PATIENT ADVISOR JOB ADVERT AND DESCRIPTION
Hours – 15 - 22.5 hours per week (2 or 3 days a week)
Shift Patterns – Working between 10:30am and 6:30pm. Monday to Friday, with some Saturdays for extended hours. Days defined by a rota.
Locations – Water Eaton Health Centre and Whaddon Medical Centre
Salary – Based on experience
Practice Overview
Whaddon Healthcare is an innovative, well established CQC rated Outstanding GP Practice which also provides a range of specialist Community Services including Cardiology, Respiratory, Gynaecology and BLMK Long Covid Service.
We work over 2 purpose-built sites in Bletchley with a list size of 21,500 and growing.
You will be working with a large and friendly team.
Job Summary
The Patient Advisor acts as the first point of contact for patients, providing a courteous, efficient, and empathetic service at all times. The role supports the wider practice team to ensure that patients receive high-quality, safe, and accessible care.
The post-holder will welcome and assist patients, manage enquiries, operate telephony, and triage systems, complete key administrative tasks, and contribute to the smooth day-to-day running of the practice.
Patient Advisor Reception Duties
The duties of the role are detailed below:
1. Receiving and Directing Patients
- Receive and direct patients on arrival at the reception desk in a friendly and courteous manner, ensuring their requirements are met professionally and efficiently.
- Provide help to patients with general enquiries, and assist them to make appointments, using the online appointment system.
- Receive, record, and accurately pass on messages via email or the clinical system.
- Answer telephone calls promptly in a polite and professional directing callers as appropriate.
- Provide clear information about practice procedures, appointment systems, and accessing services.
- Advise patients on approximate waiting times and of any unexpected delays.
- Book patient transport when the patient is unable to do so.
- Book interpreters for patients when needed.
- To take in fees from patients where applicable and issue receipts.
- To give patients any forms / referral letters that are waiting for collection checking ID.
- Receive and appropriately escalate patient concerns or complaints while maintaining empathy and professionalism.
2. Operation of Telephone and Triage System (SystmConnect)
- Answer incoming calls and make outgoing calls as required.
- Assist patients via the patient triage system.
- Ensure phones are answered promptly monitoring the incoming calls.
- Ensure that system is operational at the beginning of each day.
3. Administrative Duties
- Register new patients, ensuring accurate data entry onto the clinical system.
- Update patient contact details and ensure records remain accurate.
- To post outgoing letters at the end of each shift.
- To undertake photocopying as needed, including photocopying patients’ notes when required.
- Call patients for recall and data collection purposes and correctly record data in patient’s medical record.
- Ensuring that there is always a supply of the practice leaflet available at reception.
- Make up registration packs (GMS1 & New Patient Health Check Form).
- Complete tasks via SystmOne or relevant clinical/document systems.
- Complete tasks assigned via reception clipboard.
- Email referrals and support the referral process as requested by clinical team.
4. Patient Records
- To assist with tagging of new patients’ medical records prior to summarisation.
- Request missing medical records from patient services when required.
- To assist with the scanning of patient related documents during busy periods.
5. Start and End of Day Procedures
- Prepare the reception area for opening, ensuring systems and spaces are ready for patient arrival.
- Keep reception and waiting areas clean, tidy, and presentable throughout the day.
- Update staff room allocation boards for the following day.
- Secure practice premises at closing, ensuring all doors, windows, and lights are safely managed.
6. General Tasks
- Always maintain strict confidentiality.
- Chaperone support when requested.
- Support colleagues and contribute to positive teamwork.
- To attend team meetings when scheduled.
- To participate in appraisals and PDP (Personal Development Plan) and team training opportunities.
- Help cover colleagues’ duties during absence, increased workload, or operational needs.
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, to 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
- 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 recognises 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.
- Online Mandatory Training
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 recognise the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:
- Communicate effectively with other team members
- Communicate effectively with patients and carers
- Recognise people’s needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly.
Please note, changes in government policy may result in a change in working hours or assigned duties.
Person Specification
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Excellent communication skills, both face-to-face and over the telephone.
- Sensitivity, tact, and diplomacy when dealing with patients, colleagues, and external agencies.
- Self-motivated with a high level of personal integrity.
- Well, organised with strong attention to detail.
- Reliable with a strong work ethic.
- Flexible and adaptable to changing demands and priorities.
- Able to work independently and on own initiative.
- Committed to always maintaining strict confidentiality.
- Able to remain calm and professional under pressure.
- Strong time management skills with the ability to meet deadlines.
- Capable of multitasking and prioritising workload effectively
Desirable
- Experience working within a fast-paced healthcare or customer service environment.
Skills
Essential
- Computer literate with good working knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word and Excel).
- Accurate and efficient administrative skills.
- Good standard of education (GCSE level or NVQ Level 2 or equivalent).
Desirable
- Knowledge of clinical systems such as SystmOne or SystmConnect.
- Knowledge of surgery connect.
- Knowledge of Accurx
- Administrative qualification.
- Full UK Driving Licence.
Experience
Essential
- Previous reception, administrative or call centre experience.
- Experience working in a public-facing role.
- Experience using database systems.
Desirable
- Previous experience working within a GP Practice or healthcare organisation.
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Free parking
- On-site parking
- Sick pay
Education:
- GCSE or equivalent (required)
Experience:
- Reception/Call Centre: 1 year (required)
- Microsoft Package: 1 year (required)
- Public face to face Customer Service: 1 year (required)
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person
