Care Navigator in Leeds

We are looking for a friendly, organised and patient-focused Care Navigator to join our team at East Park Medical Centre. The role involves contacting patients to arrange appointments for long-term condition reviews, screening, vaccinations, blood tests and medication reviews. You will help manage patient recalls, follow-up appointments and queries, working closely with our clinical and administrative teams to ensure patients receive timely and appropriate care. Excellent communication skills, attention to detail and a compassionate, professional approach are essential.

Main duties of the job

• Appointment & Recall Management: Book and manage appointments via phone, text, and online links for long-term condition reviews, screening (smears, learning disability checks, SMI reviews), follow-up blood tests, and vaccinations.
• Task & Query Handling: Process clinician tasks for GP and appointment bookings, schedule medication reviews for pharmacists, manage cancellations and rebookings, and handle incoming patient queries.
• Safe Recall & Team Collaboration: Work closely with the nursing and prescribing teams to ensure safe recall processes, track recalls using the 'book your GP' app, and support high-demand call periods when requested.
• Patient Communication & Advocacy: Communicate professionally with patients, visitors, and clinicians, providing sensitive support for those receiving difficult news and acting as an advocate for patients and colleagues.
• Governance & Standards: Adhere to all practice safety policies, confidentiality guidelines, equality and diversity standards, and health and safety procedures.

About us

East Park Medical Centre and Halton Medical Practice operate as a primary care medical practice providing comprehensive patient care. The organisation features an integrated multidisciplinary team structure comprising general practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, and administrative staff who work together to manage long-term conditions, routine screenings, and health monitoring. Additionally, the practice maintains a strong commitment to clinical governance, confidentiality compliance, equality and diversity standards, health and safety regulations, and continuous professional development.

Job responsibilities

• Appointment Booking & Management: Booking appointments via telephone calls, online links, and texts for long-term condition nurse reviews, screening appointments for smears, learning disability checks, and SMI reviews, follow-up blood tests and monitoring blood tests, vaccinations.
• System & Task Processing: Working with the long-term condition app 'book your GP' to track recalls and look at exemptions; booking GP and other clinician appointments from tasks sent for patients; booking medication reviews for the pharmacist; aiding cancellations of appointments for patients and ensuring they are rebooked; and taking calls for patient queries around follow-up appointments.
• Team Collaboration: Working closely with the nursing and prescribing teams to ensure safe recall processes; picking up incoming calls for patient queries at times of high demand if requested by the line manager.
• Working with Others: Attending and participating in practice and staff meetings as appropriate; maintaining effective liaison with other agencies and staff concerned with patient care while maintaining confidentiality; ensuring the maintenance of equipment and stock levels relating to patient care in participation with colleagues; and functioning as an integral part of the team.
• Communication: Communicating effectively and professionally with patients, visitors, clinicians, and co-workers. Interacting with others in a positive, respectful, and considerate manner. Utilizing and demonstrating sensitive communication styles to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment. Communicating with and supporting patients who are receiving 'bad news'. Recognizing the need for alternative methods of communication to overcome different levels of understanding, cultural backgrounds, and preferred communication styles, and anticipating barriers to communication. Acting as an advocate for patients and colleagues.
• Financial Practices: Using resources appropriately, avoiding wasteful practices, and promoting cost containment and efficient use of resources. Making recommendations for potential cost-effective improvements. Performing according to established compliance policies and procedures.
• Professional Competence & Image: Welcoming suggestions and recommendations and maintaining a cooperative work attitude toward management, staff, patients, visitors, and clinicians. Promoting a favorable company image with clinicians, patients, commissioners, and the general public.
• Equality and Diversity: Supporting the equality, diversity, and rights of patients, carers, and colleagues by acting consistently with practice procedures, policies, and legislation. Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs, and beliefs of others while behaving in a welcoming, non-judgmental manner. Maintaining a 'no blame culture'.
• Governance & Confidentiality: Adhering to all governance processes, safety policies, and procedures. Maintaining strict confidentiality regarding sensitive information relating to patients, carers, practice staff, healthcare workers, and the business of the practice, divulging information only to authorized persons in line with policy.
• Health & Safety: Promoting and maintaining own and others' health, safety, and security by using personal security systems, identifying and managing workplace risks, making effective use of training, and using appropriate infection control procedures. Reporting potential risks and recognizing people's rights and priorities.
• Personal / Professional Development: Participating in training programs implemented by the practice, including annual individual performance reviews, maintaining personal/professional development records, and taking responsibility for own learning and performance.
• Quality: Recognizing and working within own competencies and professional code of conduct. Prioritizing, organizing, and managing workload to maintain and promote quality, assessing effectiveness through self and peer review, and collaborating on healthcare quality improvements. Understanding legal issues surrounding the identification of vulnerable/abused children and adults, and alerting the Practice Manager to issues of quality and risk.
• Leadership / Teamwork: Understanding own role and scope, supporting others, exploring mechanisms to develop new ways of working, and acting as a positive role model. Creating opportunities to improve patient care (including clinical audits) and helping develop practice guidelines, protocols, and standards.
• Contribution to the Implementation of Services: Applying practice policies, standards, and guidance, and participating in audits where appropriate.

Person Specification

• Experience: Experience of working in a GP practice.
• 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.