Job vacancy: Unit Manager Outpatients Admin, Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Swindon

Job summary

Main area: Outpatients
Grade: NHS AfC: Band 4
Contract: Permanent: Full Time
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Mon - Fri 0830 - 1700)
Job ref: 249-6107282-2

Employer: Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: Great Western Hospital
Town: Swindon
Salary: £25,147 - £27,596 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 12/05/2024 23:59

Unit Manager Outpatients Admin

NHS AfC: Band 4

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is a unique organisation, serving as the sole integrated provider in the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire system. Our scope extends beyond boundaries as we oversee adult community services in Swindon and provide acute care from the Great Western Hospital.

Our 5,500 staff have 1.2m patient contacts a year, with 13,000 operations carried out in our Theatres, around 4,000 babies born, and our emergency attendances are now well over 100,000 per year. Those numbers only tell part of our story about what an exciting time it is to join Great Western Hospitals.

We are cultivating a culture that fosters our ambitions, prioritising equality, diversion, inclusion, wellbeing, and leadership. We aim to create an environment where every member of our team can truly thrive.

The Trust is a Disability Confident Employer; all applicants who have a disability can opt to be considered under the guaranteed interview scheme, which means that, providing they meet the minimum essential criteria for the post, they will be offered an interview. We are also proudly accredited as a Veteran Aware organisation and have signed The Armed Forces Covenant.

If we receive a high volume of applications, we may close adverts prior to the published closing date. Therefore, we advise you to complete and submit your application as soon as possible.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

1. Operationally responsible for the delivery of the key performance indicators for the Outpatients Unit, in line with divisional and organisational goals and targets, including delivery of national targets like 18-weeks Referral to Treatment, Slot Utilisation and Clinic Template Management.
1. Operationally responsible for delivery of analysis, implementation and monitoring of departmental procedures liaising with other management groups & departments to ensure processes meet the needs of services, divisions, and the organisation.
1. Organise and liaise with heads of service that reside within clinical unit on a weekly basis and make recommendations to support the smooth delivery of their service to patients while demonstrating outpatients’ delivery to service level agreement (SLA).
1. Ensure that great service is provided within clinical unit and that patient feedback is gathered locally, analysed and improvement plans are in place to increase the patient satisfaction experience.
1. Responsible for the standard and quality of the Administrators, requesting, analysing, and acting on information relating to general performance activity and quality, and taking corrective action where appropriate to meet the required standards or improve quality.
1. Responsible for daily monitoring of access and waiting times targets, putting in to place remedial plans to ensure target breaches are mitigated or avoided.
1. Ensure the validation of long waiters weekly for each specialty within clinical unit and that patients are booked according to chronological and clinical need, in compliance with the Trust’s Elective Access, Booking and Choice of Day Policy. This “green light” status to be communicated to head of service when completed.
2. Responsible for communication between the inter-disciplinary teams so that there is a smooth flow of information and key service, divisional or organisational messages are received and understood.
1. Responsible for monitoring and acting upon performance reports such as direct mail rejections, e-referral activity and waiting list management.
1. Responsible for the management and development of the e-Referral Service, liaising with internal and external users to promote the use of electronic referrals throughout the Trust.
1. Ensure that Trust’s resources are fully utilised through effective booking of all clinics within the Booking Centre unit and KPIs are met in this regard.
1. Ensure that patient quality is delivered through patient wait times and monitored calling and training/coaching is provided to improve booking centre standards where required.
Staff Management
1. Responsible for line management of non-clinical admin staff, including recruitment and retention, appraisal and one to one meetings, and disciplinary, performance, attendance, grievance matters. Ensuring compliance with Trust-wide policies and procedures are maintained.
1. Responsible for induction, training, and development of all administration staff within span of control, identifying training needs and developing plans to ensure staff knowledge and skills remain at the appropriate level to deliver the expected standards for their roles.
1. In conjunction with the Operations Manager, responsible for ensuring staff performance is maximised by working on innovations, efficiency savings and service changes.
1. Developing team morale and motivation through effective personal leadership, ensuring views and decisions are communicated both up and down the management structure.
1. Maintaining accurate records of administration staff for annual leave, sickness, one to one meetings, appraisals, and mandatory training.
Quality, Finance and Policy Standards
1. Responsible for managing the administration resource, ensuring its utilisation is financially viable and spend is appropriate and controlled.
2. Representing Outpatients Unit by providing a high-quality customer care for patients and others, acting as first point of contact for any enquiries from patients, staff, service users and any external agencies such as GPs or residential homes.
3. Accountability for investigations and responses to complaints and incident reports in line with Trust policy and implementing any consequent action plans within clinical unit.
1. Ensuring that services are managed within budget and opportunities for savings are identified.
1. Assisting with implementation of service redesign and change management, focusing on a patient centred approach to delivery, liaising with the Operations Manager and Clinical Services Manager to support and contribute to improving and developing Outpatient Services.
1. Assisting with workforce reviews and implementing plans to reflect changes in short and long term service needs.
1. Responsible for establishing and maintaining excellent communication with key working partners across departments and divisions. Ensuring that their needs and views are considered in the planning and monitoring of department’s activities.
1. Responsible for policy implementation for the clinical unit.
2. Responsible for monitoring compliance with information governance and other mandatory policies relating to administrative work.
1. Deal sensitively with patients on the telephone, especially when dealing with issues of a highly sensitive nature. Support and calm patients who are anxious and complaining about the service they have received, ensuring that all barriers (patients who are hard of hearing/patients who do not have English as their first language) are overcome and that patients are not left anxious or distressed.
1. Communicate effectively to persuade and influence senior clinical staff to support required objectives.
1. Responsible for coordinating patient information and clinic documentation, using patient and staff feedback to ensure information and literature is accurate and appropriate.
General Management
1. Follow all relevant departmental Standard Operating Procedures on all functions and tasks related to this role.
2. Take responsibility for informing your line manager, departmental managers, or senior managers of any concerns you have regarding workload or timescales to complete your work.
1. Create clinic templates and ensure that they are uploaded in a timely manner to enable for the unit admin team to fully book/utilize.
1. Deputise for the Operations Manager on delegated tasks and responsibilities, as required.
1. Driving team morale and motivation through effective personal leadership, ensuring views and decisions are communicated both up and down the management structure.
2. Follow Trust policy on IT usage, information governance and patient confidentiality, ensuring all patient or person identifiable information is collected, securely filed, or disposed of daily and appropriately.
1. Provide cover for colleagues by being flexible to work in other areas of Outpatients Administration.
1. Responsible for effective communication between inter-disciplinary teams so that there is a smooth and timely flow of accurate information.
1. Take responsibility for the induction of new admin staff including training and competency development.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

GCSE 3 or above including Maths and English
NVQ 4 or equivalent in relevant subject or equivalent experience and knowledge in a similar role
Evidence of formal management development
Evidence of continuing professional development
Willingness to undertake NHS specific IT system training including CareFlow clinic template maintenance, case note tracking, patient transport system, RPA Automations
Evidence of Health & Safety training

Desirable criteria

ECDL qualification or other formal IT training / qualification
Project management training, e.g. PRINCE 2

Experience

Essential criteria

Evidence of significant administrative experience within a customer focused environment.
Evidence of successful staff management including performance, recruitment, training, and absence management
Evidence of successful process design and implementation
Experience and understanding of outpatient services and performance indicators
Experience in implementing NHS policies and guidelines relevant to outpatient services/or equivalent.
Proven experience of developing administrative processes, analysing information, and report writing
Demonstrate performance management across administrative teams.
Demonstrate excellent computer skills in Excel and Word including accurate typing.

Desirable criteria

Past experience of working in an area specialising in healthcare appointment making.
Experience of managing projects.
Use of PRINCE 2 software or other project management planning systems/tools

Thank you for expressing interest in this role. For further employer guidance, please review the attached supplementary applicant information.

Eligibility for this role requires:

Current right to work in the UK, subject to verification.
Qualification of the eligibility sponsorship criteria

From 4 April 2024, UK immigration policy changes has increased minimum salary levels for skilled workers.

Current employees should be aware that this position is advertised as a Great Western Hospitals position and appointment ends any TUPE protection.

Candidates are responsible for covering the cost of their own DBS check if required: £18 for a Standard DBS check, recoverable from the first pay, or £38 for an Enhanced DBS check, divided and recoverable over the initial two pay periods. Payment for DBS checks for bank posts must be settled prior to commencement. Apprentices are exempt from DBS payment.

We are committed to supporting our staff in achieving a healthy work-life balance through flexible work arrangements. Upon joining the Trust, you have the right to request flexible working, with an unlimited number of requests allowed.

Upon acceptance of a job offer, your information will be transferred to the national NHS Electronic Staff Records System. All communication regarding your application will be conducted via email; please ensure to check your junk/spam folders as emails may occasionally be filtered there.