Community Triage and Allocation Support

Job overview

Are you organised, people-focused, with excellent communication skills and ready to be part of a vital NHS service? We're looking for a dedicated Community Triage and Allocation Administrator to work within our Community Nursing and Phlebotomy Teams, ensuring patients receive timely and efficient care.

🌟 About the Role:

As an Allocator, you’ll work under the guidance of a Senior Registered Nurse, providing crucial administrative support to frontline NHS staff. Your role will directly contribute to patient safety, service efficiency, and the quality of care we provide in the community.

✅ About You:

We’re looking for someone who is:

• Organised and detail-oriented, with strong IT and data entry skills
• A confident communicator, both over the phone and in writing
• Compassionate and professional, with a commitment to delivering excellent patient care
• Experienced in a healthcare or administrative setting (desirable, but not essential)

🌈 What We Offer:

• A supportive, inclusive working environment as part of the NHS family
• Full training and induction to help you thrive in your role
• Opportunities for development and career progression through the NHS
• Access to NHS benefits including pension scheme, generous annual leave, and staff wellbeing initiatives

This is more than just a desk job – it’s your chance to be part of a team that makes a real difference in people’s lives, every single day.

Main duties of the job

• To receive and process referrals and data into the service, using the patient database, distributing information to other services / agencies as necessary
• The post holder will allocate visits to community nursing teams which have been triaged by an appropriately trained colleague within the triage team.
• The post holder will follow a clear process to triage phlebotomy referrals under the direction of a registered clinician. They will review the referral to determine the priority of care, escalating any queries or issues, and processing accordingly.
• The post holder will perform the safety check and data quality check processes on SystmOne.
• The post holder will support with the SystmOne task function, review and allocation.
• This role may require weekend working on a rota basis to support with operating a 7-day service, as required.
• The post holder will be confident to undertake phone calls to patients and staff members

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To undertake a safe and efficient allocation service in the hub. To allocate patient appointments for the Community Nursing and Therapy clinicians following the set process, from the monthly planner to the holding ledgers, and finally into the live ledgers, whilst utilising relevant data to include geography, skill mix and staffing levels. Scrutiny of appointment detail against care plans that require performing will be undertaken to ensure a correct match and therefore preventing unnecessary visits.
• Support with phlebotomy referrals for all community teams, under the director supervision of a clinician.
• Process urgent and routine referrals for all blood tests and routine observations by following a clear process and using the information received to determine what is required and the priority response necessary. The prioritisation will be supported by a registered member of staff when required.
• Ensure referrals are prioritised according to service targets and patient need.
• Add a phlebotomy care plan on SystmOne and apply them adding due dates and priority.
• Process the information given within the referral, and document using SystmOne triage notes, appropriately ensuring comprehensive detail, using good grammar and punctuation and adhering to NCHC record keeping policy.
• Ensure that the referral details are entered accurately and timely on to SystmOne and the patients’ record is complete for audit purposes.
• Contact the referrer (e.g. GP / Practice, hospital or patient) to obtain the relevant information. if the referral does not contain sufficient information in order to be accurately processed during the triage process, they will highlight and escalate any potential risk factors to a clinician and document this in the triage notes.
• Maintain patient confidentiality and adhere to the information governance policy.
• Work with all health care professionals, and statutory/non statutory agencies to provide a seamless, integrated service to our service users.
• Identify any improvements / developments which could be made to the service provided to improve the efficiency and / or processes within the Single Point of Contact.
• Adjust communication where there are barriers to understanding, such as hearing impairment, mental capacity impairment and other difficulties in comprehension, in order to gain understanding, consent and concordance.
• Support in the management of the referrers’ expectations if the service is unable to respond as urgently as requested; remain calm, apologetic and escalate to clinician if required.
• Support the lead clinician with allocation including forward planning of visits and aligning the appropriate clinician with the patient, contacting clinical colleagues when required if there is an urgent visit to allocate and supporting reallocation for short notice absence of team member which is a complex activity.
• Perform the safety check and data quality check processes on SystmOne.
• Support with the SystmOne task function review and allocation.
• This role requires weekend working on a rota basis to support with operating a 7-day service.
• Demonstrate the necessary IT and keyboard skills to use SystmOne and the Trust’s computer systems.
• Contact patients daily to advise them that their visits cannot take place as planned,using an approved script. Escalate to clinicians as needed.