General Practice Receptionist

Middleton Lodge Practice is a busy surgery in New Ollerton, caring for over 13,000 patients. We are looking for an excellent communicator with good keyboard skills to join our busy reception team at the Middleton Lodge Practice. You will act as the first point of contact for patients and visitors to the practice. Exceptional customer service skills and experience are a must, and full training will be provided. You should be able to work well in a team and be pro-active in your duties. The job can be pressurised, so you must be able to demonstrate a calm and reassuring manner and the ability to multi-task. Experience of working as a receptionist in a GP Practice is desirable, and knowledge of SystmOne clinical software is preferred. Part-time hours are available over 4 working days with hours ranging between 08:00 am and 6:00 pm, Monday to Friday.

Main duties of the job:

• Process appointment requests for patients by telephone and in person.
• Deal with visit requests.
• Customer Service i.e. meet and greet and attending to phone enquiries.
• Registering new patients.
• Processing Repeat Prescriptions in accordance with Practice Protocols.
• Processing and distributing incoming (and outgoing) mail.
• Covering colleagues in the event of sickness and shortage.

About us:

Middleton Lodge Practice based in New Ollerton serves 13,000 patients. New Ollerton is in a semi-rural location on the edge of Sherwood Forest, North Nottinghamshire. Good road links offer excellent accessibility to Nottingham, Sheffield, Lincoln and the Peak District.

Job responsibilities:

• To be the first point of contact for patients and families and service users in a clinical environment.
• To provide an efficient and effective patient reception/administration function within the primary care setting.
• As part of the reception team supporting a busy practice, you will be the first point of call, either over the telephone or face to face on reception, for patients/service users; families and visitors to the practice, using appropriate communication skills to support access to the practice and the booking of appointments.
• Operating the administrative functions of the services’ telephone booking system.
• Front of house, welcome role, meeting and greeting patients coming into the practice.
• Work as a member of the reception team providing all aspects of reception duties including taking & recording messages, booking of appointments for patients and answering telephone enquiries.
• Process new patient registrations and temporary registrations.
• Respond appropriately to verbal complaints and refer any unresolved issues to support/operational management when necessary.
• Use appropriate methods to communicate effectively within a team i.e. email, attending meetings.
• Carry out a variety of clerical duties as and when required i.e. scanning, filing and photocopying.
• Open post received on site(s) and deal with it appropriately, scanning into SystmOne where required.
• To record episodes from incoming items of post and log correctly.
• Provide administrative support for data quality.
• To assist with the daily production of prescriptions, nomads & repeat dispensing.
• To assist the office manager and other practice staff with the induction of any new or temporary receptionist staff.
• Act upon Doctors requests to follow up patients i.e. liaise with other agencies, secondary care, patients, families and carers on the practice’s behalf.
• Deal with incoming telephone calls and act upon each appropriately i.e. offer and book an appropriate appointment, refer for further clinical advice.
• Take and record messages for clinical staff e.g. home visits and further medical advice.
• Shared responsibility for reception, waiting room and consultation rooms’ upkeep and tidiness including leaflets and posters.
• Reporting of faults, equipment breakdown or failure, building maintenance to the office manager.
• Process and acknowledge receipt of monies from patients, as required.
• Be aware of Health & Safety policies and procedures and report any occurrences of incidents to management, using the incident reporting procedure.
• Opening and securing of premises as required.

Other:

• To be responsible for continuing personal development.
• To have an annual appraisal with line manager.

Service Development:

• Assist in the development of practice policies and procedures.

Confidentiality:

In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately. In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential. Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.

Person Specification:

• Qualifications: GCSE or equivalent English and Maths at grade C or above. Receptionist or Medical Terminology Qualifications.
• Experience: Experience of working in a reception environment dealing with patients/general public in person and by phone. IT experience using Microsoft Office and E-mail. Previous experience of working within the NHS. Previous experience of working in a GP practice.
• Knowledge and skills: Knowledge of office/reception procedures. Good understanding of equality & diversity. Excellent organisational skills. Methodical approach to work. Excellent interpersonal skills. Excellent keyboard skills. Approachable and helpful. Have a flexible approach to work. Trustworthy. Able to multi-task and remain calm when faced with conflicting priorities. Ability to work well with other members of the practice team. Clinical System Use (SystmOne).

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. £12.71 an hour. Position will stay in line with the current UK Minimum Wage.