Job summary
Tower hill Surgery is seeking a friendly, organised and reliable Receptionist/Care Navigator to join our busy GP surgery team.

The successful applicant will be the first point of contact for patients and will play an important role in helping them access the most appropriate service. The role requires excellent communication skills, professionalism and the ability to remain calm and courteous in a busy environment.

Main duties of the job
Main duties

• Welcoming patients and visitors to the practice.
• Answering telephone calls and dealing with enquiries appropriately.
• Booking, cancelling and rearranging appointments in line with practice procedures.
• Supporting patients to access the most appropriate clinician or NHS service.
• Using care navigation and signposting processes safely and appropriately.
• Processing administrative requests, messages and correspondence.
• Maintaining accurate and confidential patient records.
• Liaising with GPs, nurses, administrative colleagues and other members of the multidisciplinary team.
• Supporting online, telephone and face-to-face access routes.
• Identifying urgent requests and escalating them to the appropriate clinician in accordance with practice protocols.
• Treating patients, carers and colleagues with respect and courtesy.
• Working in accordance with information governance, confidentiality, safeguarding and health and safety requirements.

About us
What we offer

• A supportive and friendly practice team.
• Appropriate induction and training.
• Opportunities to develop skills in care navigation and general practice administration.
• A varied and important role supporting patients and the wider practice team.

Job responsibilities
The Medical Receptionist/Care Navigator plays a crucial role in supporting patients by guiding them through the healthcare system, ensuring they receive the appropriate care and services. This position involves working closely with patients, GPs, and other healthcare professionals to coordinate care and improve patient outcomes.

To be responsible for undertaking a wide range of reception duties and the provision of general support to the multidisciplinary team. Duties can include, but are not limited to, greeting and directing patients, effective use of the appointment system, booking appointments, the processing of information and assisting patients as required.

To act as the central point of contact for patients, be responsible for the distribution of information, messages and enquires for the clinical team and external agencies such as secondary care and community service providers.

Patient Support: Act as the first point of contact for patients, providing information and assistance with navigating healthcare services.

Appointment Coordination: Schedule and manage patient appointments, ensuring they are booked with the appropriate healthcare professional.

Care Coordination: Work with GPs and other healthcare providers to coordinate patient care, including referrals to specialists and community services.

Information Provision: Provide patients with information about available services, health resources, and self-care management.

Communication: Maintain clear and effective communication with patients, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders.

Record Keeping: Accurately update and maintain patient records and appointment schedules.

Problem Solving: Address patient queries and concerns, escalating issues to the appropriate healthcare professional when necessary.

Generic Responsibilities
All staff at this organisation have a duty to conform to the following :

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
A good attitude and positive action towards equality, diversity and inclusion creates an environment where all individuals can achieve their full potential. Creating such an environment is important for three reasons, it improves operational effectiveness, it is morally the right thing to do, and it is required by law.

Patient and their families have the right to be treated fairly and be routinely involved in decisions about their treatment and care. They can expect to be treated with dignity and respect and will not be discriminated against on any grounds, including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion, or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Safety, Health, Environment and Fire (SHEF)
This organisation is committed to supporting and promoting opportunities for staff to maintain their health, wellbeing and safety.

The post holder is to manage and assess risk within the areas of responsibility, ensuring adequate measures are in place to protect staff and patients and monitor work areas and practices to ensure they are safe and free from hazards and conform to health, safety and security legislation, policies, procedures and guidelines.

All personnel have a duty to take reasonable care of health and safety at work for themselves, their team and others and to co-operate with employers to ensure compliance with health and safety requirements.

The security of the organisation is the responsibility of all personnel. The post holder must ensure they always remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity immediately to their line manager.

Confidentiality
The organisation is committed to maintaining an outstanding confidential service. Patients entrust and permit us to collect and retain sensitive information relating to their health and other matters pertaining to their care. They do so in confidence and have a right to expect all staff will respect their privacy and maintain confidentiality.

It is essential that, if the legal requirements are to be met and the trust of our patients is to be retained, all staff must protect patient information and provide a confidential service.

Quality and Continuous Improvement
To preserve and improve the quality of this organisations outputs, all personnel are required to think not only of what they do but how they achieve it. By continually examining our processes, we will be able to develop and improve the overall effectiveness of the way we work.

The responsibility for this rests with everyone working within the organisation to look for opportunities to improve quality and share good practice and to discuss, highlight and work with the team to create opportunities to improve patient care.

Learning and Development
The effective use of training and development is fundamental in ensuring that all staff are equipped with the appropriate skills, knowledge, attitude and competencies to perform their role. All staff will be required to partake in, and complete, mandatory training as directed. It is an expectation for this post holder to assess their own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate.

Induction
We will provide a full induction programme and management will support you throughout this process.

Collaborative working
All staff are to recognise the significance of collaborative working and understand their own role and scope and identify how this may develop over time. Staff are to prioritise their own workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are embedded within the culture of the team.

Teamwork is essential in multidisciplinary environments and the post holder is to work as an effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploring the mechanisms to develop new ways of working and work effectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon care delivery.

Effective communication is essential and all staff must ensure they communicate in a manner which enables the sharing of information in an appropriate manner.

All staff should delegate clearly and appropriately, adopting the principles of safe practice and assessment of competence. Plans and outcomes by which to measure success should be agreed.

Person Specification
Experience
Essential

• Experience in reception, administration, customer service or a healthcare setting.

Desirable

• Previous experience in general practice or the NHS would be helpful, but full training will be provided for the right candidate.

Qualifications
Essential

• GCSE grade A to C in English and Maths
• You should have:
• Experience in reception, administration, customer service or a healthcare setting.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• A calm, helpful and professional manner.
• The ability to work effectively under pressure.
• Good IT and telephone skills.
• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.
• The ability to work independently and as part of a wider practice team.
• A flexible approach to changing priorities.
• An understanding of confidentiality and the importance of handling information appropriately.

Desirable

• Previous experience in general practice or the NHS would be helpful, but full training will be provided for the right candidate.

All staff at this organisation have a duty to conform to the following: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Safety, Health, Environment and Fire (SHEF), Confidentiality, Quality and Continuous Improvement, Learning and Development, Induction, Collaborative working.