Medical Receptionist

**Job Title**:Receptionist

**Reports to**:Reception Manager

**Hours**:up to 20 hours per week - 2 positions available

**Salary**:£10.73 per hour (plus NHS Pension)

**Job Summary**

Receive, assist and direct patients in accessing the most appropriate service of healthcare professional in a courteous, efficient and effective way.

Provide general assistance to the practice team and project a positive and friendly image to patients and other visitors, either in person or on the telephone.

**Responsibilities**:
General Duties
- Ensure that all queries from patients are handled efficiently and courteously
- Keep surgery premises today and safe at all times
- Maintain patient confidentiality at all times
- Have a working knowledge of the telephone systems
- Receive and make calls as required. Divert calls and take messages, ensuring accuracy of detail and prompt delivery

Reception Duties
- Meet and greet patients, providing a friendly and helpful welcome
- Make new and follow up appointments for patients via the telephone or in person at the reception desk
- Triage patients who request urgent treatment in line with Practice procedures
- Cancel or rearrange clinics where necessary
- Receive telephone calls and deal with enquiries and messages and direct them to the appropriate service as necessary
- Explain practice arrangement and formal requirements to new patients and those seeking temporary cover and ensure procedures are completed
- Enter patient information onto the computer as required
- Provide administrative support to clinical staff and other members of the team
- Opening and closing the premises at the start and end of the day
- Attend and participate in Practice and Reception Team meetings as required

Overall Responsibility
- Undertake any other appropriate duties or responsibilities as directed by the Reception Manager, Practice Management and GP Partners
- To ensure effective communication with all clinicians and other practice and community staff based at the Surgery
- Be aware of, and adhere to, Practice policies in relation to health and safety at work and fire precautions.
- To attend appropriate training courses

Other Tasks
- Clear rooms after surgeries when necessary
- Chaperone duties for clinicians
- Complete opening and closing procedures in accordance with the room rota
- Ensure building security - have thorough knowledge of doors/windows/alarm
- Advise patients of relevant charges for private services and accept payments and issue receipts for the same

Confidentiality
- In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately
- In 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 confidential
- Information 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 data

Health & Safety

The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others’ health, safety and security as defined in the practice health & safety policy, the practice health & safety manual, and the practice infection control policy and published procedures. This will include:

- Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines
- Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks
- Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills
- Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards
- Actively reporting of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
- Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas generally clean, assisting in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness consistent with the scope of the job holder’s role
- Undertaking periodic infection control training (minimum annually)
- Reporting potential risks identified

Equality and Diversity

The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:

- Acting in a way that recognizes the importance of people’s rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current legislation
- Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues
- Behaving in a