Patient Services Advisor for Contact Hub (South Petherton base)

Symphony Healthcare Services are looking to recruit Patient Services Advisors (phone and administration based duties) for The Contact Hub which is part of the Symphony South group of GP practices, based at South Petherton Medical Centre in South Petherton, Somerset. This role involves a variety of responsibilities, such as assisting patients over the phone, managing appointments, handling repeat prescriptions and providing general administrative support to the Hub which looks after multiple practices within Symphony South.

This role is a full time position, offering 37.5 hours a week. The rate of pay is £12.71 per hour. This vacancy will close at midnight on 31 May 2026.

Main duties of the job

• This role requires courteous, calm and effective communication skills over the phone and methodical, accurate administration capabilities.
• You will be assisting patients in accessing the appropriate services or healthcare professional and undertake a variety of administrative duties, in accordance with agreed procedures, protocols and timescales.
• You will need to be able to work accurately and prioritise your own workload effectively while working as part of a team, while also meeting competing deadlines.
• You will also be confident to proactively alert management / clinical staff to issues of quality, risk and safeguarding, as part of your daily role.
• You will have sound IT skills and experience of using packages such as MS Office (Outlook, Word etc.).
• Knowledge of the NHS / General Practice would be desirable, but not essential.

About us

Symphony Healthcare Services (Symphony) was established in 2016 as part of the award-winning Symphony Programme Vanguard, developing new models of care. We now support 16 practices across Somerset providing care for over 100,000 patients. Symphony has developed a model where each practice is encouraged to operate autonomously, but as a subsidiary of NHS Somerset Foundation Trust (SFT), and with the backing and economies of scale from a central support team.

Providing NHS services is at the heart of what we do. Our vision is to ensure that primary care is sustainable for patients and practices in Somerset, and we aim to be a national exemplar for primary care provision. We work closely with our practice teams to support, develop and transform patient care and working practices with innovation and technology at our core. Symphony welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds and underrepresented groups. When undertaking recruitment and selection for our services, Symphony is committed to equality of opportunity for all.

Symphony offers a NHS or NEST Pension, a fantastic range of employee benefits and salary sacrifice schemes, along with flexible working from day of employment and an agile approach to home/office-based working (where applicable).

Job responsibilities

• Identify and book appointments and home visits in line with practice protocols, including cross-organisation bookings.
• Search for, register if necessary and book onto the computer system patients as they present at the desk.
• Deal with enquiries, signposting and requests, either face to face or over the telephone from a variety of external sources, such as patients, relatives, clinical team, hospital, pathology, and work colleagues.
• Deal with distressed/aggressive patients safely and appropriately as they present at the desk or over the telephone.
• Be able to prioritise patients in need of urgent medical attention who present to reception in person or telephone in and direct them to the correct clinical intervention/appointment.
• Deal with requests from patients and GPs for emergency calls, following protocol and dialling 999 as required.
• Maintain an overview of the waiting areas, informing patients of any known delays and ensuring the area remains in a neat and tidy condition.
• Follow up hospital appointments, test results etc. and act upon messages on the system from the medical team.
• Record visit requests and alert duty doctor according to practice policy.
• Receive urgent results as they come in from the pathology department at the hospital.
• Liaise with GP and contact patients with information.
• Handle specimen samples from patients appropriately.

Person Specification

Knowledge and skills

• Computer literate and good keyboard skills.
• Ability to listen carefully and communicate effectively and sensitively (verbal and written) to patients and staff at a range of levels.
• Excellent organisational skills.
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to transfer accurate information.
• Work well under pressure.
• Use own initiative within clear boundaries, seeking advice when necessary.
• Demonstrate enthusiasm and a strong sense of teamwork.
• Ability to complete tasks to a high standard with frequent interruptions.
• Knowledge of medical terminology.
• Knowledge of the NHS/General Practice.

Qualifications

• English & Maths GCSE or equivalent (grade A*-D/ grade 9 to 3).

Experience

• Experience of working within a team.
• Recognise the significance of different situations (including emergencies) and take appropriate action, following standard policies and procedures.
• Experience of working in a customer focused environment.
• Experience of working within an administration team.
• Experience of working in the NHS or similar health care setting.
• Awareness of clinical systems such as EMIS.

Core Behaviours

• Ability to demonstrate empathy, sensitivity and compassion to the needs of the service users and carers.
• Flexibility and willingness to support all teams within the practice.
• Ability to listen accurately and respond appropriately.
• Willingness to work flexibly (potentially across multiple sites).
• Good understanding of the importance of confidentiality.

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 to check for any previous criminal convictions.

£12.71 an hour. Hourly rate to increase after 6 month probation.