Outpatient/telephone Clerk

Job description JOB SUMMARY The purpose of this post will be to provide a high quality, efficient, admin support and caring telephonic service dealing with all calls and enquiries professionally and courteously. The post holder will be the first point of contact for all patient calls direct to the admin teams and will provide a confident professional service to all patients, ensuring that coordinated and streamlined administrative processes meet individual patient needs throughout their pathway of care. The post holder will also be required to collate stats and conduct audits on telephony activities, keep records of work, updating key systems and ensuring patient correspondence is sent timely. All post holders are to be involved in and adaptable to future changes in the scope and location of their role.

Be receptive to and support changes to systems and processes as they develop and mature over time. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES ORGANISATIONAL Patient experience Deal with enquiries from staff, GPs and various external agencies, providing information, and taking appropriate action as required on PAS Working in a team environment to provide appropriate support/advice to other secretarial/admin staff as necessary. Participate and contribute to departmental and Trust audit processes including collation of data and statistics for monitoring of KPIs Re-directing calls as required if for further clinical queries eg. To medical secretaries for further advice Coordinating appointment booking to include relevant diagnostic tests etc.

Communication Communicating with patients and patient relatives over the telephone, responding to their queries in a caring, sensitive and reassuring manner using tack and diplomacy both in person and over the telephone To understand potential barriers to communication, eg language difficulties, disabilities, and modify style/method of communication appropriately To communicate effectively with all members of staff and external agencies ensuring that a professional manner is maintained at all times To escalate service issues of risks and concerns raised by services user to senior staff Contact patients to confirm attendance at appointments or re-schedule as required. Ensure appropriate communication method is used to inform patients of appointments (phone, SMS Text, Letter) Use initiative when dealing with and resolving patient enquiries, escalating as appropriate. Providing information to the management team when requested and use initiative to escalate any issues as appropriate. Communicating with GPs other external agencies Providing information to staff in other departments Escalating issues to the PAs and Team Leader as appropriate Policy & Service Development Being aware of and adhering to administrative procedures and protocols relevant to the post.

Observing the provisions of and adhering to all Trust policies and procedures Providing comments on, implement and adhere to departmental procedures and protocols. Data Management Ensure high levels of data quality are achieved in all elements of the role, in particular data recorded in PAS Using Outpatient Waiting List functionality on PAS including follow up outpatient waiting list To ensure that all appointments are appropriate linked to the correct referral and/or waiting list entry to prevent data quality issues, eg. Incorrect RTT waiting time. QUALITY Training Maintain compliance with mandatory training and any further training or development as deemed necessary within the role.

To attend internal or external courses as agreed within the plan or ad hoc training and development as requested by management. To attend on-going refresher training within their job role due to changes in legislation, process, or upgrades to systems e.g. RTT, PAS, EPR, EDMS, diagnostic or other local systems introduced. Participate and contribute to departmental meetings and wider organisational meetings / discussions as required.

GENERAL STATEMENTS Attending team meetings where required Maintaining confidentiality and abide by the Data Protection Act. Being familiar with and following health and safety policy and procedures and to be aware of individual responsibilities under legislation, drawing any areas of potential risk to the attention of managers Ensuring completion of timely PDR/Appraisal process with designated line manager Being able to demonstrate Trust values and behaviours (outlined in staff handbook) at all times Undertaking any other duties which are deemed appropriate to the band The above indicates the main duties of the post which may be reviewed in the light of experience and development within the service. Any review will be undertaken in conjunction with the post holder. CONFIDENTIALITY All employees must adhere to policies and procedures relating to Information Governance, Confidentiality and Information Security.

RISK MANAGEMENT The Trust is committed to approaching the control of risks in a strategic and organised manner. The