Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Proactively manage Ophthalmology, Orthoptic, Optometry sub-specialty pathways to ensure patients receive timely appointments within the expected scheduled time.
• Manage and monitor outpatient scheduling making the best use of capacity.
• Act as a point of escalation to Appointment Centre and booking administration teams.
• Escalate to the Ophthalmology Failsafe & Admin Manager and Consultant sub-specialty leads if any concerns within 
  clinic capacity or patient care are identified.
• Ensure the correct booking of patient appointments within the sub-specialty, prioritising urgent patients as requested by clinicians. This includes liaising with the Appointments Centre, ensuring patients who do not attend are followed up appropriately at the direction of the clinician.
• Monitor and action incomplete outcomes making sure clinics are ‘cashed up’ within a timely manner.
• To track patients through Ophthalmology, implementing processes to ensure patients are not lost to follow up and ensuring follow up appointments as necessary.
• Identify potential capacity issues, calculate and monitor average waiting times, ensure the clinics are blocked for annual leave, audit and study days and liaise with the Ophthalmology Failsafe & Admin Manager.
• Ensure clinic sessions are running with maximum utilisation of capacity (filling cancellation slots as necessary in conjunction with the Appointments Centre) in accordance with the agreed speciality, consultant and clinic protocols.
• To use the 18-week referral to treatment (RTT) to manage all outpatient sub-specialty pathways, working in conjunction with Ophthalmic secretaries as appropriate.
• Support the validation of the RTT patient tracking list within sub-specialties. Investigate and take the appropriate action where pathways are incomplete to ensure that patients are receiving timely treatment, active monitoring or been discharged as appropriate.
• To work closely within the Ophthalmology Administration and Failsafe team to ensure a cohesive service, including providing support, supervision and covering for annual leave and sickness as necessary.
• Ensure a failsafe loop so patients are not lost to follow-up and the avoidance of delays to follow-ups – make sure patients at the highest risk of significant avoidable harm receive follow up review and/or treatment as scheduled.
• Monitor, escalate and amend pathway appointment bookings, identify:
  a. Patients not discharged but no review booked or clinically indicated date for review identified.
  b. Whether or not the timescale planned for patient review has been breached.
  c. Patients not discharged, and a review booked that is beyond the clinically indicated timescale for review. 
  d. Original appointment cancelled by patient and subsequently rebooked if beyond expected review date.
  e. Original appointment cancelled by hospital and subsequently rebooked if beyond expected review date.
  f. Patient did not attend, so the appointment had to be rebooked resulting in beyond expected review date.
• To demonstrate and understand Ophthalmology terminology and the flow through patient pathways within sub-specialties.
• Escalate any outpatient issues that cannot be directly resolved by the Eye Clinic Sister and Ophthalmology Service Manager.
• To assess the need to contact individual patients and coordinate completion of any outstanding appointments.
• Track new and follow up patients within Ophthalmology sub-specialties and work in 
  conjunction with the Appointments Centre to provide assurance that appointment letters and text reminders are received and attended within clinically led time frames.
• Escalate any appointment capacity issues or delays to the Ophthalmology Failsafe & Admin Manager.
• Investigate patient DNA’s in conjunction with the Appointment Centre teams, communicating the results to the consultants and the operational management team as appropriate.
• Reschedule outpatient clinics as requested and in line with Trust policy.
• Responsibility for checking the quality of data entered onto the failsafe and filing systems, to ensure that all national standards are maintained and reportable.
• To ensure appointments are in line with the trust access policy inclusive of NICE guidelines, highlighting issues and taking corrective action where necessary
• To work closely with clinical and senior manager colleagues in dealing with patient queries, complaints and incidents in relation to investigation and treatment plans.
• To track all Ophthalmology, suspect Oculoplastic cancer patient pathways to ensure they are seen, diagnosed and treated within the Cancer waiting times targets. Identifying delays in patient pathways which may result in a breach of Cancer Waiting Time targets and take appropriate and best course of action to prevent breaches by communicating with sub-specialty lead and/or other departments within or outside the Trust.
• To escalate potential breaches in line with Trust escalation policy, immediately to Lead sub-specialty clinicians, Ophthalmology Failsafe & Admin Manager and Ophthalmology Senior Management team as appropriate.
• To communicate with all levels of staff within the Trust and community partnerships, GPs and patients to obtain or verify relevant information relating to patient care.
• Work with sub-specialty teams to ensure they are aware of their patients holding list and Appointment Slot Issue Lists, identifying resolution to ensure clinical validation is undertaken.
• Monitor performance indicators using the Trusts Knowledge Portal, working with clinicians and service leads to improve patient pathways within sub-specialties.
• In partnership with the Ophthalmology Failsafe & Admin Manager, develop and implement Standard Operating Procedures for Failsafe and Administrative functions. 
• To contribute to the running of an efficient and tidy administration space, using appropriate administrative systems, taking initiative in establishing office procedures, managing own workload and working unsupervised.
• General office administration & duties as required.
• To deal with concerns and support complaint investigations as appropriate, immediately escalating where necessary to the appropriate direct line of reporting.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to manage conflict, having authentic conversations within a challenging environment.
• To maintain and be responsible for ensuring data quality on Trust systems. To be competent and confident in using EPR, Medisight and Microsoft Office packages and other systems in the department.
• To provide support and cover arrangements to other Failsafe Coordinators and Ophthalmology Administration staff as agreed with Ophthalmology Failsafe & Admin Manager.