Job Description
Pinfold Medical Practice
Care Navigator job description & person specification
Job Title
Care Navigator
Line Manager
Senior & Deputy
Accountable to
Reception Manager
Hours per week
16
Job Summary
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 care navigation, booking appointments, accurately processing information and assisting patients as required.
To act as the central point of contact for patients, the distribution of information, messages and enquiries for the clinical team, liaising with multidisciplinary team members and external agencies such as secondary care and community service providers.
Mission Statement
To empower patients to make an informed choice to access the most appropriate services to meet their individual needs. Facilitated by practice staff who utilise an up-to-date directory of resources within the community.
Generic Responsibilities
All staff at Pinfold Medical Practice have a duty to conform to the following:
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
A good attitude and positive action towards ED&I create and environment where all individuals are able to 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.
Patients 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. Patients have a responsibility to treat other patients and our staff with dignity and respect.
Staff have the right to be treated fairly in recruitment and career progression. Staff can expect to work in an environment where diversity is valued, and equality of opportunity is promoted. Staff 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. Staff have a responsibility to ensure that you treat our patients and their colleagues with dignity and respect.
Safety, Health, Environment and Fire (SHEF)
This practice is committed to supporting and promoting opportunities to for staff to maintain their health, well-being and safety. You have a duty to take reasonable care of health and safety at work for you, your team and others, and to cooperate with employers to ensure compliance with health and safety requirements. All personnel are to comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Environmental Protection Act 1990, Environment Act 1995, Fire Precautions (workplace) Regulations 1999 and other statutory legislation.
Confidentiality
This practice 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 at all times. It is essential that if, the legal requirements are to be met and the trust of our patients is to be retained that all staff protect patient information and provide a confidential service.
Quality & Continuous Improvement (CI)
To preserve and improve the quality of our output, all personnel are required to think not only of what they do, but how they achieve it. By continually re-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 practice to look for opportunities to improve quality and share good practice.
This practice continually strives to improve work processes which deliver health care with improved results across all areas of our service provision. We promote a culture of continuous improvement, where everyone counts, and staff are permitted to make suggestions and contributions to improve our service delivery and enhance patient care.
Induction Training
On arrival at the practice all personnel are to complete a practice induction programme; this is managed by the Deputy Practice Manager.
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 competences to perform their role. All staff will be required to partake and complete mandatory training as directed by the training coordinator, as well as participating in the practice training programme. Staff will also be permitted (subject to approval) to undertake external training courses which will enhance their knowledge and skills, progress their career and ultimately, enable them to improve processes and service delivery.
Collaborative Working
All staff are to recognise the significance of collaborative working. Teamwork is essential in multidisciplinary environments. Effective communication is essential, and all staff must ensure they communicate in a manner which enables the sharing of information in an appropriate manner.
Service Delivery
Staff at Pinfold Medical Practice must adhere to the information contained with practice policies and regional directives, ensuring protocols are adhered to at all times. Staff will be given detailed information during the induction process regarding policy and procedure.
Security
The security of the practice is the responsibility of all personnel. Staff must ensure they remain vigilant at all times and report any suspicious activity immediately to their line manager. Under no circumstances are staff to share the codes for the door locks to anyone and are to ensure that restricted areas remain effectively secured.
Professional Conduct
At Pinfold Medical Practice, staff are required to adhere to the professional standards set out in the Employee Handbook and dress appropriately for their role. Care navigators will be provided with a uniform (blouse) and a name badge. Clinical staff must dress in accordance with their role.
Leave
All personnel are entitled to take leave. Line managers are to ensure all of their staff are afforded the opportunity to take a minimum of 27 days leave each year and should be encouraged to take all of their leave entitlement.
Primary Responsibilities
The following are the core responsibilities of the receptionist. There may be on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels:
Customer service – telephone and front desk:
- Smile; welcome patients with first class customer service.
- Instil confidence and reassure patients, especially when sharing confidential
information.
- Manage all enquiries in an efficient, professional manner.
- Be logged in to practice systems and ready for service for the start of your shift.
- Answer incoming phone calls, transfer calls and deal with the callers request appropriately.
- Prioritise emergency line communicating to any existing caller the need to immediately assess a potential emergency.
- Give standardised response to frequently asked questions using reception scripts e.g., e.g., “may I take a brief description of the problem to find the right appointment for
you”
- Be prepared to be flexible in your standardised responses when dealing with
exceptional circumstance.
- Escalate unresolved issues to team leaders/ manager/clinicians
- accordingly. Communicate to your patient that you are seeking further advice with
regards to a solution.
- Use de-escalation techniques when dealing with difficult situations.
Refer to the de-escalation protocol.
Emergency Responsibilities
- Make a daily note of who is the emergency on-call doctor.
- Recognise and respond to medical emergencies as per practice protocol.
- Prioritise the emergency line using a standardised line put a caller on hold “please hold while I assess an emergency”
Care navigation:
- Assist patients with general enquiries giving out relevant information
- Signpost patients to internal and external services service using the care navigation directory according to their problem.
- Utilise the practice website and encourage patients to visit the practice website for self-care information.
- Support new team members to be confident in using the care navigation directory
- Ensure the care navigation directory remains up to date informing team leaders of any errors or updates required.
- Using de-escalation techniques overcome difficult conversations regarding inappropriate service demands.
- Record home visit requests appropriately as per practice protocol.
- Take notes at induction to ensure you have a basic knowledge of the roles within
The practice to assist in directing patient enquiries to the most appropriate team
Member e.g., referrals enquiries processed by secretaries.
eConsultations:
- Read and understand the eConsultation protocol on Clarity Teamnet
- Accurately attach eConsultations into the patients’ medical record. Check at least three identifiers to match the EMIS record (i.e., name, DOB, address, NHS no. etc.) Any discrepancies must to be checked with the patient before attaching.
- Read and understand the patients request and take the most appropriate course of action. Communicate this course of action to the patient within the agreed timescale as per eConsultion protocol.
- Store eConsulation emails in the daily file on the share drive.
Integrated recall:
- Following the integrated recall algorithm pathway for treatment of long-term conditions, book appointments in the correct order according to the individual patient’s ‘pop-up’. E.G. Annual MOT, Nurse etc.
- Support trainee team members to gain confidence using the integrated recall algorithm.
Issuing of repeat medication
- Issue repeat medications only, according to the prescription protocol.
- Prior to issuing repeat medication:
Check review date & invite for ‘QOF’ review (Quality Outcomes Framework)
Check each item is due to be issued (max. 7-10 days in advance).
- When issuing medication ensure each item is processed accurately; check the drug name, dosage and quantity is the same on the request and the electronic record
- Refer controlled, acute and complex medication requests to the prescribing clerk.
- Support the prescribing clerk in the management of repeat prescriptions as required.
General administration duties:
- Carry out all administration tasks accurately according to the relevant protocols for eConsultation, Integrated recall, issuing repeat medication, tasks and filing medical records.
- Type standardised correspondence to patients in the form of SMS, letters, eConsultation responses etc.
- Add EMIS read codes on to patients records when instructed by the team leader e.g., ‘invited for flu injection’.
- Photocopy documentation as required
- Accurately register new and temporary patients following the registrations protocol.
- Direct requests for information i.e., SAR, insurance / solicitors’ letters and DVLA forms to the Medico-legal secretaries.
- Maintain a clean, tidy, effective working area at all times
- Monitor and maintain the reception area and notice boards
- Support clinical staff with general tasks as requested
- Record incidents in the incident book using the patient EMIS number. Document what was said or how a person behaved. Ensure only accurate and factual information is recorded, avoid subjective term. Do not record incident details in medical record unless the behaviour is clinically relevant (as per MDU guidance).
Confidentiality:
- To be always aware of confidentiality; ensuring only the relevant and correct information is given to patients and outside agencies (e.g., secondary care, police, carers etc.) according to current guidance. See GDPR, Data protection, Caldicott and Information Governance regulations.
IT:
- To be competent with using EMIS WEB and other computer software systems
ensuring the data protection act is not breached
Secondary Responsibilities
In addition to the primary responsibilities, the care navigator may be requested to:
- Provide additional cover during staff absences
- Scanning of patient related documentation and attaching scanned documents to patient’s healthcare records
- Complete opening and closing procedures in accordance with the duty rota
- Ordering and monitoring of stationery supplies
- Complete mandatory training
- Attend Practice meetings Practice Learning Time events
- Ensure that the building is secure, signing off the night-time lock-up sheet when on late shifts.
- To work with other members of staff to develop the services we offer and improve quality where possible
- To assist in establishing, developing and maintaining protocols
- Any other reasonable duties delegated by the team leader, Reception Manager or Practice Managers.
The person specification for this role is detailed overleaf.
Person Specification - Receptionist
Qualifications
Essential
Desirable
Educated to GCSE level or equivalent
GCSE Mathematics & English (C or above)
AMSPAR Receptionists Qualification
NVQ Level 2 in Health and Social Care
Experience
Essential
Desirable
Experience of working with the general public
Experience of administrative duties
Experience of working in a health care setting
Skills
Essential
Desirable
Excellent communication skills (written and oral)
Strong IT skills
Clear, polite telephone manner
Competent in the use of Office and Outlook
EMIS user skills
Effective time management (Planning & Organising)
Ability to work as a team member and autonomously
Good interpersonal skills
Problem solving & analytical skills
Ability to follow policy and procedure
Personal Qualities
Essential
Desirable
Polite and confident
Flexible and cooperative
Motivated
Forward thinker
High levels of integrity and loyalty
Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations
Ability to work under pressure
Other requirements
Essential
Desirable
Flexibility to work outside of core office hours
Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check
This document may be amended following consultation with the post holder, to facilitate the development of the role, the practice and the individual. All personnel should be prepared to accept additional, or surrender existing duties, to enable the efficient running of the practice.
Job Types: Part-time, Permanent
Part-time hours: 30 per week
Salary: From £10.42 per hour
Benefits:
- Company pension
- On-site parking
Schedule:
Supplemental pay types:
COVID-19 considerations:
It is down to personal preference when wearing a face covering for administration staff.
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Loughborough, LE11 1DQ: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (preferred)
Work Location: In person
Reference ID: Care Navigator/ Medical Receptionist - Permanent Part Time Position
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