Pre-Operative Assessment Outpatients Clerk

Job overview

To provide a high standard of administrative and patient customer service support within the department, ensuring effective and professional communication with patients, staff, external contractors and other departments. The post holder will be responsible for providing efficient telephone, email, written and face-to-face communication, supporting clinic preparation and ensuring relevant patient notes and documentation are available in a timely manner. The role requires the ability to work effectively under pressure, meet deadlines, work independently and as part of a team, and demonstrate initiative in identifying and completing tasks. The post holder will be expected to proactively support colleagues with their workload and respond promptly to requests from within and outside the department. A key responsibility will be ensuring patient telephone enquiries and messages are recorded accurately, including the patient’s T-number, full name and reason for contact, and passed to the appropriate Case Manager in a timely manner. The post holder will contribute to the smooth and efficient running of the department by proactively identifying work, preparing clinics in advance, tracing and ordering notes, arranging note collection and responding to requests from other departments.

Main duties of the job

• To liaise with wards, clinical staff, GPs and Trust support staff in person, via telephone and email as and when necessary
• Escalate patient queries, capacity problems and general issues to the role’s line manager or relevant clinical staff as appropriate
• Provides admin support to different clinical teams such as Anaesthetic and nursing teams.
• Dealing with telephone enquiries and taking accurate messages as appropriate
• To act as Receptionist for clinic. Receive patients, verify identity and update the personal data on both Medway computer system and medical records as appropriate. Issuing case notes to clinic, medical and nursing staff.
• Professional and friendly manner in admitting patient to the clinic/ department ensuring all queries are dealt with in a supportive and punctual approach
• Using the Medway and Evolve case-note tracking system and liaising with Medical Records; collecting urgent notes of patients due to attend clinic from various departments, scanning document on to Evolve
• To carry out associated clerical duties, for example maintaining accurate filing systems, photocopying, receiving and distributing post, diary management and scanning patient notes if required
• To cover sickness and holiday absences of colleagues in other admin roles.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To show a caring and professional approach towards patients, relatives and carers. This may require acting with resilience to deal with sometimes distressed patients and relatives in an empathetic manner
• To keep waiting areas tidy and patient information materials up to date
• To undertake the role’s duties in the case of a major incident in your department (E.g. the ED Major Incident Process)
• Attend appropriate meetings as required by the role’s line manager
• Ensure that all clinical results and other clinical information are accurately filed in the patient notes and that patient notes are up to date and maintained according to the relevant Trust standards.
• To deal with clinic attendance outcome information e.g. - booking of follow up appointments as necessary and in accordance with instruction from POD staff.
• Have a working knowledge of pending list and booking rules for those specialties
• Assist in training of new members of the team
• To take part in departmental audits and associated duties
• If and when appropriate and directed, order and/or receipt stationary and essential items, in line with Trust policies
• Out coming the clinic and anaesthetic appointment on a daily bases and informing relevant waiting list teams of DNA or changes to previous days clinics to ensure funding is allocated to the department
• Maintain the clinics figures of patients seen including one stops to allow of future planning of clinics.
• To book patient appointments in line with the, print letters and arrange any appointment related services as and when required (E.g. transport and interpreting services)
• To check and update patient details on arrival and book them into clinic retrieving data from a number of internal and external Patient Access Policy (PAS)’s
• To book patient appointments in line with the Patient Access Policy (PAP), print letters and arrange any appointment related services as and when required (E.g. transport and interpreting services)
• To input outcomes of appointments, including those of patients that did not attend, on the PAS and other relevant computer systems in a timely and accurate manner according to the relevant Trust standards
• To check incoming email inbox(s) on a daily basis to keep up to date with departmental and Trust wide news and information
• To check and update patient details on arrival to the ward, retrieving data from a number of internal and external Medway to ensure real time patient flow data is kept across the Trust
• Be responsible for the accurate entry of data to computerised databases, using all computer systems relevant to the role
• To prepare case notes prior to clinics and admission for surgery, ensuring that the relevant stationery is inserted, ensure notes are up to date and that all relevant investigation reports from previous attendance are in place.
• Ensure all patient records are traced into and out of the ward
• Ensure patient records are appropriately received and transferred and
• Prepare patient notes for coding within the relevant deadlines set by the coding team, and deadlines are met as per coding policy.

Maintain confidentiality and discretion and comply with the terms of the Data Protection Act and local Trust policies at all times

• To be aware of Service and Trust policies and guidelines and ensure all these are adhered to
• Ensure all patient property is correctly documented and is safely stored as per Trust policy
• To keep public areas tidy and patient information materials up to date
• Maintain confidentiality and discretion and comply with the terms of the Data Protection Act and local Trust policies at all times
• Act with flexibility to utilise skills in other functions if and when appropriate or required by the role’s line manager

Applicant requirements

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.