About this role
Job summary
The Patient Services Administrator is a key member of the Mayfield Medical Centre reception team and is often the first point of contact for patients, carers and other visitors.
The post holder will provide a welcoming, professional and efficient reception service, helping patients access the most appropriate care in line with practice procedures and agreed care-navigation guidance.
The role involves working across reception and telephone channels, responding to a range of patient queries, booking and managing appointments, handling administrative requests and supporting the wider clinical and practice team. The post holder must communicate calmly and sensitively, maintain confidentiality, use the practice clinical system accurately and recognise when a request needs to be passed to a clinician or senior colleague.
Main duties of the job
Patient reception and customer service
Telephone and electronic communication
Appointments and care navigation
Patient records and clinical system administration
Repeat prescriptions and medication requests
Results, correspondence and referrals
Teamwork and day to day practice support
Confidentiality, information governance and safety
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
Take responsibility for working within the limits of your knowledge, training and competence, seeking advice or escalating concerns when required.
Treat all patients, carers, visitors and colleagues with dignity, respect and without discrimination.
Contribute to a culture of continuous improvement by identifying ways to improve the patient experience and the effectiveness of reception processes.
Adhere to Salus Medical Services and Mayfield Medical Centre policies, procedures and values.
About us
Salus is a GP Federation which was formed by the local GP practices within North East Hampshire and Farnham. This includes practices located in Aldershot, Farnborough, Fleet, Farnham and Yateley. We hold several contracts supporting primary care to deliver services on behalf of those practices, helping them work better together and with other healthcare providers, leading to improved patient services and the development of new services in response to the changing primary care environment.
We also assist practices with administrative, operational and HR support and facilitate shared learning across localities. By engaging with the public, we help ensure that services are designed and developed with patient and public involvement.
The staff at Salus Medical Services have a wealth of experience working in general practice and therefore a good understanding of the opportunities and challenges faced.
Job description
Job responsibilities
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The following are the core responsibilities of the Patient Services Administrator. The list is not exhaustive, and the post holder may be required to undertake other duties appropriate to the role, depending on service needs, workload and staffing levels. All duties must be carried out in accordance with practice policies, written protocols, training and the post holder's level of competence.
Patient reception and customer service
Welcome patients and visitors in a friendly, professional and courteous manner, establishing the reason for their visit where appropriate.
Act as the first point of contact for patients attending the practice, helping them navigate the building and access the correct service or member of the team.
Maintain an approachable and helpful manner while managing competing demands at the reception desk.
Respond to patient queries sensitively, including when patients are distressed, anxious, frustrated or unhappy, and seek support from a senior colleague when needed.
Maintain patient dignity and privacy when speaking with patients at the reception desk and take care not to disclose confidential information where others may overhear.
Manage visitors, deliveries and other enquiries, directing them to the appropriate person or area.
Telephone and electronic communication
Answer incoming telephone calls promptly and professionally, using the practice telephone system and agreed call-handling procedures.
Establish the nature of each call, obtain and confirm relevant details, and direct or signpost the caller in line with practice protocols and care-navigation guidance.
Handle appointment requests, prescription queries, test-result enquiries and general administrative questions within the limits of the role.
Recognise calls that may require urgent clinical attention and follow the practice's escalation procedures without attempting to make clinical decisions.
Record accurate messages, including the caller's name, contact details, reason for calling and any relevant urgency, and pass them to the appropriate person in a timely manner.
Use approved methods to respond to patient communications, including online consultation requests, email or other digital channels where these form part of the practice workflow.
Maintain a professional and considerate approach when dealing with difficult or challenging telephone conversations.
Appointments and care navigation
Process requests for same-day and routine appointments received in person, by telephone and through approved digital routes.
Book, amend and cancel appointments accurately, following appointment booking rules, clinician availability and practice protocols.
Use the practice's care-navigation guidance to help patients access the most appropriate service or healthcare professional.
Explain appointment options and relevant practice processes clearly, without providing clinical advice or making clinical assessments.
Identify requests that fall outside standard booking guidance and refer them to the appropriate clinician or senior member of the team.
Handle requests for home visits in accordance with practice procedures, recording the information required and passing the request to the appropriate clinician for assessment.
Manage appointment changes and cancellations, including notifying relevant team members where necessary.
Support the recall and follow-up of patients for appointments, reviews and other practice activity as directed.
Patient records and clinical system administration
Use the practice clinical system and other relevant software confidently and accurately, maintaining up-to-date patient information.
Register new patients in accordance with practice procedures, including checking registration information and completing the required data entry.
Process patient amendments, including changes of name, address, telephone number and other demographic details, following identity and verification procedures.
Retrieve and update patient records appropriately, ensuring information is entered accurately and in the correct place.
Scan, attach, workflow and code incoming correspondence or documents in accordance with practice protocols and the post holder's training.
Ensure messages, administrative actions and patient contacts are recorded clearly and passed to the correct workflow or team member.
Maintain accurate records of actions taken and ensure outstanding tasks are managed or handed over appropriately.
Repeat prescriptions and medication requests
Receive and process repeat prescription requests in accordance with the practice's prescribing policy and agreed procedures.
Check that requests contain the necessary information and are directed to the appropriate prescribing workflow.
Direct medication queries, requests for acute medication and questions about medicines to the appropriate clinician or prescribing team.
Explain the practice's prescription request and collection processes, including expected timescales, using approved information.
Do not make changes to medication requests, provide medication advice or promise that a prescription will be issued; refer queries outside the administrative process to the appropriate person.
Liaise with care homes to ensure their repeat prescriptions are processed appropriately.
Results, correspondence and referrals
Handle enquiries about test results in line with practice protocols, ensuring that results requiring clinical interpretation are directed to an appropriate clinician.
Do not interpret or communicate clinical results unless specifically authorised under an approved practice process and appropriate training.
Process outgoing referrals and associated administrative information as directed, ensuring details are accurate and documentation is sent through the correct route.
Receive, scan, workflow and distribute incoming clinical correspondence in accordance with practice procedures.
Track administrative tasks and outstanding correspondence where required, escalating delays, missing information or urgent items to the appropriate team member.
Provide patients with approved information about referral processes and direct clinical questions to the relevant healthcare professional.
Teamwork and day-to-day practice support
Work collaboratively with reception colleagues, GPs, nurses, pharmacists, allied health professionals and the wider practice team to support an effective patient service.
Communicate relevant information to colleagues clearly and promptly, ensuring that patient requests are not missed or unnecessarily delayed.
Support an effective handover between shifts and ensure outstanding work is appropriately recorded and handed over.
Cover reception desks, telephone lines and other agreed administrative duties to maintain service resilience.
Undertake routine administrative tasks that support the smooth running of the practice, including filing, photocopying, scanning and preparing documents.
Support the organisation of clinics and the preparation of rooms or paperwork where required by the practice.
Participate in team meetings, training and development activities relevant to the role.
Confidentiality, information governance and safety
Maintain strict confidentiality in relation to patients, staff and practice business, and comply with data protection and information-governance requirements.
Access patient records only where there is a legitimate work-related reason and follow the practice's policies for handling and sharing information.
Follow safeguarding procedures and promptly pass on concerns about the safety or welfare of a child or adult at risk to the designated person, in line with training and policy.
Follow health and safety, infection prevention and control, fire safety and security procedures.
Maintain a safe and tidy reception and working environment, reporting hazards, incidents, near misses or equipment faults.
Follow procedures for opening and closing the building, including the safe use of keys, doors, windows and alarm systems where this forms part of the shift.
Complete all mandatory training and keep knowledge of practice procedures up to date.
Other duties
Assist with maintaining a clean, tidy and welcoming reception and waiting room environment, reporting any cleaning or maintenance issues.
Undertake reasonable additional administrative and reception duties appropriate to the level and scope of the post, as requested by the Practice Manager or delegated manager.
Work flexibly to support the needs of the practice, including providing cover across reception positions when required.
Person Specification
Experience
Desirable
- Primary care Experience
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
Salus Medical Services Ltd
Address
Mayfield Medical Centre
Croyde Close
Farnborough
Hampshire
GU14 8UE
United Kingdom
Employer's website
http://www.salusmedical.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)