Access Admissions Booking Officer in Ormskirk

As an Access Booking Officer at MWL NHS Trust, you will play a vital role in ensuring patients are booked efficiently and appropriately for inpatient appointments and diagnostic procedures. Based within the Access Centre at Ormskirk District General Hospital, you’ll be responsible for the day-to-day coordination of outpatient bookings. You’ll work closely with team leaders and administrative teams to ensure that patients are scheduled according to clinical priority, waiting times, and procedural requirements. This role demands excellent communication skills, attention to detail, and the ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment. Your contribution will directly support the Trust’s commitment to delivering Five Star Patient Care to a population of over 600,000 people across Merseyside, West Lancashire, and surrounding areas.

Main duties of the job

• To provide a comprehensive inpatient and outpatient service to patients.
• To be named contact point liaising with patients, relatives and/or carers as well as medical representatives, GPs, nursing staff, surgical team and support services to ensure the admission is appropriately planned and managed.
• Accurate addition of patients to the waiting list ensuring any relevant notes recorded.
• To provide advice to patients with matters relating to their admission (pre and post operative guidance) and with regard to their position on the waiting list.
• To plan multiple theatre/procedure lists up to six weeks in advance, using clinical knowledge, medical terminology and information to meet the patients’ 18-week, diagnostic, cancer and/or 28-day rescheduling targets.
• Ensure that with effective planning and organisation the theatre/procedure lists are utilised to their maximum potential.
• Responsible for communicating information and changes relating to elective admissions, theatre lists etc with regards intended procedures, specific kit requirements, specific anaesthetic input to relevant staff Trustwide.
• Ensuring where required appropriate funding is in place or authorised to allow the patient to proceed to admission.
• Identify, attempt to resolve and pre-empt situations which may result in a breach of access targets.
• Regularly analyse waiting list information to ensure compliance with national waiting time standards.
• To work flexibly according to the needs of the service including covering for colleagues during periods of leave.
• Liaise with Bed Manager in the case of patients being put on ‘stand-by’ or cancelled due to extraneous circumstances.
• Ensure that all patients are placed on galaxy (theatre system) as soon as patients’ booking is confirmed.
• Ensure finalised theatre lists are forwarded to the respective secretaries for circulation allowing adequate preparation by theatres and sterile services.
• With knowledge and understanding of the 18-week RTT and compliant/non-compliant pathways add patients to the waiting list ensuring correct linkage.
• Responsible for appointing all patients from the PTLs and managing all Outpatient waiting lists to ensure accurate patient management.
• Responsible for registration of referral letters, ensuring all referral letters and ERS referrals are directed to the appropriate Consultants and Clinics.
• Responsible for booking all new and follow up appointments in accordance with departmental procedures.
• Liaise directly with patients in relation to booking and agreeing outpatient appointments within the appropriate timescales.
• Working under the direction of the operational management teams, when dealing with requests for clinic cancellations; will be responsible for managing the cancellation/reduction of the clinics on PAS and ERS.
• Responsible for all clinic template changes due to changes to Medical Rota’s.
• Manage all appointments on the ERS system ensuring all new appointments which are cancelled by the patient, are discussed with the patient and the appointment either remade or discharged within the appropriate timescales.
• Management of the ASI, ensuring the booking of appointment or escalating capacity issues to the appropriate operational team.
• Responsible for managing partial booking lists and escalating any problems to the operational management teams/team leader.
• Manage all ward forms, ensuring patients are booked for their follow-up appointment or escalated as required.
• Retrospectively record all attendances outside clinic as per work instruction.
• On rotation ensure the general access office email address is managed timely during the shift.
• On rotation, allocated duties include answering the access and booking main telephone line for patient queries and booking.
• Ensure compliance with the two week wait rule for all suspected cancer referrals.
• The post holder will be required to undertake mandatory training and is responsible for keeping this training up to date.
• The post holder will have an appraisal of performance each year and will be responsible for agreeing a development plan in line with the Trust’s PDR system.
• The Trust will provide assistance and agreed development to enable the post holder to achieve their objectives and standards in line with the development plan.
• If the post holder feels he/she is not achieving their objective as agreed in the development plan they will bring it to the attention of their supervisor or manager at the earliest opportunity.
• Prioritise own workload on a daily basis while recognising when it is appropriate to ask to manager.
• To understand, contribute, implement and apply knowledge of relevant procedures and knowledge of how to resolve non-routine problems.
• Assist in the training and induction of new staff and provide continuous support with regards to the co-ordination of their workload.
• Participate in the cover of work colleagues during their absences or at other times when required.
• Required to contribute to service/department meetings giving progress reports on activity for each consultant and reduction of wait times.
• The post holder will support the line manager utilising the proper use of the Trust’s resources.
• Responsible for data quality when maintaining, inputting, extracting and producing information in the Trust’s multiple computer systems.
• To use speed and accuracy with clinical and non-clinical information relating to patient care to ensure patient safety at all times.
• To work under own initiative within approved policies, procedures, booking guidelines and escalation processes.
• To attend weekly meetings with the operational team to provide information for the access meetings and also to discuss any capacity issues/shortfalls.
• Responsible for the generation and sending of all letters and appropriate information leaflets.
• Proactively engage with clinicians/GPs/staff and patients to enable an effective patient flow through the pathway.
• Receive and handle patient telephone enquiries in an empathic, reassuring, timely, appropriate and confident manner.
• To overcome barriers on a daily basis in supporting patients that might not easily understand due to cultural or language differences.
• To communicate unpleasant news in an empathetic manner to patients, relatives or carers over the telephone and provide reassurance at times of distress.

Person specification

• Qualifications: ECDL or equivalent, NVQ 2 customer care or equivalent experience, NVQ 3 business and admin.
• Knowledge & Experience: Computer literate – experience of using Microsoft packages, working within a multidisciplinary team, experience of working in a customer service environment, excellent communication skills, working in a demanding environment, use of patient administrative systems, experience of scheduling/coordination activities and/or resources.
• Skills: Excellent organisational skills, able to work under pressure & to strict deadlines, flexibility and able to adapt to change, ability to work as a flexible and effective team member.

Other

• To frequently sit and concentrate in a restricted position for a substantial proportion of the working time.
• To multi-task between activities with frequent interruptions and a need to leave one task immediately.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity, and respect for all individuals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and value the unique skills, perspective and experience you bring.