Detailed job description and main responsibilities

- Proactively manage waiting times for individual patients and inpatient waiting lists to ensure national standards are not breached.

- Book / request outpatient appointments patients within clinical and Trust waiting time targets

 - To monitor/validate RTT PTL’s to ensure the patient is on the correct pathway, adjust pathway if incorrect and highlight concerns or issues to the supervisor.  To liaise closely with the Validation Team to support patient tracking from referral to treatment.

- Process cancellations and offer patients new dates observing Trust waiting times.

- Liaise with pre-operative assessment and ensure appointments are arranged with sufficient lead in time prior to surgery/procedure.  To check with pre-operative assessment if the patient is not recorded as fit on TrakCare and ensure that the consultant is aware of any potential delays that may affect the patient’s operation date.

- To follow surgeons’ instructions to ensure theatre lists are booked appropriately to ensure that theatre time is maximised. 

- To inform theatres of any specific kit and X-ray requirements identified by the consultant during listing to enable theatres to plan for the patient’s operation

- Contact patients with the proposed operation date and negotiate alternatives if not suitable with patient choice.  

- To provide non-clinical advice effectively and empathetically to patients and their relatives.  This includes exchanging information with patients and relatives on a variety of departmental issues and procedures, demonstrating Trust Values by pacifying anxious patients and relatives.

- Recognising the need to accommodate diversity in our patient population by booking translation services for patients with cultural or language difficulties and transport arrangements for patients with mobility issues

- Support the supervisor in the training of new starters/less experienced staff

- Flagging up to relevant departments (pre-operative assessment, theatre scheduling, theatres and orthopaedic rota co-ordinator) when non-timetabled sessions are being scheduled

- Responsible for updating/maintaining information systems/spreadsheets to assist in the smooth running of the department in accordance with Trust policies

- To highlight bottlenecks within the process to the supervisor, working collaboratively to identify and implement solutions

- To identify patients who require funding and highlight to secretaries for form completion, to monitor and ensure the funding has been approved prior to the patient’s admission.

- To inform the Validation Team of out of county patients where inter-provider forms and allocation of pathways need completing.  To ensure image transfers are done accordingly.