The PatientServices Administrator is a key member of the Mayfield Medical Centre receptionteam and is often the first point of contact for patients, carers and othervisitors.
The postholder will provide a welcoming, professional and efficient reception service,helping patients access the most appropriate care in line with practiceprocedures and agreed care-navigation guidance.
The roleinvolves working across reception and telephone channels, responding to a rangeof patient queries, booking and managing appointments, handling administrativerequests and supporting the wider clinical and practice team. The post holdermust communicate calmly and sensitively, maintain confidentiality, use thepractice clinical system accurately and recognise when a request needs to bepassed to a clinician or senior colleague.
Main duties of the job
Patient reception and customer service
Telephone and electronic communication
Appointments and care navigation
Patient records and clinical system administration
Repeat prescriptions and medication requests
Results, correspondence and referrals
Teamwork and day to day practice support
Confidentiality, information governance and safety
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
Takeresponsibility for working within the limits of your knowledge, training andcompetence, seeking advice or escalating concerns when required.
Treatall patients, carers, visitors and colleagues with dignity, respect and withoutdiscrimination.
Contributeto a culture of continuous improvement by identifying ways to improve thepatient experience and the effectiveness of reception processes.
Adhereto Salus Medical Services and Mayfield Medical Centre policies, procedures andvalues.
About us
Salusis a GP Federation which was formed by the local GP practices within North EastHampshire and Farnham. This includes practices located in Aldershot,Farnborough, Fleet, Farnham and Yateley. We hold several contracts supportingprimary care to deliver services on behalf of those practices, helping themwork better together and with other healthcare providers, leading to improvedpatient services and the development of new services in response to thechanging primary care environment.
Wealso assist practices with administrative, operational and HR support andfacilitate shared learning across localities. By engaging with the public, wehelp ensure that services are designed and developed with patient and publicinvolvement.
Thestaff at Salus Medical Services have a wealth of experience working in generalpractice and therefore a good understanding of the opportunities and challengesfaced.
Job responsibilities
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The following are the core responsibilities of the PatientServices Administrator. The list is not exhaustive, and the post holder may berequired to undertake other duties appropriate to the role, depending onservice needs, workload and staffing levels. All duties must be carried out inaccordance with practice policies, written protocols, training and the postholder's level of competence.
Patient reception and customer service
Welcomepatients and visitors in a friendly, professional and courteous manner,establishing the reason for their visit where appropriate.
Actas the first point of contact for patients attending the practice, helping themnavigate the building and access the correct service or member of the team.
Maintainan approachable and helpful manner while managing competing demands at thereception desk.
Respondto patient queries sensitively, including when patients are distressed,anxious, frustrated or unhappy, and seek support from a senior colleague whenneeded.
Maintainpatient dignity and privacy when speaking with patients at the reception deskand take care not to disclose confidential information where others mayoverhear.
Managevisitors, deliveries and other enquiries, directing them to the appropriateperson or area.
Telephone and electronic communication
Answerincoming telephone calls promptly and professionally, using the practicetelephone system and agreed call-handling procedures.
Establishthe nature of each call, obtain and confirm relevant details, and direct orsignpost the caller in line with practice protocols and care-navigationguidance.
Handleappointment requests, prescription queries, test-result enquiries and generaladministrative questions within the limits of the role.
Recognisecalls that may require urgent clinical attention and follow the practice'sescalation procedures without attempting to make clinical decisions.
Recordaccurate messages, including the caller's name, contact details, reason forcalling and any relevant urgency, and pass them to the appropriate person in atimely manner.
Useapproved methods to respond to patient communications, including onlineconsultation requests, email or other digital channels where these form part ofthe practice workflow.
Maintaina professional and considerate approach when dealing with difficult orchallenging telephone conversations.
Appointments and care navigation
Processrequests for same-day and routine appointments received in person, by telephoneand through approved digital routes.
Book,amend and cancel appointments accurately, following appointment booking rules,clinician availability and practice protocols.
Usethe practice's care-navigation guidance to help patients access the mostappropriate service or healthcare professional.
Explainappointment options and relevant practice processes clearly, without providingclinical advice or making clinical assessments.
Identifyrequests that fall outside standard booking guidance and refer them to theappropriate clinician or senior member of the team.
Handlerequests for home visits in accordance with practice procedures, recording theinformation required and passing the request to the appropriate clinician forassessment.
Manageappointment changes and cancellations, including notifying relevant teammembers where necessary.
Supportthe recall and follow-up of patients for appointments, reviews and otherpractice activity as directed.
Patient records and clinical system administration
Usethe practice clinical system and other relevant software confidently andaccurately, maintaining up-to-date patient information.
Registernew patients in accordance with practice procedures, including checkingregistration information and completing the required data entry.
Processpatient amendments, including changes of name, address, telephone number andother demographic details, following identity and verification procedures.
Retrieveand update patient records appropriately, ensuring information is enteredaccurately and in the correct place.
Scan,attach, workflow and code incoming correspondence or documents in accordancewith practice protocols and the post holder's training.
Ensuremessages, administrative actions and patient contacts are recorded clearly andpassed to the correct workflow or team member.
Maintainaccurate records of actions taken and ensure outstanding tasks are managed orhanded over appropriately.
Repeat prescriptions and medication requests
Receiveand process repeat prescription requests in accordance with the practice'sprescribing policy and agreed procedures.
Checkthat requests contain the necessary information and are directed to theappropriate prescribing workflow.
Directmedication queries, requests for acute medication and questions about medicinesto the appropriate clinician or prescribing team.
Explainthe practice's prescription request and collection processes, includingexpected timescales, using approved information.
Donot make changes to medication requests, provide medication advice or promisethat a prescription will be issued; refer queries outside the administrativeprocess to the appropriate person.
Liaisewith care homes to ensure their repeat prescriptions are processedappropriately.
Results, correspondence and referrals
Handleenquiries about test results in line with practice protocols, ensuring thatresults requiring clinical interpretation are directed to an appropriateclinician.
Donot interpret or communicate clinical results unless specifically authorisedunder an approved practice process and appropriate training.
Processoutgoing referrals and associated administrative information as directed,ensuring details are accurate and documentation is sent through the correctroute.
Receive,scan, workflow and distribute incoming clinical correspondence in accordancewith practice procedures.
Trackadministrative tasks and outstanding correspondence where required, escalatingdelays, missing information or urgent items to the appropriate team member.
Providepatients with approved information about referral processes and direct clinicalquestions to the relevant healthcare professional.
Teamwork and day-to-day practice support
Workcollaboratively with reception colleagues, GPs, nurses, pharmacists, alliedhealth professionals and the wider practice team to support an effectivepatient service.
Communicaterelevant information to colleagues clearly and promptly, ensuring that patientrequests are not missed or unnecessarily delayed.
Supportan effective handover between shifts and ensure outstanding work isappropriately recorded and handed over.
Coverreception desks, telephone lines and other agreed administrative duties tomaintain service resilience.
Undertakeroutine administrative tasks that support the smooth running of the practice,including filing, photocopying, scanning and preparing documents.
Supportthe organisation of clinics and the preparation of rooms or paperwork whererequired by the practice.
Participatein team meetings, training and development activities relevant to the role.
Confidentiality, information governance and safety
Maintainstrict confidentiality in relation to patients, staff and practice business,and comply with data protection and information-governance requirements.
Accesspatient records only where there is a legitimate work-related reason and followthe practice's policies for handling and sharing information.
Followsafeguarding procedures and promptly pass on concerns about the safety orwelfare of a child or adult at risk to the designated person, in line withtraining and policy.
Followhealth and safety, infection prevention and control, fire safety and securityprocedures.
Maintaina safe and tidy reception and working environment, reporting hazards,incidents, near misses or equipment faults.
Followprocedures for opening and closing the building, including the safe use ofkeys, doors, windows and alarm systems where this forms part of the shift.
Completeall mandatory training and keep knowledge of practice procedures up to date.
Other duties
Assistwith maintaining a clean, tidy and welcoming reception and waiting roomenvironment, reporting any cleaning or maintenance issues.
Undertakereasonable additional administrative and reception duties appropriate to thelevel and scope of the post, as requested by the Practice Manager or delegatedmanager.
Workflexibly to support the needs of the practice, including providing cover acrossreception positions when required.
Person Specification
Experience
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.
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