Job summary
This is a dual Reception/Administration role, offering a combination of patient-facing reception duties and administrative work. The Reception element involves supporting patients, managing enquiries and appointments and helping clinics run smoothly, while the Administration element is primarily office-based and includes referrals, clinical databases, activity data, stock ordering and other service administration. This differs from our dedicated Reception role, which is predominantly focused on front-facing patient contact.

Working pattern is:

• Monday: 08:00 - 17:30
• Tuesday: 08:00 - 17:00
• Wednesday: 08:00 - 17:30
• Thursday: 08:00 - 17:00
• Friday: Day off

The starting hourly rate of pay is £12.71 per hour rising to £13.15 per hour after a successful probationary period of 6 months.

Main duties of the job
The successful candidate will have previous receptionist and/or administrative experience gained within a Primary Care setting or the NHS. They will possess excellent communication, organisational and IT skills, with the ability to provide a professional and compassionate service to patients and colleagues alike.

A high level of attention to detail, a proactive approach and the ability to work effectively as part of a busy team are essential for this role. The ideal candidate will be adaptable, able to learn new tasks quickly and confidently manage a varied workload within a fast-paced environment.

The post holder will also demonstrate strong problem-solving abilities, use initiative appropriately and be capable of prioritising and completing tasks efficiently and accurately within required timescales.

About us
Whitstable Medical Practice is a forward thinking single Primary Care Network (PCN), GP Practice based across three sites in Whitstable, Kent looking after 45,500 patients.

Feel valued, supported and have the opportunity to shape the future.

Be apart of the only GP practice named in the NHS 10-year Health Plan for its innovation and care.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a progressive and ambitious practice where your ideas, professional development and well-being are genuinely valued.

Our state-of-the-art buildings provide access to a wide range of services and facilities, including:

• In-house phlebotomy
• X-ray
• Ultrasound
• DVT diagnosis and treatment
• Minor Injury Unit
• Dermatology including our award-winning QiC Team of the Year
• Echocardiography
• Ophthalmology
• Gynaecology
• LSI
• Minor surgery
• And many, many more ...

Job responsibilities
Reception Role

• Primarily this role involves dealing with patient enquiries over the telephone and face-to-face. Booking appointments for all clinics and ensuring the smooth day-to-day running of all clinics.
• Managing the day-to-day running of the busy services by ensuring that all referrals are actioned and booked into available clinics.
• Liaising with a variety of clinicians and solving any issues they face to ensure the best possible patient experience throughout the day.
• Managing the appointment screen and filling any empty/cancellation slots wherever possible.
• Preparing the clinic rooms each morning for clinicians, ensuring they have the necessary paperwork to carry out their clinic on the day.
• To send reports to external practices following clinics to ensure the patients registered GP is informed of the appointment outcome in a timely manner.
• To assist patients with tubing and maintenance of hearing aids where possible.
• Making sure the theatre and clinic rooms are clean and tidy following the departure of the clinician.
• Retrieving information from the E-Referral booking system, booking appointments for a number of clinics and downloading referral letters.
• Taking delivery of various items of stock and storing in the fridges or appropriate secure environment.
• Managing any patient related tasks forwarded to the clinical services reception team by clinicians.
• Working with various clinical IT databases.
• Monitoring the clinical services team email inbox to ensure that any incoming referrals to in-house clinics are actioned promptly.
• Acting on ad-hoc tasks and helping with projects set by the Clinical Services Manager / Deputy Clinical Services Manager to meet the needs of the ever-changing NHS initiatives.
• Pulling and filing notes for patients seen within our cataract service over the weekend.
• Moving equipment to facilitate clinics.
• Collecting the post each morning and afternoon.
• Be familiar with Whitstable Medical Practice protocols and take part in their regular updating.
• Other duties as per doctors instructions as dictated by changes in the nature of the Whitstable Medical Practice.

Admin Role

• Responsibility for recording the activity data for services as required and ensuring they are kept up-to-date, to be submitted by the 10th day of each month to allow for invoicing.
• Assisting with the moving of equipment and setting up of rooms for clinics.
• Managing the appointment screen and filling any empty/cancellation slots wherever possible.
• Ordering equipment and stock for the differing services upon request from the relevant service lead.
• Working with various clinical databases.
• Booking both routine and urgent appointments for all services, specifically Ear, Nose and Throat, Dermatology, Cataract and Ophthalmology clinics.
• Retrieving information from the E-Referral booking system, booking appointments for a number of clinics and downloading referral letters.
• Other duties as per doctors instructions as dictated by changes in the nature of the Whitstable Medical Practice.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Good general education including minimum Grade C GCSE or equivalent in English Language and Maths or equivalent qualification.

Desirable

• Administration qualification

Experience
Essential

• Previous experience of working in a primary care setting or NHS.
• Previous experience of reception and administration work.
• Experience of working in a customer service environment.
• Experience of working as part of a team.

Desirable

• Knowledge of EMIS or other clinical systems.

Skills and Abilities
Essential

• Accurate, thorough attention to detail.
• Ability to communicate effectively with people at all levels by telephone, email and face to face.
• Excellent organisation skills with the ability to work to tight deadlines.
• Proven IT skills including the use of Microsoft office, and other software packages.
• Ability to keep calm under pressure.
• Tact, diplomacy and sensitivity.
• Ability to deal with sensitive issues and maintain strict confidentiality.
• Ability to problem solve and use initiative.
• Reliability and flexibility.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.