Lead Triage Coordinator
The Manor Surgery, Osler Road, Headington, Oxford
Hours:37.5 hours per week 9:30am to 5pm Monday to Friday
Salary: Dependent on experience
We are a large, busy GP Practice in Oxford and are looking for an organised and proactive Lead Triage Coordinator to join our Patient Services Team.
This is a key administrative role within our triage service. You will work closely with GPs and other members of the clinical team to help ensure that incoming patient requests are managed efficiently and patients are directed to the right care.
Alongside assessing incoming requests, directing patients to the appropriate pathway and actioning clinical triage decisions, you will take day-to-day responsibility for coordinating our triage inbox and workflow. You will allocate requests between the GPs undertaking triage, keep an overview of demand and workload throughout the day, and ensure our triaging GPs have clear and up-to-date information about GP appointments, clinic availability and other clinical capacity.
You will be expected to spot developing pressures or backlogs, help keep the triage workflow moving and escalate any significant capacity or operational issues when needed.
This is a busy and responsible administrative role which requires excellent organisation, good judgement and confident communication. You will need to be comfortable working closely with clinicians, managing competing priorities and responding to changing demands throughout the day.
Previous experience of working in primary care, particularly within triage, care navigation or patient access, would be an advantage.
For further information and/or an informal chat about the role please contact Lisa Edney on 01865 762535 or by email at [email protected]
Job Description
Job Title: Lead Triage Coordinator
Responsible to: Patient Services Manager
Accountable to: Practice Manager
Job Summary:
The Lead Triage Coordinator will work within the Patient Services Team, taking day-to-day responsibility for overseeing the administrative management of the Practice's triage service and ensuring that the triage workflow runs smoothly and efficiently.
The postholder will maintain oversight of the triage inbox throughout the day, allocating requests between the GPs undertaking triage, monitoring demand and workload, and ensuring triaging GPs have clear and up-to-date information about GP and clinic availability and other available clinical capacity.
Working closely with the wider team of Triage Coordinators, the postholder will coordinate the administrative actions arising from clinical triage decisions, ensuring these are managed efficiently and completed in a timely manner.
The postholder will identify emerging pressures, backlogs or capacity issues and take appropriate action to keep the triage service running effectively, escalating significant operational concerns to the Patient Services Manager or appropriate senior member of the team.
This is a responsible administrative coordination role requiring excellent organisation, communication and judgement. The postholder will not make clinical triage decisions, which remain the responsibility of the appropriate clinician.
Key Responsibilities:
Duties may be varied from time to time under the direction of the Patient services manager and other senior members of staff, dependent on current and evolving practice workload and staffing levels:
Triage Coordination
· Take day-to-day responsibility for overseeing the triage inbox and administrative triage workflow, ensuring incoming requests are managed efficiently and in a timely manner.
· Maintain oversight of incoming patient requests and ensure these are directed to the appropriate clinical or administrative pathway.
· Allocate requests between the GPs undertaking triage, monitoring workload and ensuring work is distributed appropriately throughout the day.
· Monitor the triage inbox throughout the day, identifying outstanding requests, increasing demand or developing backlogs and taking appropriate action to keep work moving.
· Maintain an up-to-date understanding of available GP appointments, clinics and other relevant clinical capacity across the Practice.
· Ensure triaging GPs are kept informed of appointment and clinic availability, staffing changes, capacity pressures and other information relevant to the effective management of triage.
· Coordinate the administrative actions arising from clinical triage decisions, working closely with the wider Triage Coordinator team to ensure these are managed efficiently and promptly.
· Liaise closely with GPs, nurses, pharmacists, Triage Coordinators and other members of the Practice team regarding available services, appointment types and patient pathways.
· Identify and escalate capacity concerns, significant delays or other operational issues affecting the triage service to the Patient Services Manager or appropriate senior member of staff.
· Act as a key administrative point of contact for day-to-day queries relating to the operation of the triage service.
· Support the ongoing development and improvement of administrative triage processes, identifying where changes could improve efficiency or patient access.
Patient Services
· Liaise with patients and clinicians to ensure clear and effective communication.
· Respond to Practice emails, telephone calls and patient enquiries in a timely and professional manner.
· Undertake routine Patient Services administrative duties as required, including registering new patients, processing prescription requests, allocating laboratory results and processing administrative correspondence.
· Maintain accurate and secure patient records using EMIS and other Practice systems.
· Provide cover for the Urgent Care Coordinator function when required, supporting the management of same-day capacity and escalating urgent issues appropriately.
· Provide cover for other members of the Patient Services Team during periods of absence or increased workload.
· Undertake any other duties reasonably required by the Patient Services Manager.
Other requirements of the post-holder:
Confidentiality
- In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately.
- In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential.
- Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.
Health & Safety
The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others’ health, safety and security as defined in the practice Health & Safety Policy, the practice Health & Safety Manual, and the practice Infection Control policy and published procedures. This will include:
- Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines
- Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks.
- Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills.
- Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards
- Actively reporting of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
- Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas generally clean, assisting in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness consistent with the scope of the job holder’s role
- Undertaking periodic infection control training (minimum annually)
- Reporting potential risks identified
Equality and Diversity
The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers, and colleagues, to include:
- Acting in a way that recognizes the importance of people’s rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current legislation.
- Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues.
- Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.
Personal/Professional Development
The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, such training to include:
- Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development.
- Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.
Quality
The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will:
- Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk.
- Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision
- Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the team’s performance.
- Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients’ needs.
- Effectively manage own time, workload and resources
Communication
The post-holder should recognize the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:
- Communicate effectively with other team members.
- Communicate effectively with patients and carers.
- Recognize people’s needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly.
Contribution to the Implementation of Services
The post-holder will:
- Apply practice policies, standards and guidance.
- Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work.
- Participate in audit where appropriate.
This job description should be regarded only as a guideline to the duties required and is not definitive or restrictive.
Person Specification
Essential
· Good standard of general education, with GCSE English and Maths (Grade C/4 or above) or equivalent.
· Experience of working in NHS primary care or a similar healthcare environment.
· Experience of working in a busy, high-pressure environment and managing a high volume of work.
· Proven ability to prioritise, organise and manage competing demands.
· Ability to maintain oversight of a busy workflow, identify developing pressures or delays and take appropriate action.
· Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the confidence to communicate effectively with GPs and other clinical and non-clinical colleagues.
· Good judgement and the ability to recognise when issues need to be escalated.
· Strong IT skills and the ability to learn and confidently use clinical and administrative systems.
· Excellent attention to detail and accuracy.
· Ability to work independently, use initiative and take responsibility for own workload.
· Ability to work effectively as part of a wider team.
· Calm, flexible and positive approach, with the ability to respond to changing demands and priorities.
Desirable
· Previous experience of triage coordination, care navigation or patient access within primary care.
· Understanding of primary care appointment systems, clinical capacity and patient pathways.
· Experience using EMIS Web, AccuRx and Docman.
· Knowledge of medical terminology.
· Experience of coordinating or overseeing a busy administrative workflow.
Application question(s):
*
1. What interests you in this role?
2. What experience do you have in administration (if any)?
3. What skills in particular do you think you would bring to this role?
4. Have you worked in a GP Practice or NHS setting before?
5. The salary for this role is dependent on experience. could you please confirm your salary expectations (full-time equivalent).
6. This is a fully in-person role based in Oxford. Please confirm how you could reliably attend each day.
Work Location: In person
