GP Practice Receptionist

As the first point of contact for our patients, you’ll play a key role in creating a welcoming, supportive experience for everyone who walks through our doors. This role is perfect for someone who enjoys helping people, thrives in a busy environment, and takes pride in getting things right. You’ll join a friendly, experienced team who value collaboration, kindness, and good humour. If you want a role where your work genuinely makes a difference to the health and wellbeing of our community, we’d love to meet you.

Main duties of the job

• Provide a welcoming first point of contact for patients attending the practice, whether in person or by telephone.
• Manage appointments efficiently, including booking, amending, and signposting patients to the most appropriate clinician or service.
• Handle patient enquiries with professionalism, sensitivity, and confidentiality, ensuring accurate information is given at all times.

About us

Gordon House Surgery is a longstanding, respected practice serving a diverse and growing patient population in Ealing. The practice is led by seven GP Partners, supported by salaried GPs, GP registrars, nurses, HCAs, pharmacists, administrators, and a dedicated reception team. The surgery’s mission is clear: to provide an excellent, high‑quality health experience for all patients, delivered with professionalism, compassion, and continuous improvement.

Job responsibilities

The Medical Receptionist role is for an enthusiastic, positive, self‑motivated individual who can work both independently and as part of our growing team. Our reception team are the first link for many patients and visitors who come to the surgery. The role varies on a day‑to‑day basis, including greeting patients as they arrive and checking them in, collecting patient notes and ensuring these vital records go to the right healthcare professional. The job also involves using the clinical system and other software programmes to make appointments, book patient transport, book interpreters and deal with test results, in addition to responding to tasks from clinical and non‑clinical staff, liaising with external community services and emergency services, and handling general administration. Our reception team meet regularly to discuss best practice and ways of improving our service; we work very closely with other teams within the practice and community.

Desired skills

• Efficiency and ability to multi‑task
• Discretion and respect for confidentiality
• A friendly, sympathetic/reassuring manner
• Great team‑working
• Knowledge and use of Microsoft Office suite
• Flexibility

Main responsibilities

• Recognise the need for confidentiality when dealing with medical records.
• Ensure that information is accurately entered on the system and that all activities are carried out in the best interests of the practice and its patients.
• Carry out duties in a courteous and helpful manner and in the best interests of the practice and its patients.
• Provide cover as required for coding, reception, medical secretary, document management, scanning and medical reporting as appropriate.
• Assist in general office duties and reception work as required due to absence or annual leave.
• Undertake any other duties as agreed with the Practice Management Team and/or Partners.

Reception duties

• Act as the first point of contact for anyone visiting the surgery or calling on the telephone.
• Receive patients on arrival and direct them to the correct surgery when required.
• Deal politely and efficiently with visitors and, as a member of the practice team, provide a courteous and helpful service.
• Ensure patient notes are correctly extracted and re‑filed when necessary.
• Ensure patient confidentiality is respected at all times and adhere to the Data Protection Act.
• Answer telephone and deal with or re‑direct enquiries, booking appointments etc.
• Receive prospective patients and register patients.
• Answer queries regarding results of recent tests such as bloods, urine or X‑rays.
• Take in requests for repeat prescriptions, hand out completed prescriptions and prepare the forms for a GP’s signature when necessary; maintain a record in the book of items received into the surgery.
• Cancel appointments when necessary, contact the patient(s) and re‑book if required.
• Book patient hospital transport when required.
• Contact the emergency services when necessary.
• Liaise with doctors to make appointments for private medicals when required.
• Responsible for upkeep of generic email inboxes.
• Scan all clinical letters received and transfer the information into the patients computerised records.

Medical reports duties

• Preparation of documents for insurance claims, external bodies, patient requests and private work.
• Ensuring regular upkeep of Practice reporting documentation.
• Ensure regular upkeep of Practice Invoicing relating to insurance claims, medical reports and any private work undertaken by practice staff.

Registrations & deductions duties

• Process new patient registrations, temporary resident and immediately necessary forms.
• Process any amendments to patient records that come via the Health Authority link.
• Ensure accurate computer entry of records for change of addresses.
• Check any mismatched results sent from the pathology laboratory.

This Job Description will vary from time to time, by mutual consent, in line with the needs of the practice.

Qualifications

• GCSE grade A to C in English and Maths

Experience

• Working with people
• Receptionist experience
• Experience of working in a GP practice or NHS

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.