Job Description

• Ensure that all appointments are booked in line with the current Patient Access Policy and booking criteria.
• To take on specialized responsibility for multiple specialties on a rotational basis
• To answer all written and telephone queries, and resolution within specified timescales, recording and reporting the query details on PAS and response times will be part of this role.
• Deal with patients in a mature manner when speaking to them on the phone or via emails. This may sometimes involve dealing with distressed patients and a sensitive and reassuring approach is required in difficult situations as per trust CARES values; and to include detailed understanding of the principles of patient confidentiality, data protection and safeguarding.
• To highlight referrals that require urgent attention and deal with them properly. This can sometimes involve discussions with the clinical teams directly to arrange where the patient needs to be booked. This also involves rapidly highlighting capacity concerns in the urgent and two week rule (2WW) / suspected cancer pathways to ensure patients are seen according to clinical priority and also that the trust achieves the national cancer targets.
• Act as a single point of contact to GP practices and referrers - to communicate various agreed work procedures, guiding and advising the GP Practice on most appropriate referral route, and communicate the clinically returned/rejected referrals
• To proactively manage the Outpatient Wait List to• Ensure the referrals are registered in the order of receipt and within timescales specified
• Ensure the vetting SLA is being met
• To proactively record, analyze and report on Outpatient Demand vs. Capacity figures (paper and eReferral Service) to ensure all capacity issues are highlighted to Service managers within the timescales agreed
• To analyze and action the reports of the appointment reminder system
• To manage and escalate capacity issues of ‘Appointment Slot issues’ + ‘Appointments for Booking worklists’, delays with ‘Referrals for Bookings’ worklist on NHS eReferral Service.
• To respond to and guide the team with complicated queries
• To run the ‘Short Notice’ patients lists for respective specialties and manage their bookings to improve clinic utilization
• To coordinate and maintain communication within and outside of the team, liaise directly with the RTT Validation Team, Service Managers, and where appropriate, the Clinicians.
• To work independently to defined policies and procedures, managing own workload, record and solve issues. Escalate complex issues and share ideas / suggestions to the Coordinator and Deputy Head of Patient Access
• To receive, log and process Clinic cancellation requests as per the guidelines
• Facilitate the Outpatient Capacity and Demand by ensuring all available clinics are utilized fully
• To carry out any other duties that may reasonably be required by the departmental managers
• The job description and person specification may be reviewed on an on-going basis in accordance with the changing needs of the Department and the Organization
• Monitor clinics daily to ensure all vacant slots / Clinics under their specialties are fully utilized in order to improve clinic efficiency and access times.
• To deal with all incoming calls, cancelling/re-arranging appointments and redirecting callers as required.
• To manually send out correspondence in the event of printer/system failure.
• To step-up and cover for Department coordinator in their absence, i.e. ordering stock from eProcurement, manage staff absences and workload distribution.
• Critically analyze system generated waiting lists (iReporter/eVetting) for each specialty, contacting relevant referrers (internal and external) in order to complete the patient’s process through the Outpatients Appointment Centre in strict chronological order.
• Monitor and action the referrals eReferral Service system for the Appointments for booking, Appointment Slot issues and DNA Work lists
• Download and action the appointment reminder reports from relevant system for cancelled and changed appointments, to identify and communicate and liaise with various departments to re-book high priority appointments.
• To plan their workload on daily and weekly basis and ensure all services are Patient / customer focused and use customer services skills to provide excellent quality services
• Be able to alter planned workload at short notice to accommodate frequent changes, stay focused during frequent interruptions and competing demands.
• To ensure that all queries are dealt with in an efficient, helpful and courteous manner, and escalate unpleasant or distressing calls to department management.
• To ensure that the confidentiality policy for the Trust is upheld at all times.
• To be an active working member of the department and undertake allocated duties as requested by Outpatients Appointment Centre Coordinator / Manager.
• To attend regular staff meetings as required.
• To attend regular refresher training sessions as organized/held by Outpatients Appointment Centre Coordinator / Manager or by the Learning and Development department
• To demonstrate tasks and activities to new starters as part of the departmental induction

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities