Medical Receptionist

Job responsibilities

JOB SUMMARY: This member of staff is a very important ambassador for the surgery, the first point of contact and a vital link to all the services the surgery offers.

JOB PURPOSE

Providing a friendly, efficient and confidential service to patients by booking their appointments and handling their general enquiries. Supporting the primary health care team by preparing their surgeries and dealing with their day to day enquiries.

The post holder will be required to provide Reception support to the Surgery Team. You will be dealing with telephone enquiries from patients, medical staff and other healthcare professionals.

CORE VALUES

Working to NHS and Practice Plans and helping to meet local and national targets.

Maintaining and improving quality of service.

A positive and professional attitude with a willingness to help other colleagues, along with a smart and tidy appearance.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Applicants will be required to demonstrate effective communication and organisational skills.

Applicants must be able to work on their own initiative, both independently and within a team.

Applicants will be required to demonstrate previous experience in dealing with the general public and liaison with healthcare professionals would be advantageous.

CORE BEHAVIOURS AND SKILLS

Provide a confidential, efficient and accurate Reception and Administration service.

Ensure accuracy and completeness of information entered on to the Patient Clinical System in line with Practice policies.

Communicate sensitively and effectively with patients, External Companies, the Clinical Team, and Reception/Administration colleagues.

Respect of patient confidentiality and an understanding that patients have an entitlement to have their affairs dealt with confidentially.

A willingness to undergo all training requirements necessary for the post.

CORE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

It is an essential requirement that the post holder has previous experience of dealing with the general public in a working environment, preferably in an NHS setting.

The applicant should be educated to GCSE English grade C or above, the applicant should also possess an excellent standard of written and spoken English.

It is desirable that you have knowledge of Microsoft Packages and Patient Clinical Systems such as System One or similar, along with the use of email.

HEALTH AND SAFETY/RISK MANANGEMENT

All staff are responsible for working with their colleagues to maintain and improve the quality of services provided to our patients and other service users. This includes complying at all times with the Practice Policies, including Health and Safety policies, and reporting incidents using the Practice Incident Reporting system.

EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY

The jobholder must comply with all policies and procedures designed to ensure equality of employment and that services are delivered in ways that meet the individual needs of patients and their families. No person, whether they are staff, patients or visitors should receive less favorable treatment because of their gender, ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion etc.

TRAINING AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The jobholder must take responsibility in agreement with the Practice Manager for his/her own personal development by ensuring that Continuous Professional Development remains a priority. The jobholder will undertake all mandatory training required for the role.

RESPECT FOR PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY

Respect patient confidentiality and be aware of the guidelines for this. Individual patients have an entitlement to have their affairs dealt with confidentially. There are established rules and conventions applying to professional staff and you should, where appropriate, familiarise yourself with these. In any event, no member of staff should divulge information about the identity of the medical condition of any patient to anybody who does not have a clear entitlement and need to receive it and should ensure that, if consent is given by the patient that it is clearly documented. Staff need to be aware of the Data Protection Act.

Similar constraints apply to the passage of personal information about members of staff.

COMMUNICATION & WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

The post holder will be required to develop and maintain good working relationships with all staff. This will involve considerable liaison with patients, hospitals and other administration staff throughout the Practice.

There will also be considerable liaison with external organisations.

YOUR APPOINTMENT IS SUBJECT TO A THREE MONTH PROBATIONARY PERIOD, DURING WHICH TIME ONE WEEKS NOTICE WILL BE ACCEPTABLE BY EITHER PARTY

Receptionist Duties

Politely answering the telephone, transferring calls, the taking and passing on of any messages.

Accurate and timely management of electronic patient records including data input.

Management of internal tasks , notifications and messages

Making appointments for patients either face-to-face or over the telephone.

Arranging Ambulances to collect patients, arrange Translators to attend surgery with a patient.

Taking details of patients requiring home visits.

Locking & unlocking of doors and cabinets prior to and after surgery to ensure security measures are in place.

Starting all relevant computers in a morning and checking for error messages, any of which should be reported to the Reception Manager or Practice Manager. Ensuring all computers are logged off in an evening to maintain security.

Receiving and directing patients and visitors. Providing information as required.

Maintaining and developing filing system in the most accurate manner.

Providing assistance to other members of the team as and when necessary and undertaking duties that are commensurate with the level of this post and are specified by your Reception Manager .

Repeat prescription management

Scanning of patient correspondence onto the patients clinical record

Maintenance of waiting room displays and patient information literature.

Any computer work deemed necessary.

Providing a chaperone for clinical staff and patients as and when necessary.

Handling samples to send to the labs.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working in a patient focused role.
• Experience of working in a GP practice.

Desirable

• Experience of ...