Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please note: This role does not meet the minimum criteria for visa sponsorship under the current UK immigration rules, which set specific salary and skill thresholds. As such, we are unable to provide sponsorship for this post. Applicants will therefore need to already have the right to work in the UK to be considered. We include this information at the outset to provide clarity and avoid unnecessary inconvenience for applicants.

Communication 

• To engage in collaborative problem solving with co-workers and staff and other outside agencies.

• To ensure that all telephone and email communications are dealt with in a timely and professional manner.

• To ensure that all telephone voicemail messages are updated, clear and concise and that all messages are dealt with promptly.

• To ensure that when on leave an out of office message is left detailing who to contact.

• To function as a ‘team player’, being considerate and flexible, taking the needs of peers into consideration.

• To exercise discretion to ensure that patient confidentiality is maintained and a professional, respectful hospital environment exists at all times.

• To provide and receive complex and sensitive information via telephone, face to face, or in writing, some of which may be contentious in nature, requiring interpersonal and communication skills to promptly assess each situation, escalating to or seeking advice from a health professional as necessary.

• To have good written and oral communication skills to enable clear and concise information, explanations and instructions are provided.
• To answer a range of complex and sensitive patient enquiries promptly and politely (via telephone and in person) and where necessary refer to the Patient Access Manager for advice/support.
• To advise patients of any delays to being seen for their appointment/treatment within the service.
• To ensure that all patients are given the opportunity to speak to a senior manager if they wish to make a complaint about the service that they have received.

• To be able to establish and maintain effective communication with all members of the public, including those with challenging behaviour, learning disabilities and those whose first language is not English, ensuring interpreters are booked for appointments as soon as the need is identified to comply with legislation.

• To liaise with clinical /nursing staff, porters and ambulance staff.
• To deal with all non-clinical queries in an efficient and courteous manner using judgement and prioritisation.
• To develop and maintain effective working relationships with nursing, medical, Allied Health Professionals and managerial staff within the department.
• To work with colleagues to ensure that relevant information is disseminated effectively and appropriately in a timely manner.

• To take clear and accurate messages and ensure prompt delivery to the appropriate person.

Service Delivery and Improvement 

• To work as a Patient Access Clerk in the support of oncology administration services.

• To be responsible for processing referrals, ensuring they are actioned in a timely manner in accordance with Trust Patient Access Policy and national guidelines and in compliance with national cancer waiting times guidance.

• To ensure that all outpatient referral letters are entered on to the appropriate outpatient waiting list within one working day of receipt, forwarded to the relevant clinician for prioritisation within one working day of receipt and received from the clinician subsequent to prioritisation within two working days.

• To be responsible for ensuring new, follow-up and treatment patients are identified on the waiting list and booked within the specified timeframe, escalating any capacity issues to the Patient Access Manager.
• To contact all patients requiring an urgent appointment by telephone and offer an appointment in accordance with Trust Patient Access Policy.
• To ensure that all appointments for services with the service are confirmed in writing and that patients receive the relevant documentation relating to their visit to or treatment in hospital.
• To provide patient choice in agreeing appointments within national waiting time targets and subject to clinician's triaged urgency of individual cases.

• To confirm with the patient/carer/relative on arrival within the service all necessary patient-information to include patient demographics, GP information, overseas visitors status, Ethnic Group Monitoring Data and referral information.

• To ensure any changes to patient information is followed by changes to medical case notes, Patient Administration System (PAS)/ electronic appointments system, patient identification labels and information sheets.

• To establish whether the patient is an overseas visitor, and inform the Trust Overseas & Private Patients Co-ordinator where appropriate to enable the necessary action to be taken.

• To ensure accurate and timely data collection and recording to maximise Trust income.

• To record patient outcomes and make outpatient follow-up and treatment appointments using Trust PAS / electronic appointments system following the patient’s consultation or treatment.

• To update treatment plans and dates where appropriate for patients attending for treatment using the departments electronic appointments systems.

• To be responsible for cancelling outpatient/planning clinics due to clinician’s leave and ensure appointments are rescheduled following Trust Patient Access Policy. Ensure patients are notified in a timely manner, informing the Patient Access Manager of any issues relating to the potential breach of national waiting time targets.

• To ensure that patient medical records are prepared and delivered to the health professional promptly for the patient’s attendance within the service as required.

• To ensure the appropriate patient outcome including outpatient procedure coding is recorded on Trust PAS and electronic appointments system for any outpatient or treatment attendance.

• To ensure adequate facilities for all outpatient and treatments are available in collaboration with departments, clinicians, radiographers, nursing staff and Patient Access Manager.

• To ensure that all work related to patients accessing oncology services is in total compliance with Trust Patient Access Policy, reporting any non-compliance issues to the Patient Access Manager.

• To report to the Patient Access Manager any issues related to the functionality of the Trust PAS and any other electronic systems used by the service relating to patient administration for which the post holder has been trained in but unable to resolve.

• To assist the Patient Access Manager in ensuring the delivery of the requirements of Trust Patient Access Policy with specific reference to the waiting lists for oncology, SACT, haematology and radiotherapy services.

• To reschedule, amend or cancel oncology outpatient appointments  using a range of administration systems and notify all relevant parties of changes.

• To take the appropriate action for any patients who do not attend for their outpatient appointment, treatment or diagnostic test appointments in accordance with Trust Patient Access Policy.
• To have knowledge of and maintain procedures relating to the Trust Patient Access Policy, Data Protection Act, Caldicott guidelines and Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults Policy.
• To maintain medical records including merging of duplicate patient medical records, filing all correspondence, clinical test and x-ray results, and uploading documents to PANDA.
• To organise all support services, e.g. transport, portering, domestic, interpreting services as directed and noting arrangements on the relevant electronic appointments systems. 

• To ensure patient private health insurance documents are in order and passed to the appropriate department. 

• To organise couriers if needed for urgent transfer of medical records/drugs.

• To chase investigation results as and when requested to do so by the clinicians to enable medical staff to make decisions regarding patient treatment plans/care.

• To be able to use own judgement to prioritise tasks in order to ensure patients are seen for their appointment/treatment in a timely way.

• To organise workload and ensure that national and Trust waiting list and national cancer waiting time targets are met.

• To be able to use own judgement to independently assess as first point of contact, a range of issues and situations.

• To prioritise and manage own workload with minimal or no supervision, seeking advice where necessary.

• The post holder is responsible for supporting the administration section of the Trust major incident plan.

• To report and record any equipment faults/repairs to relevant departments, e.g. IT, Department of Capital Development and Facilities. 

• To be aware of and contribute to the management of Health and Safety in relation to the working environment.

• The post holder has freedom to exercise own judgement. Errors in judgement would have an effect on a range of services and/or the patient, therefore the post holder is expected to liaise daily with the Patient Access Manager or clinician in charge of the specific area regarding patient issues.