Patient Care Administrator Full-time

This post requires someone with initiative, enthusiasm, excellent communication skills and empathy with patients and colleagues. Well organised, reliable and with a flexible approach to team work. The role involves reception and admin duties both patient facing and over the phone. You will liaise with team members to provide a reception service including answering patient and visitor general enquiries and booking appointments. Admin duties will include patient records maintenance, recording repeat prescriptions and processing patient emails received via the surgery website all in accordance with protocols. You will be required to ensure the professional image of the practice is maintained whilst acting as the first point of contact with patients and visitors.

Main duties of the job

• Have experience of working with others
• Be highly motivated and innovative self-starter
• Be discreet and able to maintain confidentiality
• Have a professional and personable presentation and demeanour
• Have excellent customer service skills and ability to communicate confidently with the general public over the phone and face to face
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to problem solve and resolve issues calmly under pressure
• Literacy with a high standard of accuracy and quality
• Information management – able to collect, organise and input data efficiently
• Time management – able to work to deadlines

About us: We serve approximately 13,500 socially and culturally diverse patients from a large modern healthcare centre in the vibrant borough of Haringey. We are active in supporting the professional development and personal interests of our team and where appropriate ongoing study or courses will be supported. Offering a lot of opportunities to develop your customer service skills. We are an innovative and educationally focused practice and are looking for applicants with a similar working ethos to join our multidisciplinary team of dynamic and caring staff consisting of doctors, pharmacists, paramedics, nurses and healthcare assistants. Full training will be provided including working protocols and procedures. You will work with an experienced team of administration staff as well as working closely with the medical team.

Job Responsibilities

• Must be available to start at 8.00am and/or finish at 19.00pm
• To liaise with team members in providing a reception service
• Respond and redirect all patient and visitor requests accordingly
• Receive incoming telephone calls, answer general enquiries and transfer or document calls and messages as appropriate.
• Book in patients based on the reception script and visitors in line with practice appointments and visitors procedures.
• To be aware of other local resources and community organisations, and provide information to patients.
• Collect payments from patients for non-NHS services.
• To provide cover for colleagues on leave. This will include cover for late/early shifts.

Admin

• Receive and record requests for repeat prescriptions in line with the set protocol
• Distribute mail as appropriate and open all incoming general mail and mail for clinicians (unless marked personal or instructed otherwise).
• Sort out all patient correspondence in line with protocols.
• To scan all patient correspondence onto the computer, process correspondence for actioning.
• To archive old patient correspondence.
• To process emails received from patients via the surgery website.
• Record all requests for medical reports.
• Register new patients according to the practice area onto EMIS computer system.
• Amend patients records to show change of name, address etc. onto the computer system, checking if these changes apply to others in the household.
• To send out appointment letters, or contact patients by telephone to change or book appointments.
• To be responsible for allocated personal tasks towards target achievement.
• To cover the personal tasks of other reception staff during periods of leave.
• To collect and provide audit data.
• To be aware of, and to operate within, practice protocols and guidelines – e.g. confidentiality, health & safety.

Services

• Ensure that the professional image of the practice is maintained through the highest standards of staff behaviour and appearance and the look/appearance of waiting-room facilities.
• Attend to and resolve any ad hoc issues and problems as they arise in the day-to-day running of reception.
• Escalate these to line management where appropriate.
• Act as the first point of contact in dealing with and resolving complaints about staff or the service.
• Maintain effective two-way communication with patients and the practice team.
• Develop own skills to facilitate minor running repairs/fixes to equipment and IT.
• Develop and assist in the development of protocols, standard procedures and performance standards.
• Maintain waiting-room notice boards, both electronic and paper.
• Assist management in interaction with the Patient Participation Group.
• Attend to or report ad hoc building or facilities issues as they arise in the day-to-day running of the practice.

General

• Deal with general administrative issues related to the reception service.
• Attend regular and ad hoc staff meetings as required.
• Provide cover for absent staff when necessary.
• Undertake other relevant duties assigned by management from time to time in order to ensure the smooth running of the practice.

Health and Safety

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, as an employee, you must take reasonable care for the health and safety of yourself and for other persons who may be affected by your acts or omissions at work. The Act also states that you must not intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided in the interests of health, safety and welfare. You will assist in promoting and maintaining your own and others health, safety and security as set out in applicable Practice policies and protocols. This will include:

• Using personal security systems within the workplace as directed.
• Identifying risks involved in work activities and managing those risks.
• Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards.
• Reporting health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised.
• Keeping own work areas and general/patient areas clean and assisting in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness.

Equality and Diversity

Morris House is committed to developing, supporting and sustaining a diverse workforce, representative of the community it serves, through the creation of a work environment where staff are able to do their jobs to the best of their abilities without having to face discrimination or harassment. All employees have a responsibility to ensure that they understand the standards we expect and to promote and adhere to the policies and measures adopted by the practice. You will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues by:

• Acting in a way that recognizes the importance of people's rights that is consistent with practice policies.
• Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues.
• Behaving in a welcoming manner which is non-judgmental and respects the circumstances, feelings, priorities and rights of others.

All members of staff have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of vulnerable adults, children and young people in all relevant areas of their work. This will include timely attendance at relevant training events and compliance with practice procedures.

Personal/Professional Development

You will participate in any training or development programme implemented by the practice as part of your employment. This will include:

• Participating in an annual development review including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of your own personal and/or professional development.
• Taking responsibility for your own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.
• Keeping abreast of legislative changes and guidance relating to your role.

Quality

You will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will:

• Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk.
• Assess your own performance and take accountability for your own actions, either directly or under supervision.
• Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on your own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the team's performance.
• Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients' needs.
• Effectively manage your own time, workload and resources.

Communication

You should recognize the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:

• Communicate effectively with other team members.
• Communicate effectively with patients and carers.