About this role
Job summary
Woolpit Health Centre is seeking a professional and personable Medical Receptionist to join our busy and dedicated team. This is a key role within the practice, focused on delivering a friendly, efficient, and high-quality service to our patients while supporting the smooth day-to-day running of the Practice.
We welcome applications from individuals with experience in healthcare administration, particularly within the NHS. However, we also encourage candidates with strong transferable skills, excellent communication and a genuine passion for patient care to apply.
As a Medical Receptionist, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the patient experience. You will be the first point of contact for patients, helping them access the appropriate services and responding to enquiries in a professional and compassionate manner.
Our Reception Team operates on a variable shift pattern between 08:00 and 19:00.
The core hours for this post are as follows:
Monday 08:00 14:00
Tuesday 08:00 18:00 (1 hour for lunch)
Wednesday 13:00 18:00
Thursday 08:00 13:00
Friday 08:00 13:00
Flexibility is essential for this role as the successful candidate will be required to adjust their working hours in line with service demands, including covering shifts at short notice when necessary.
Please only apply if you can work within the core hours of the service.
Main duties of the job
To ensure that an effective and efficient reception service is provided to patients and any other visitors to the practice
To deal with all general enquiries and explain surgery procedures
Answering the telephone and call navigating to appropriate clinicians or healthcare professional depending on the presenting condition
Booking, amending and cancelling patients appointments, ensuring optimum efficiently of the appointment system
Monitoring and processing online requests via Anima alongside the duty GPs
Receiving and recording requests for home visits, ensuring clinicians have the necessary paperwork
To undertake various administrative actions such as scanning and uploading patient documentation as part of the workflow process, ensuring that correspondence such as reports and results are filed electronically in the correct patients record
Opening up/locking up of practice premises and maintaining security
Processing and distributing incoming and outgoing mail
To take messages accurately and pass on information
Filing and retrieving paperwork and medical records as necessary
Assisting patients with support on use of medical platforms such as NHS app and Anima
To monitor daily inboxes and process digital requests
To working collaboratively as part of a team in a fast-paced environment
To provide general administrative support such as filing, photocopying and scanning
About us
Why work for us?
Based in the Suffolk village of Woolpit, the Health Centre aims to provide:
the type of care that we would expect for ourselves and our own families.
We provide services to over 16,000 patients who live in a practice area of 75 square miles of rural West Suffolk, straddling the A14, between Thurston in the west, and Haughley in the east.
We pride ourselves on the high standards of our care we are holders of the Royal College of General Practitioners Practice Accreditation Award, a quality mark held by only 19 practices in the UK.
Our 5 GP partners and 7 non-partner GPs lead a multidisciplinary team of nurses, health care assistants, pharmacists and midwives all of whom are based in our purpose-built premises.
Job description Job responsibilities
To ensure that an effective and efficient reception service is provided to patients and any other visitors to the practice
To deal with all general enquiries and explain surgery procedures
Answering the telephone and call navigating to appropriate clinicians or healthcare professional depending on the presenting condition
Booking, amending and cancelling patients appointments, ensuring optimum efficiently of the appointment system
Monitoring and processing online requests via Anima alongside the duty GPs
Receiving and recording requests for home visits, ensuring clinicians have the necessary paperwork
To undertake various administrative actions such as scanning and uploading patient documentation as part of the workflow process, ensuring that correspondence such as reports and results are filed electronically in the correct patients record
Opening up/locking up of practice premises and maintaining security
Processing and distributing incoming and outgoing mail
To take messages accurately and pass on information
Filing and retrieving paperwork and medical records as necessary
Assisting patients with support on use of medical platforms such as NHS app and Anima
To monitor daily inboxes and process digital requests
To working collaboratively as part of a team in a fast-paced environment
To provide general administrative support such as filing, photocopying and scanning
Inputting data and coding patients healthcare records as necessary
Resolving low level IT issues and reporting complex IT problems to the relevant organisation
To be flexible and provide cover for staff sickness and annual leave as needed
To carry out any reasonable duties requested by the Doctors, Practice Manager, Operations Manager, Reception Manager or Lead Receptionist
Person Specification
Personal Qualities Essential
Polite and confident Flexible and cooperative Motivated Problem solver with the ability to process information accurately and effectively, interpreting data as required Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations Ability to work under pressure / in stressful situations Able to communicate effectively and understand the needs of the patient Punctual and committed to supporting the team effort
Experience Essential
Experience of working with the general public
Desirable
Experience of working in a primary care environment Experience of working in a healthcare setting
Skills Essential
Excellent communication skills (written and oral) Strong IT skills Clear, polite telephone manner Effective time management Ability to work as a team member and autonomously Good interpersonal skills Ability to follow clinical policy and procedure
Desirable
Competent in the use of Office and Outlook EMIS user skills
Qualifications Essential
Educated to GCSE level or equivalent
Desirable
Active signposting or Care Navigator training qualification Customer service qualification (NVQ) or equivalent experience
Other Essential
Flexibility within working hours to cover extra sessions for holiday and sickness
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.
Employer details Employer name Woolpit Health Centre
Address Heath Road
Woolpit
Bury St. Edmunds
Suffolk
IP30 9QU
United Kingdom
Employer's website http://woolpithealthcentre.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)