Medical Receptionist

**Park Medical**

**Drs J O’Donnell, J McClune, J Forde, J O’Kane, V Cochrane & M Hibbert**

**Great James Street Health Centre**

**Derry, BT48 7DH**

**Tel No: 028 71378500**

**JOB DESCRIPTION**

**JOB TITLE**:
Medical Receptionist

**REPORTS TO**:
Senior Practice Administrator

**ACCOUNTABLE TO**:
Practice Manager

**JOB SUMMARY**

To provide a high quality, professional reception and administrative service to patients, doctors, staff, colleagues, health service professionals and others. He/she will ensure that enquiries from patients are efficiently and courteously handled in person or via the telephone.

**DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES**

The duties and responsibilities to be undertaken by members of the Practice administration team may vary from time to time under the direction of the Senior Practice Administrator/Practice Manager, dependent on current and evolving practice workload and staffing levels.
- Ensure an effective and efficient reception service is provided to patients and any other visitor to the practice.
- Processing telephone requests and in person requests for appointments and telephone consultations, ensuring that all callers are directed to the appropriate health care professional.
- Book in, amend and cancel patient appointments in line with practice policy, ensuring optimum efficiency of the appointment system.
- Receive and accurately record requests for home visits in accordance with practice protocols.
- Take messages. Ensuring accuracy of detail and prompt delivery.
- Process day book tasks assigned and update actions in line with practice protocols.
- Ensure Vision computer system is kept updated.
- Action repeat prescription requests and ensure that they are ready for collection within 48 hours.
- Explain practice arrangements for new patient registrations, temporary registrations, ensuring that the patient registration protocol is followed.
- Advise patients of relevant charges for private (Non General Medical Services) services, accept payment and issue receipts for same.
- Amalgamation of new patient records.
- Assisting other members of the primary health care team as required.
- Undertake administration tasks as allocated on the rota by the Senior Practice Administrator.

**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 staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately.
- In the performance of their duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their cares, and other health care workers. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential.
- Information relating to patients, carers or other health care workers may be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive information.

**HEALTH AND SAFETY**

The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others health, safety and security as defined in the practice employee handbook. This will include:

- Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manage 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 control hazards immediately when recognised.

**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 recognises the importance of people’s rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with the practice procedures and policies, and current legislation.
- Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues.
- Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgemental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.

**PERSONAL/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT**

The post-holder will participate in any training programmes implemented by the practice as part of this employment, such training will include:

- Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development.
- Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.

**QUALITY**

The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will:

- Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk.
- Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under super