Receptionist Outpatients & Virtual East Grinstead, England
Job description
Manage Outpatients and Virtual clinic reception desks for the department and deliver an excellent Patient experience by meeting and greeting stakeholders in a friendly and professional manner. Validating patients identification and demographic details. Where new or revised information is obtained, update PAS. To check that patients arrival and departures are correctly recorded on trust systems which are currently Enlighten for check in and Attend Anywhere for Video consultations Encourage patients to complete the Friends and family Survey To ensure that clinic schedules are adhered to, utilising consultant and patients time efficiently throughout clinics and escalating any capacity issues to service leads.
Maintaining contact with patients waiting either in person or online Managing the flow of patients and their carers through the reception area, identifying those who may require assistance or to be highlighted as a priority to the clinical staff. Maintaining regular communication with the clinicians throughout the session and making sure they are aware of any patient who has been waiting a long time. Book follow up appointments as and when requested by the clinician. Proactively check next days clinic packs are available to ensure the start of clinics is not delayed.
To manage the Reception team email box and decide on the appropriate course of action to ensure that all queries are responded to within 24 hours. Ensuring that patient cancellations and DNAs are dealt with in accordance with the Access policy. Raise Datix to the Risk team for incidents that occur within the department. Ensure visitors and patients are directed to the appropriate waiting area, as required, keeping parents/ carers/ patients regularly informed of any delay.
To identify patients that may require transport, interpreters or any other special needs and escalate to Band 3 Reception staff to action, in accordance with Trust guidelines. Deal with queries and potentially challenging or distressed patients at reception or online, especially if clinics are running late, clinics have been cancelled at short notice or the patient has received upsetting news. Phone for taxis for patients who have attended the hospital but are less able. Ensure Trust standards relating to confidentiality are followed at all times, including the disposal of confidential material and use of online/video systems.
To ensure all clinics, be they face to face, telephone or virtual are cashed up on a daily basis To ensure follow up appointments or actions highlighted on the outcome forms are completed, liaising with relevant departments if there is no clinic space To answer and resolve a wide range of telephone, face to face and online queries to the department in a professional, empathic polite and courteous manner. These may be non-routine and will require some questioning of the caller, who may be a patient, carer or member of another hospital team in order to understand the nature of their query and then take action as appropriate. Ensure uncashed clinic reports are actioned weekly, liaising with secretaries as required. Work with the team leader and clinical service managers to identify opportunities to improve the service.
This will be particularly true for the online receptionist role which is a new role and not yet fully defined. The ability to respond to unexpected events or difficulties encountered by both clinicians and patients either in the clinic or online, identifying the possible causes of any issue and choosing the most appropriate course of action in order to resolve. Maintain a tidy, safe working environment, reporting any hazards of faults in a timely and appropriate manner. Any other tasks that are highlighted as the responsibility of the Reception team
