a daily basis
• Demonstrable experience of working in an administrative environment
• Awareness of a range of Health Services provisions
• Knowledge of NHS issues
• Understanding of the Data Protection legislation
Primary duties and responsibilities
• Provide clinical and logistic information on choice of services and hospitals to patients and GP practices (under protocol information used as standard in the department)
• Using provided reference material, carry out an admin triage of referrals to ensure key information is included in preparation for patients’ calls
• Using reference material, identify any referrals which need to be clinically triaged by a GPRF. (GP Referral Facilitator)
• Record, manage and retrieve referral information accurately on E-Referrals and DRSS’ database.
• Meet departmental targets relating to the number of referrals processed and the accuracy of the work completed.
• Take responsibility to ensure own knowledge is up to date
• The post holder will utilise the E-referrals service (ERS) to receive and triage referrals for patients
• This triage will include an administrative check and identifying the clinical reason for referral to ensure the patient is booked into an appropriate service
• Using information provided, the post holder will identify if a referral requires clinical vetting and will present such referrals to a GP working in the service
• The post holder will therefore need to be able to utilise and organise a wide range of reference information to enable them to quickly identify which referrals need to be vetted
• The post holder will need to analyse a mass of patient information to offer the appropriate providers for treatment
• The post holder will require theoretical and practical knowledge gained through formal training to be able to assess patient referrals at a highly accurate standard to ensure patients are offered full choice in line with the NHS Choice Framework
• They will need to demonstrate a high level of accuracy whilst completing any database tasks
• The post holder will operate within a large team and will be monitored against set performance targets as a team
• The post holder has access to confidential General Practice and NHS Healthcare Provider’s data and will therefore need to have a working knowledge and adhere to all aspects of information governance, data protection and confidentiality policies
• The post holder will need to be flexible and able to prioritise the workload of the department and adjust workload plans daily. There is a high level of changeability of daily workload and there are many disruptive elements which can impact on daily plans
• The post holder will need to maintain working knowledge of ERS in an environment where change is constant and recognize inaccuracies in referrals and act appropriately
• There is a requirement to have a proactive approach to ensure that patients are treated within specified NHS timescales and those patients who are about to ‘breach’ their treatment dates are immediately prioritised. Complexity of balancing these requirements to comply with NHS Waiting List rules is high
Communications and working relationships
• The post holder will need to receive complex information and explain/give accurate information of hospital choices for treatment to GPs, providers and patients. Tactful conversations will be required at all times
• The post holder will need to give advice to GPs and patients of services available at NHS and Independent Sector hospitals and will need to communicate, on occasion, complex patient information to other direct and indirect work colleagues
• The post holder will be required to assist in the training of new staff, mainly Patient Choice Facilitators and the Apprentice Patient Choice Facilitators
Freedom to act
• Works within departmental and national policies / procedures. The post holder will need to make decisions autonomously for the majority of the time but can refer to their line manager if required. There is a high level of judgement required to manage or change patient referrals to ensure they are booked into the correct services and do not breach government-based waiting times
Working conditions/efforts
• Almost all of the time, the post holder will be required to be sitting at a desk to operate a keyboard and two monitors, whilst using the phone simultaneously
• Work will require frequent and intense concentration on IT systems mentioned above. The post holder needs to be accurate in data entry as mistakes could result in a patient’s referral being delayed
• The team are based in a large open plan office with some noise levels from other voices/telephones, which can vary in volume. The working day will include several high-level tasks requiring intense concentration and analytical skills. There are repeated and constant telephone interruptions, which would require the post holder to change tasks immediately
• Within the role of offering patients ‘Choice’ of treatment hospital, there is a requirement to impart unwelcome news and information to patients who do not meet clinical criteria for treatment. The post holder needs to deal with worried or distressed patients or relatives on the telephone or assisting other departmental staff who are distressed by similar issues
• At times there is a requirement to deal with complaints raised by patients, their carers, General Practice staff or staff from NHS and Independent Sector hospitals. These complaints, comments and suggestions have to be dealt with appropriately, in accordance with policy, resolving where possible and escalating to the line manager when appropriate
