Out of Hours Team Leader / Dispatcher

Job description

Job responsibilities

JOB PURPOSE

The Out of Hours Service ensures that urgent care is available evenings, overnight and bank holidays, during both the week and weekends. 18:30pm 08:00am Monday Friday 24 hours Weekend and bank holidays The Team Leader is responsible for ensuring an effective operational environment to enable GPs, nurses and other clinical staff to provide care. Duties include effective dispatching within medical records and co-ordinating patient flow for face to face appointments and home visits within set timelines. The Team Leader acts as the operational point of contact, during the shift, for all aspects of the Out of Hours clinical service. To act as an operational liaison point for other Taurus service to support transfer of patient care. To also escalate concerns or problems that arise on shift to the Director on Call / Operational Manager when required.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

To operationally support patients to move smoothly across Taurus and local services by facilitating appointments and appropriate access to clinical care.

To ensure any resource levels or staffing issues due to unplanned absence or sickness are escalated to Operational Manager or director on call. Outside of Operational Manager normal working patterns, Team Leaders will need to contact staff directly to fill unplanned vacant shifts.

To utilise available staff correctly during staff shortages or peaks in demand

To manage and allocate breaks for Operational staff

To co-ordinate and supervise the drivers and overnight nurses during the shift, ensuring they carry out their role effectively, answering any queries they may have and giving appropriate support.

To provide job role training and support to Drivers and Receptionists as and when required on shift. JD Out-of-Hours Team Leader/Dispatcher 1.7.21

To ensure the patient has been allocated and aligned to the most appropriate clinician on shift and co-ordinate face to face appointments, triage and home visits within the appointment/booking system.

Coordinate face to face appointments, triage and home visits within the appointment / booking system.

Escalate allocation and coordination issues rising from clinicians. If urgent to Operations Manager or Director on Call and non-urgent through routine shift reporting.

To manage patients within the ADASTRA and EMIS medical system and effectively dispatch and coordinate appointments according to pre-determined priorities from 111 and mallings.

Ensure all cases achieve a timely response, meet our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) from an operational perspective.

When there is a medic-vehicle tracking system available, to ensure the most appropriate resource is tasked to the next home-visit.

When timed delays occur, undertake comfort-calls with home-visit patients to make sure they are aware of the delay and expected arrival time. To check if the circumstances of the patient have changed/worsened and to escalate, as required.

To provide a shift handover that includes any breaches of KPIs and any issues that have arisen.

To accurately report shift activity indicating key issues and priority actions.

To report incidents on DATIX.

To be responsible for ensuring patients in the waiting area are observed. If timed delays are incurred to communicate the delay to patients. To identify any deterioration in the patients health for escalation to a clinician.

To liaise with staff working in the remote PCCs, to ensure smooth operation and to identify and manage operational issues.

To oversee the medicine bags process supporting drivers with safe handover to clinicians.

To liaise with NHS111 and Mallings Healthcare Team Leader any operational queries e.g. out of area patient. Note: the Team Leader, on behalf of a clinician, may escalate inappropriate referrals.

To ensure that patient surveys and questionnaires (electronic and/or paper) are carried out at the service delivery sites when required.

To work with the Operational Management team on agreed work and/or projects as required, this may be during scheduled office based hours.

To ensure audits and stocktakes of consumables and medical equipment are undertaken, including oxygen and other medical gases.

To use a variety of IT tools/software effectively to support operational working.

To Support notification/post event messaging process to GP practices.

To be able to use clinical systems and software, listed below:

To act as a chaperone if required ADASTRA tasks

Monitor incoming cases from 111 and Malling services

Transfer cases from the ADASTRA system to the EMIS system, including patient details and consultation information

Undertake patient searches in ADASTRA in the event of missing or incomplete case information JD Out-of-Hours Team Leader/Dispatcher 1.7.21

Close cases in ADSATRA once clinicians confirm they are complete EMIS tasks

Register new patients onto the EMIS system

Update patients personal details onto the EMIS database when required

Book patient appointments onto the EMIS appointment book in a timely manner

Actively monitor clinicians appointment diaries for potential KPI breaches NHS Portal

The NHS portal inbox receives palliative care notifications and patient appointments that are blocked from the normal pathway

Palliative care cases are to be transferred across to the ADASTRA system

Patient appointments via the portal are checked and verified against the EMIS system

This list is not exhaustive and roles and responsibilities may be reviewed and extended in line with changing requirements of Taurus and the wider healthcare environment.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Educated to GCSE or O level standard or equivalent (minimum 3 at grade C or above).

Desirable

• A supervisory/management qualification or evidence of relevant experience within a healthcare environment.
• Fire warden qualification / trained.
• First Aid qualification / trained.

Experience

Essential

• Able to effectively manage customers complaints and concerns.
• Able to communicate effectively verbally and written, with representatives of other organisations.
• Experience of supervising or managing others.
• Team work and co-operation to achieve optimal results.
• Strong organisational skills.
• Ability to use initiative to resolve problems and/or suggest improvements.
• Computer literate, including use of: word processing, spreadsheets, e-mail, the internet, patient database systems and presentation software.
• Ability to manage competing demands and prioritise these appropriately.
• Strong inter-personal skills with colleagues, clinicians, patients, managers, and other stakeholders.
• Customer Service skills.

Desirable

• Experience of working in a healthcare environment.

Employer details

Employer name

Taurus Healthcare Limited

Address

Suite 1, Berrows Business Centre

Bath Street

Hereford

Herefordshire

HR1 2HE

Employer's website

http://www.taurushealthcare.co.uk/home.aspx (Opens in a new tab)