Receptionist in Long Stratton

Long Stratton Medical Partnership has an opportunity for an enthusiastic and proactive receptionist to join our team on a part-time basis for 24 - 30 hours per week. The hourly rate is minimum wage for the first 3 month probationary period, rising to £12.81 on successful completion of competencies. The receptionist provides a professional, efficient, caring and confidential first point of contact for patients, carers and visitors. The post-holder will help patients access the most appropriate service through the practice's total triage model, support the wider practice team and contribute to safe, accurate and responsive day-to-day operations.

Key responsibilities:

• Welcome patients and visitors in a courteous, calm and respectful manner, maintaining privacy at the reception desk and in waiting areas.
• Respond to general enquiries, explain practice procedures and help patients access appropriate clinical, administrative or external services without offering clinical advice.
• Identify urgent, deteriorating or potentially unsafe situations and escalate them immediately in accordance with practice protocols.
• Support patients who may be distressed, vulnerable, angry, confused or experiencing communication barriers, using appropriate de-escalation and seeking assistance when required.
• Register new and temporary patients promptly and accurately, including processing information received through the digital registration service and checking demographic and contact details.
• Arrange, amend and cancel appointments in line with appointment-booking rules, clinical instructions and the practice's total triage arrangements.
• Process requests for home visits in accordance with the practice protocol, recording all relevant information accurately and escalating the request to the appropriate clinician.
• Manage practice email and shared work queues as allocated, responding or redirecting items promptly and securely.
• Process changes of address, telephone numbers, email addresses, consent and communication preferences accurately, confirming identity and practice boundary requirements where appropriate.
• Follow the practice procedure for reporting and processing patient deaths, ensuring that actions are completed sensitively, accurately and within required timescales.
• Understand the practice complaints procedure, respond professionally to concerns and direct or escalate them to the appropriate person without becoming defensive or attempting to investigate them independently.
• Provide reasonable cover for colleague absence and undertake other duties appropriate to the role, competence and grade when requested by the partners or management team.
• Assist with reasonable shared workplace duties, including keeping reception, staff and refreshment areas clean, tidy and appropriately stocked.

The role involves frequent use of SystmOne, SystmConnect and X-On Surgery Connect. The post-holder must use each system competently, follow agreed workflows and escalation routes, and maintain accurate contemporaneous records.

General practice is a challenging environment that requires a calm and caring approach with the ability to work under pressure. The ideal candidate will be a highly motivated team player who has customer service/patient experience, offers excellent communication skills and is I.T. literate.

At Long Stratton Medical Partnership, we take pride in being a family-focused, close-knit team; our ‘work family’ is how we often describe ourselves. We offer a supportive, positive culture which is well-lead, and provide regular supervision and training for all staff.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check: Please note 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 to check for any previous criminal convictions.