Patient Advisor

OverviewWould you like to be part of a Practice that value, recognise and celebrate staff members? Who work as a team to provide a high-level service? If yes, Oak Tree Health Centre is the place for you.Oak Tree Health centre promotes a comprehensive team structure without hierarchy and complete transparency in all aspects. We encourage multi-disciplinary work and support an empowered way of working to remove any workplace constraints. Oak Tree believes in effective collaboration to create an amicable and team-friendly practice.Main duties of the jobThe duties and responsibilities to be undertaken by members of the Practice Advisors team may include any or all of the items in the following list:Redirect enquiries to the appropriate practice teamExplain Practice arrangements and formal requirements to new patients and those seeking temporary cover and ensure procedures and paperwork are fully completedPromote and sign patients up to online services at every opportunityEnsure practice promotional materials are up to date and availableManage the SMS texting service to and from patientsArrange hospital transport as necessaryBook interpreters as necessaryManage communications from NHS mail account as appropriate to roleAbout usWhat perks are we offering in return?28 days annual leave per year plus 8 public holidays based on a full time 37.50h per weekAccess to the NHS pension schemeHealth and wellbeing supportWe offer plenty of tea, coffee, biscuits and healthy snacks to keep you going throughout the dayFlexible workingOur goal main goal as a Practice is: putting our patients at the heart of everything we do.Helping our team to grow, clear accountability, assuming responsibilities and helping patients to live a positive experience following our main values: delivering a happy, friendly, family-oriented service providing first-class healthcareEnsuring we have talent ready to deliver our services and face our daily challengesCreating a collaborative working environment where good practices, empathy and well-being are part of our identityJob responsibilitiesWould you like to be part of a Practice that value, recognise and celebrate staff members? Who work as a team to provide a high-level service? If yes, Oak Tree Health Centre is the place for you. What perks are we offering in return?28 days’ annual leave per year plus 8 public holidays based on a full time 37.5h per weekAccess to the NHS pension schemeHealth and wellbeing supportFlexible workingWe offer plenty of tea, coffee, biscuits and healthy snacks to keep you going throughout the dayJob overviewEnsure an effective and efficient reception service is provided to patients and visitors to the PracticeAdvise patients on all general enquiries, explain procedures etc to assist patients in accessing practice services effectivelyProcess appointment requests from patients by telephone and in person, care navigating patients to the most appropriate service (internally or externally)Job title: Patient AdvisorReports to: Practice Service ManagerThe purpose of the role is to: deal with patient enquiries face-to-face and by telephone in a very busy GP Practice. This is a demanding and challenging position in a constantly changing health environment.We are ideally looking for someone to work a mixture of morning and afternoon shifts. Flexibility to cover additional hours during busy periods or when colleagues are on leave is essential. Shifts will be between 7.00 am and 20.00 pm, Monday to Saturday.The ideal candidate will need to have excellent customer care skills and the ability to work accurately under pressure with attention to detail. To have excellent communication skills is also essential in this role. You would need to be organised, well presented, personable, polite and patient.To have an understanding of our primary care systems is desirable, but not essential as full training will be provided to enable the successful candidate to undertake the full range of duties associated with the role.Duties and responsibilitiesRedirect enquiries to the appropriate practice teamExplain Practice arrangements and formal requirements to new patients and those seeking temporary cover and ensure procedures and paperwork are fully completedPromote and sign patients up to online services at every opportunityEnsure practice promotional materials are up to date and availableManage the SMS texting service to and from patientsArrange hospital transport as necessaryBook interpreters as necessaryManage communications from NHS mail account as appropriate to roleThe successful applicant will be an NHS employee and may therefore have contact with vulnerable service users. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been necessary to take significant steps to protect the health and safety of our staff, service users and those attending our sites. In order to comply with our duty of care, we require our staff to have the COVID vaccine and we will ask for proof of vaccination during the recruitment process. Vaccination will be a condition of employment unless an exemption applies.ConfidentialityIn the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidentialInformation relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive dataHealth and Safety / Infection ControlThe post-holder will implement and lead on a full range of promotions. They will manage their own and others’ health and safety and infection control as defined in the practice Health and Safety policy, the Health and Safety manual, the Infection Control policy and other published procedures. This will include:Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelinesIdentifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risksMaking effective use of training to update knowledge and skills, and initiating and managing the training of others across the full range of infection control and patient processesActively identifying, reporting, and correction of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognisedKeeping own work areas and general patient areas clean, sterile; identify issues and hazards in relation to other work areas within the businessEquality and diversityThe post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, including:Acting in a way that recognises the importance of people’s rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current legislationRespecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleaguesBehaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings, priorities and rightsSafeguardingSafeguarding is everyone's responsibility and all employees are required to act in such a way that at all times safeguards the health and wellbeing of children and vulnerable adults. Familiarisation with, and adherence to, the appropriate organisational Safeguarding Policies and any associated guidance is an essential requirement of all employees as is participation in related mandatory/statutory training.All employees must ensure that they understand and act in accordance with this clause. If you do not understand exactly how this clause relates to you personally then you must seek clarification from your immediate manager as a matter of urgency. Equally, all managers have a responsibility to ensure that their team members understand their individual responsibilities with regard to Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults.Participation in an annual individual appraisal or performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and professional developmentTaking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar workWork with the practice team on any new skills and developments as part of the continuing development of modern healthcare techniques and general practice requirementsQualityThe post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will:Alert other team members to issues of quality and riskReport significant events or learning events for discussion at Practice governance and learning event meetingsAssess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervisionContribute to the effectiveness of the PCN team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the team’s performanceWork effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patient needsEffectively manage own time, workload and resourcesCommunicationThe post-holder should recognise the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:Communicate effectively with other team membersCommunicate effectively with patients and carersRecognise people’s needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordinglyAre you someone that expects great customer service and therefore in your career has put the customer first and at the heart of everything you do? If so, we really want to hear from youPerson SpecificationQualificationsEducated to degree level in relevant subject or equivalent level of experience of working at a similar level in specialist areaKnowledge of administrative procedures, project management or information analysisExperience of minute takingPreviously worked in similar position within the public sectorDiary ManagementAble to use Microsoft Office applicationsExperienceProblem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demandsExcellent time management skills with the ability to re-prioritiseAbility to work on own initiative and organise own workload with minimal supervision working to tight and often changing timescales #J-18808-Ljbffr