Patient Advisor

**Whaddon Healthcare have two practices - Whaddon Medical Centre and Water Eaton Health Centre. This role will be based mainly at Water Eaton, but cover at Whaddon Medical Centre may be required for annual leave etc.**

**Working Hours are Monday - Friday 1:30pm - 6:30pm.**

**Flexibility to work outside of these shifts to cover sickness and annual leave is essential.**

**Job Summary**

To ensure that patients are assisted courteously, efficiently and with empathy, and to support other members of the practice team in order that we may provide a caring and efficient service to the patients.

To act as the ‘first point of call’ for patients at the practice; receiving and directing them, answering their enquiries.
Reception Duties
The duties of the role are detailed below:
**1. Receiving and Directing Patients**
- Receive and direct patients on arrival at the reception desk in a friendly and courteous manner, ensuring their requirements are met professionally and efficiently.
- Provide help to patients with general enquiries, and to assist them to make appointments, using the computer appointment system
- Answer telephones promptly in a polite and professional manner and manage calls appropriately. Dealing with patients and other callers and forwarding to the most appropriate team member if necessary.
- Deal efficiently with general enquiries from patients, explain surgery procedures, appointment system and all other procedures for obtaining services, hand out patient pack / practice leaflet as appropriate
- To advise patients on approximate waiting times and of any unexpected delays
- To book transport for hospital appointments when the patient is unable to do so
- To book interpreters for patients when needed
- To take in fees from patients where applicable and issue receipts
- To give patients any forms / referral letters that are waiting for collection checking ID and taking in fees where necessary
- To listen to patients complaints, remaining polite and empathetic at all times, making sure they are addressed and dealt with appropriately, enlisting the help of a senior colleague when needed

**2. Operation of Telephone System**
- Receive and make calls as required. Divert calls and take messages as appropriate
- Ensure phones are answered within 5 rings where at all possible.
- Ensure that system is operational at the beginning of each day.
- Ensure that the out of hours messages are updated and that the phones are transferred to out-of-hours when the practice is closed longer than usual.

**3. Administrative Duties**
- To register new patients who are in the practice area and inform patients of practice facilities. Register patients on the clinical system ensuring all details needed for the registration authority are completed.
- To check and update patients’ addresses and telephone numbers and other contact information on the clinical system.
- To take in prescription requests and give out prescriptions once issued, ensuring they are logged as appropriate in the prescription diary.
- To generate prescriptions as required.
- To post outgoing letters at the end of each shift
- To undertake photocopying and faxing as needed including photocopying patients notes when requested to do so by Administrator.
- To phone patients for recall and data collection purposes and correctly record data in patient’s medical record.
- Photocopy the practice leaflet ensuring that there is always a supply available at reception.
- Make up registration packs (GMS1 & New Patient Health Check Form)
- Complete tasks sent via SYSTM1(or any other clinical system or document management system which may replace these).
- Complete tasks put on the reception clipboard
- Fax referrals and prescriptions as requested by clinicians or other administrators.
- Chase referrals with support of GP Support Administrator

**4. Patient Records**
- To assist with tagging of new patients’ medical records prior to summarisation, requesting old medical records from patient services when they do not arrive in a timely fashion
- To assist with the scanning or patient related documents when the workload requires it

**5. Start and End of Day Procedures**
- At the start of the day, make all necessary preparation to receive patients
- To ensure that the reception area is tidy and ready for use by staff the next day
- To tidy waiting area i.e. collect together magazines, etc at the end of morning and evening surgery
- Secure premises at the end of the day, ensure the Practice corridor is totally secured (windows & doors locked/lights out etc),

**6. General Tasks**:

- To ensure confidentiality is maintained at all times.
- Chaperone for the GP’s if requested to do so.
- To help with any other tasks that may require to be done in order to maintain efficient operation of the practice as requested by the doctors or practice manager.
- To attend Reception meetings when scheduled
- To contribute to team working within the practice, offering support