Workforce/HR/Employment law

Job description: Clinical receptionist

This job description is a template. It should be used as a guide and edited according to the specific needs of the practice and the duties required of the post.

 

Job title:

Clinical receptionist
Band: [check agenda for change]
Hours: [number of hours]
Salary: [salary, or reference to range within pay grade]
Reporting to:

 

 

Office manager/practice manager (in their absence, the clinical receptionist will report to the partners)

 

 

Job summary and scope

The clinical receptionist is responsible for ensuring that patients have access to the practice’s services and clinical staff as appropriate, and for carrying out administrative duties and maintaining administrative systems.

This will include but is not limited to liaising with patients presenting to the practice in person or by phone, making appointments, data input, keeping patient records up to date, registering new patients, processing correspondence, test results and prescription requests.

The clinical receptionist will work collaboratively with the practice team, performing tasks as required by the office/practice manager, within the practice’s policy and procedures, and to a defined set of competencies.

 

Key responsibilities – patient contact

Reception duties

  • Greet patients who present to the practice and assist them according to their needs, including (but not limited to):
    • Adhering to the practice’s policy and protocol in relation to dealing with patients presenting with an emergency problem
    • Booking future appointments for patients with the appropriate clinician
    • Managing emergency/same-day appointment requests when patients present to the practice, and advising walk-in patients in accordance with their needs and practice protocol
  • Process prescription requests, both for repeat and acute medications, and hand completed requests back to patients
  • Book in patients who attend for pre-scheduled appointments
  • Take down and pass on messages
  • Deal with new patient enquiries and registrations, and provide information as required
  • Process existing patients’ change of details

Telephony

  • Answer calls from external and internal lines, including (but not limited to):
    • Processing calls from patients with an emergency appropriately, and in line with practice policy
    • Booking same-day/emergency and future appointments with the appropriate clinician
    • Listening to and appropriately recording patient information, and processing calls for advice or triage
    • Responding to patient questions and concerns that come through the phones as appropriate, and forwarding calls where required
    • Switching the incoming phone lines from the out-of-hours message in the morning, and back to the out-of-hours message at the end of the working day
  • Make outgoing calls as appropriate and required by the office/practice manager/clinical team, including (but not limited to):
    • Contacting patients in relation to appointments, test results, passing on messages from clinical teams as required

Communication

  • Communicate with patients, carers, family members, colleagues and external stakeholders in a clear, effective, courteous and timely manner
  • Inform a member of staff if a patient presenting to the practice seems unwell and requires immediate attention, or if a patient’s behaviour is concerning, adhering to and appropriately using emergency, collapse or security protocol
  • Use communication that is appropriate to the situation, including (but not limited to):
    • Communicating sensitively with patients and carers
    • Adopting appropriate communication methods to suit patients’ and carers’ level of understanding, cultural/language needs, and preferred communication method
    • Recognising and overcoming barriers to communication, seeking support from other staff members where necessary

 

Key responsibilities – administrative

Record-keeping

  • Maintain and update all patient records, including (but not limited to):
    • Inputting and updating new and existing patient registration and clinical details
    • Forwarding new registration and de-registration information (including the transfer of records) to practitioner services
    • Processing incoming mail appropriately, including scanning and forwarding to the appropriate clinician and filing accurately
    • Printing out appointment lists for backup purposes
    • Maintaining paper files and records
    • Appropriately deal with data and records relating to home visits
    • Maintaining and repairing as necessary broken Lloyd George and hard copy records

Prescription requests

  • Action requests for repeat prescriptions, both when they are presented in person to the practice and made over the phone, in line with repeat script protocol, including:
    • Printing repeat and acute prescription as per the request and process for signature within the practice’s set timeframe
    • Ensuring signed prescriptions are directed appropriately; for example, to the patient’s allocated pharmacy, via post, or for collection
  • Action requests from GPs and partners to make amendments to a particular patient’s repeat prescribing records, in line with repeat script protocol

Miscellaneous

  • Arrange patient transport in accordance with practice protocol and locally agreed policies
  • Record and inform relevant colleagues of deaths as appropriate and in line with protocol
  • Make printed and digital copies of patient notes and letters for insurance purposes and solicitors as required and in line with protocol
  • Advise patients in relation to charges for non-NHS services and process payments for such services

Personal and professional development

  • Prioritise own workload and collaborate effectively with others to prioritise team and practice workload
  • Undertake training as required to ensure competencies for delivering all responsibilities, including attending and contributing to in-house training
  • Take responsibility for own development, including contributing to annual reviews and appraisals, giving and receiving feedback, and performance management under the supervision of the office/practice manager
  • Undertake regular mandatory training, where applicable

 

Other important aspects of the role

Maintaining confidentiality

The clinical receptionist will, as an integral part of and in the course of carrying out his/her role, have access to confidential and sometimes sensitive information relating to patients, carers and family members, as well as similar information about colleagues. The clinical receptionist might also have access to confidential commercial information about the practice and its business.

All such information, in whatever format and howsoever made available, must be treated with the strictest confidence. All such information held both within and outside of the practice will be shared only as necessary, and in accordance with the practice’s confidentiality/data-sharing policies, and in line with data protection legislation and the Freedom of Information Act.

Equality and diversity

The clinical receptionist will comply with the practice’s own equality and diversity policy, and legislation relating to equality and diversity, including (but not limited to):

  • Recognising the rights of patients, carers, family members and colleagues, and respecting their needs, beliefs, privacy and dignity
  • Not discriminating against patients, carers, family members or colleagues on the grounds of any of the protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010 (or its amendments or later legislation)
  • Supporting people who need help understanding and exercising their rights
  • Acting as a role model in relation to promoting equality, diversity and non-discriminatory practices
  • Identifying discriminatory practices and patterns of discrimination, taking appropriate action to tackle it, and instead promoting equality
  • Recognising and promoting the right of patients to choose their care provider, and to participate in or refuse care

 

Key relationships and contacts

Internal External
  • Office/practice manager
  • Practice nurse
  • Lead practice nurse
  • GPs
  • Partners
  • Clinical staff in training
  • Non-clinical trainees
  • Reception and administration staff
  • Patients
  • Patients’ carers and family members
  • Community healthcare teams
  • CCG and board
  • Practitioner services
  •  Laboratory service teams
  • Ambulance service personnel
  • Out-of-hours service
  • Suppliers

Give your practice vacancy the competitive advantage you need to attract the candidates you want. Contact the Pulse Practice Jobs team on 0207 214 0570 or email [email protected] for more information.

Guide URL:
https://pulse-intelligence.co.uk/guide/job-description-clinical-receptionist/
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