Patient Services Coordinator

• Meet and greet patients and visitors, providing a high-quality, patient-first service in person, by telephone and online forms.
• - Act as a first point of contact for patients, responding to queries with empathy and professionalism and helping them navigate practice services and the appropriate care pathway, in line with practice protocols.
• Book, amend and cancel appointments across clinical teams to support continuity of care, ensuring follow-ups are booked and clearly communicated, and contacting patients to rearrange appointments where a clinical session changes.
• Arrange referrals, tests and follow-up appointments, including booking referrals through the NHS e-Referral Service.
• Process incoming clinical and administrative correspondence, prioritising and routing items for clinicians and teams to action, in line with practice workflow protocols.
• Liaise with patients, secondary care, social services, community providers and other health professionals to resolve problems and answer queries.
• Identify and escalate complex or vulnerable patient needs to the appropriate person.
• Explain practice services and procedures to new patients and those registering as temporary residents ensuring all required registration documentation is completed.
• Ensure death notifications are administered and communicated promptly in line with practice procedure.
• Draft and send patient communications -letters, SMS messages, emails and online forms - as required.
• See job description for full list of duties
• -

Job title: Patient Services

Coordinator

Hours: Minimum 37 hours per week

Holidays: 28 days pro rata

plus bank holidays - pro rata

Reports to: Patient Experience

& Quality Lead

Accountable

to: Practice Manager

The Fakenham Medical Practice

The Fakenham

Medical Practice (FMP) is an eleven-doctor dispensing practice providing care

to around 15,900 patients in and around Fakenham in North Norfolk.

We work from

modern, purpose-built premises. The partners and staff have a shared belief in

the delivery of high-quality, patient-focused care. Patients' interests are

kept very much to the fore and there is a strong commitment to develop patient

services. To promote a multidisciplinary team approach, we share our premises

with other providers including a pharmacy, adult social services and local

community services, e.g. physiotherapy and midwifery.

The practice is

part of the Norfolk and Suffolk Integrated Care Board - NSICB, and its local

Primary Care Network - PCN, and has a branch surgery at Walsingham. We are a

training practice for GP Trainees.

Practice Mission Statement

Fakenham

Medical Practice is committed to working with compassion and understanding to

provide all its patients with accessible, responsive and efficient services

that deliver good, safe and effective care.

Why this role exists

We are here to

serve our patients and to keep the practice running smoothly. The Patient

Services Coordinator is at the heart of both: making sure every patient who

contacts us is helped quickly, kindly and accurately, and supporting our

clinical and administrative teams so they can focus on delivering good care.

Main purpose of role

To provide a positive, friendly and professional first

point of contact for patients, carers and visitors, whether in person, by

telephone or through the online system.

To support patients through their care journey within

the practice, acting as a central point of contact and ensuring timely

coordination of appointments, follow-ups and communication between clinical

teams, external services and patients.

To support the clinical and administrative teams with a

range of patient-related administrative tasks, working flexibly across

reception and administration as the needs of the service require.

Key relationships

Partners,

salaried doctors, trainees, Chief Executive, Practice Manager, , Patient

Experience & Quality Lead, Patient Services Lead, nursing and HCA teams,

Patient Services colleagues, all other FMP staff, patients, carers, Patient

Participation Group members, secondary care, social services and other

community providers.

Job duties and responsibilities

Meet and greet patients and visitors, providing a

high-quality, patient-first service in person, by telephone and via online

forms.

Act as a first point of contact for patients,

responding to queries with empathy and professionalism and helping them

navigate practice services and the appropriate care pathway, in line with

practice protocols.

Book, amend and cancel appointments across clinical

teams to support continuity of care, ensuring follow-ups are booked and clearly

communicated, and contacting patients to rearrange appointments where a

clinical session changes.

Arrange referrals, tests and follow-up appointments,

including booking referrals through the NHS e-Referral Service.

Process incoming clinical and administrative

correspondence, prioritising and routing items for clinicians and teams to

action, in line with practice workflow protocols.

Liaise with patients, secondary care, social services,

community providers and other health professionals to resolve problems and

answer queries.

Identify and escalate complex or vulnerable patient

needs to the appropriate person.

Coordinate practice clinics and recalls, contacting

identified patients to offer appointments, and support national screening and

immunisation programmes by encouraging patient uptake.

Explain practice services and procedures to new

patients and those registering as temporary residents and ensure all required

registration documentation is completed.

Complete basic, non-opinion, forms and the core

elements of other forms, such as insurance, mortgage and benefits agency forms,

for a clinician to review and sign.

Ensure death notifications are administered and

communicated promptly in line with practice procedure.

Draft and send patient communications - letters, SMS

messages, emails and online forms, as required.

Record and monitor aspects of care coordination and

service delivery on SystmOne, supporting data collection, searches and audit.

Respond promptly and appropriately to patient needs in

the waiting area, e.g. queues, confusion or sudden illness, calling for help

when required.

Advise patients of charges for non-NHS services, take

payment and issue receipts.

Take messages and pass on information accurately and in

a timely way.

Check and sign for deliveries, contacting other

agencies on site where deliveries are for them, and keep the reception area

tidy and free from obstructions.

Open and close the surgery, following all associated

procedures, when rota'd to do so.

Provide cover during core opening hours and extended

access hours, evenings and some Saturdays, on a rota basis, and cover

colleagues during sickness and annual leave.

Working in the practice

Maintain accurate, up-to-date patient records on

SystmOne in line with data protection requirements.

Communicate politely and effectively with patients,

carers, colleagues and other contacts, recognising people's needs for

alternative methods of communication, e.g. translation services, and working

collaboratively to support a seamless multidisciplinary service.

Flag safeguarding, clinical or operational concerns to

the appropriate lead without delay.

Report complaints, incidents, near misses, broken or

damaged equipment and health and safety risks to the Patient Experience &

Quality Lead, or, in their absence, the Practice Manager, taking or

recommending corrective action where appropriate.

Support service improvement initiatives relating to

access, patient experience and care coordination, and help maintain and

continuously improve working practices.

Adhere at all times to practice policies, NHS

guidelines and CQC requirements, including information governance,

confidentiality, health and safety, infection prevention and control, and

equality and diversity, and report any breach or suspected breach immediately.

Undertake regular training and development, keep a

personal development plan up to date and attend team and staff meetings.

Undertake any other activities that may reasonably be

requested by the Patient Experience & Quality Lead, Practice Manager, Chief

Executive or the Partners.

General

This job

description is not exhaustive. You are required to carry out all duties and

obligations of which you have been advised, and to comply with any rules,

instructions, directions, policies, protocols and procedures as may from time

to time relate to your employment. You will also be given oral instructions

about your duties and responsibilities, which you should follow to the best of

your ability. If you do not understand what is required, or are unable to

fulfil it, you should tell the person who gave the instruction or, if they are

unavailable, your line manager.

Your job title

and job description may be amended from time to time, and you may be called

upon to carry out additional or other duties as may reasonably be required.

There may also be times when you are asked to transfer to an alternative job,

either on a temporary or permanent basis. You will not be assigned duties or

required to perform services which you cannot reasonably be expected to

perform.

The nature of

our business and the changing needs of the NHS mean that you must be flexible

in your approach to your work and in the duties you may be required to

undertake in order to provide service to our patients. Your duties will

inevitably vary and develop over time. You may occasionally be asked to support

services across the Primary Care Network.

The Fakenham Medical Practice

The Fakenham Medical Practice (FMP) is an eleven-doctor dispensing practice providing care to around 15,900 patients in and around Fakenham in North Norfolk.

We work from modern, purpose-built premises. The partners and staff have a shared belief in the delivery of high-quality, patient-focused care. Patients' interests are kept very much to the fore and there is a strong commitment to develop patient services. To promote a multidisciplinary team approach, we share our premises with other providers including a pharmacy, adult social services and local community services, e.g. physiotherapy and midwifery.

The practice is part of the Norfolk and Suffolk Integrated Care Board (NSICB) and its local Primary Care Network (PCN), and has a branch surgery at Walsingham. We are a training practice for GP Trainees.

Essential: - Good standard of general education; - GCSE Mathematics and English at grade C / 4 or above (or equivalent)

Desirable: - NVQ Level 2 in Customer Care or Business Administration (or equivalent); - AMSPAR or other medical administration / medical terminology qualification

Essential: - * Excellent written and verbal communication skills; - * Good, confident IT skills (e.g. Microsoft Word, Outlook, email); - * Clear, polite telephone manner; - * Time management and the ability to prioritise and work to deadlines; - * Accurate data entry and attention to detail; - * Problem-solving skills and good judgement; - * Good interpersonal skills

Desirable: - * Understanding of basic medical terminology

Essential: - * Able to work flexibly on a rota, including extended access hours (evenings and some Saturdays)

Desirable: - * Able to work at the Walsingham branch surgery when required

Essential: - Experience of working with the public, both face to face and on the telephone

Desirable: - Reception or front-of-house experience; - Administrative experience, including handling correspondence; - Experience of working in a healthcare setting; - Working knowledge of SystmOne or an equivalent clinical system; - Experience of the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS)

Essential: - * Smart, polite and confident; - * Honest and reliable, with good timekeeping; - * Calm, professional and compassionate, including under pressure; - * Strong organisational and administrative abilities; - * Uses initiative and judgement: knows when to ask for help and *when to hand over to someone more experienced or qualified; - *Works as part of a team and is supportive of colleagues; - *Keen to learn and willing to develop skills across both reception and administration; - *Flexible and adaptable to changes in role, rota and ways of working; - Self-motivated; meets agreed objectives; - * Maintains confidentiality at all times