Job description
Job Title: Care Navigator
Salary: £25,029 -25,811 FTE
Hours: The position will be 28.5 hours per week, worked over Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Shifts fall within a working window of approximately 07:45 to 18:30 across those days. Depending on recruitment, hours may be split across more than one post-holder.
Location: Framlingham Medical Practice and branch site at Earl Soham
Job Summary
Care Navigators are the first point of contact for patients and visitors to the practice – by phone, in person and through online systems. The role is central to how the practice functions day to day and requires someone who is calm, organised and genuinely committed to helping patients access the right care.
You will provide a courteous, efficient and helpful service to patients and colleagues, support clinical and administrative teams with a range of tasks, and help ensure the smooth running of the practice across all sites.
Key Responsibilities
Anima and Clinical Workflow
- Assist patients contacting the practice by telephone or in person to submit requests through Anima, ensuring information is recorded clearly and accurately
- Explain the Anima process to patients who are unfamiliar with it, supporting them to use the system with confidence
- Take turns supporting the duty GP as part of the Care Navigation team, facilitating the smooth management of the Anima workflow
- Signpost patients to the appropriate service or clinician where Anima is not the right route, including services provided through the wider health and care system
Patient Contact and Reception
- Be the first point of contact for patients attending or contacting the practice, responding to all queries with courtesy and efficiency
- Answer telephone calls promptly and politely, taking accurate messages and directing calls appropriately
- Greet patients on arrival, assist with self-check-in and collect any information required for their consultation
- Record requests for home visits accurately, ensuring all necessary details are captured
- Handle patient concerns and complaints calmly and professionally, following practice protocols
Administrative Support
- Use SystmOne and other practice systems to manage appointments, patient records, repeat prescription requests and other administrative tasks
- Support new patient registrations, including inputting data onto the clinical system
- Prepare and process correspondence and other patient-related documents as directed by clinicians
- Send out letters and other routine communications in line with practice processes
Team and Practice Support
- Work flexibly across all practice sites as required
- Provide cover for colleagues during periods of absence or at busy times
- Assist with opening and closing procedures across sites
- Keep reception and waiting areas tidy
- Attend team meetings and participate in annual appraisal
- Undertake any other duties appropriate to the role as requested by your line manager
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 will have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to Suffolk Primary Care 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 Suffolk Primary Care may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with Suffolk Primary Care 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 Suffolk Primary Care’s Health & Safety Policy, to include:
- Using personal security systems within the workplace according to Suffolk Primary Care 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 Suffolk Primary Care 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 Suffolk Primary Care 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
- Monthly training sessions as necessary
Quality
The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within Suffolk Primary Care, 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
- Recognise people’s needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly
Contribution to the Implementation of Services
The post-holder will:
- Apply Suffolk Primary Care 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
Equal Opportunities
Suffolk Primary Care is an equal opportunities employer and you will be expected to comply with all relevant policies and procedures
Right to work
All applicants must have the legal right to work in the United Kingdom at the time of application and throughout the duration of employment. This includes holding a valid visa or immigration status that permits employment in the UK, if applicable.
Suffolk Primary Care is unable to employ or continue to employ individuals who do not have, or are unable to provide evidence of, their right to work in the UK.
Code of Conduct
All staff are required to work in accordance with the code of conduct for their professional group (e.g. Nursing and Midwifery Council, Health Professions Council, General Medical Council, NHS Code of Conduct for Senior Managers).
Infection control
It is the responsibility of all staff, whether clinical or non-clinical, to familiarise themselves with and adhere to current policy in relation to the prevention of the spread of infection.
Clinical staff, on entering and leaving clinical areas and between contacts with patients, must apply alcohol gel to their hands and also wash their hands frequently with soap and water. Staff are required to communicate any infection risks to the Infection Control lead.
Complaints
From time to time, complaints may occur, no matter how professional the approach of our staff. All complaints are investigated promptly, and the full co-operation of staff is required. The current guidelines amplify the above points with policies and procedures explained.
Clinical Governance and Risk management
Suffolk Primary Care believes everyone has a role to play in improving and contributing to the quality of care provided to our patients. As an employee of the practice you are expected to take a proactive role in supporting Suffolk Primary Care’s clinical governance agenda by:
- Taking part in activities for improving quality such as clinical audit
- Identifying and managing risks through incident and near miss reporting and undertaking risk assessments
- Following polices, guidelines and procedures
- Maintaining continued professional development
- Clinical staff making entries into patient health records are required to follow any Suffolk Primary Care standards of record keeping
Information Quality Assurance
As an employee of Suffolk Primary Care it is expected that you will take due diligence and care in regard to any information collected, recorded, processed or handled by you during the course of your work and that such information is collected, recorded, processed and handled in compliance with Suffolk Primary Care requirements and instructions.
Freedom of Information
The post holder should be aware of the responsibility placed on employees under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and is responsible for helping to ensure that Suffolk Primary Care complies with the Act when handling or dealing with any information relating to Suffolk Primary Care activity.
Person Specification – Care Navigator
Essential
Qualifications and Experience
- Experience in a busy customer-facing or administrative role, where dealing with people and managing competing demands was a core part of the job
- Confident using the telephone and computers and standard office equipment; able to pick up new systems and processes without difficulty
Skills and Abilities
- Listens carefully and records information accurately. This is central to how the role functions
- Communicates clearly and professionally, both face to face and on the telephone
- Calm and measured when dealing with difficult or distressing situations
- Organised and reliable, with a consistent approach to work
- Able to manage a busy workload and prioritise sensibly when demands compete
Personal Attributes
- Warm and approachable with patients, carers and colleagues
- Takes their responsibilities seriously and follows things through
- Maintains strict confidentiality as a matter of course
- Flexible in relation to working hours and across sites
- Works well as part of a team and supports their colleagues day to day
Desirable
- Previous experience in an NHS or primary care setting
- Familiarity with SystmOne or a similar clinical system
- Experience of Anima or a similar online consultation or workflow tool
- Understanding of local health and care services and how they fit together
- Experience working in an environment where priorities shift and adaptability is required
Pay: £25,029.00-£25,811.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company events
- Company pension
- Employee discount
- Free parking
- On-site parking
- Sick pay
- Store discount
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Framlingham IP13: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Experience:
- receptionist : 1 year (preferred)
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person
