Care Navigator

Job summary

Care Navigating is a vital part of the delivery of the Cornwall NHS 111 Service, this encompasses call handling, despatch of support services, supporting healthcare professionals and Acute GP lines.

This exciting new opportunity will see the post holder acting as a key member of the Cornwall 111 Integrated Urgent Care Services team. As our team expand and the offering of 111 services increase, there is a clear need for passionate, supportive and professional individuals within our call centre who can provide an effective, safe and competent call handling and call navigating service for callers to NHS 111. We have part time and full time hours available, day time shifts.

Main duties of the job

The key aspects of this role will see the post holder:
Working across the range of call centre duties in the Clinical Advisory Service (CAS) to include Acute GP, home visit and treatment centre dispatch duties and manning health care professional phone lines.

Taking an overview of the triage queue to appropriately navigate patients with pre-defined conditions (under the direction of a clinician) to healthcare organisations (MIU etc.).

Recording patient information accurately and managing patient flow to maintain safety, in line with key performance indicators.

Being polite, professional and empathetic when speaking to callers on the telephone.

Using initiative to be able to problem solve and answer queries as they arise.

Alongside the core CAS duties, post holders will work intimately with clinicians within the Cornwall 111 service to support patients over the phone to access the appropriate healthcare services through excellent communication skills, key knowledge of local services, and efficient call handling in a polite, professional and timely manner.

About us

Established in May 2011 by a group of Cornwall Practices, we are a GP owned provider organisation and deliver a number of NHS contracts across Cornwall, these include Cornwall 111 Integrated Urgent Care Service, School Immunisation Programme, Childrens Eating Disorder Service and Cornwall Training Hub [formally CEPN].

These contracts support the visions and values of the organisation, and also ensure that we are able to reinvest any profits made back into the company; again with the intention of supporting GP practices across Cornwall. Kernow Health CIC is also now offering member practices support to regroup and rebuild through the new Excellence in Practice (EiP) programme.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

- To gain an in-depth knowledge of the Cornwall 111 IUCS service in order to enable efficient call handling and effective use of services across the healthcare system.
- Efficiently handle all calls, using the computer system (currently Adastra) in a polite, professional and timely manner to facilitate the appropriate and timely resolution of call queries.
- Liaise with colleagues within our service, patients and professionals from outside of our service to ensure queries are dealt with promptly.
- Accurately record patient details and symptoms in Adastra, ensuring that all information is quality checked prior to being managed.
- Dispatch home visits in order of priority and book patients into treatment centre appointments, managing the flow of patients in line with clinical priority, performance targets and quality targets.
- Monitor home visits and treatment centre appointments for demand to ensure capacity does not exceed clinical ability to maintain safety in conjunction to our performance and quality targets.
- Scan the triage queue on a frequent basis to identify patients who have called into the service and are eligible for care navigation to key services within the healthcare system, such as Minor Injury Units, based on experience and agreed criteria and with the support of our 111 Clinicians.
- Call patients and navigate them professionally to appropriate services alongside clinicians.
- Gain knowledge of local health care services and authorities along with other support available locally and be able to signpost the patient when appropriate.
- Gain excellent working knowledge of the phone system and interface, including understanding the performance dashboard and other key programmes utilised within the Cornwall 111 service.
- Effectively manage potential individuals with challenging behaviour using excellent communications skills and with the support of SDMs and senior management.
- Liaise with and escalate to the Service Delivery Manager on a frequent basis and in a professional manner, working as a team to manage the shift effectively through highlighting clinical or operational issues.
- Ensure the Adastra database system is maintained and kept up to date (amalgamations, updating special patient notes, etc.)
- Assist Service Delivery Managers with team meetings, escalation and business continuity training, staff training and events when required.
- Ensure compliance with all Kernow Health CIC and Cornwall 111 IUCS st