Patient Access Clerk

Breast and Endocrine Surgery are looking to recruit a full-time Patient Access Clerk on a permanent basis to join our busy team. The post holder is responsible as part of a team for providing a dedicated and comprehensive administration and reception service for Outpatients within the Trust using Partial and Full booking processes. The post holder will act as the first point of contact for all Outpatient enquiries from internal and external customers at all levels. A significant responsibility of the role is to accurately record information using relevant Trust paper and computer based systems., Applicants will be well-motivated and flexible individuals who can work on their own initiative. You will be an efficient team player who can work to deadlines in a demanding environment and portray a professional image at all times You will be expected to provide an effective customer focused service in line with the Trust's 'First Impression' Standards and be able to demonstrate confident communication and interpersonal skills The range of duties may include routine reception duties, preparation of medical notes for outpatient clinics and the booking of outpatient appointments. Keyboard skills are essential Uniforms will be provided where necessary, however all successful candidates will be required to present a smart and professional image in line with the Trust's Uniform and Dress Code Policy Full Time position at 37.5hours per week (08:30 - 17:00 Monday to Friday, 1 evening clinic (on rotation) to 20:00 We may hold other high scoring applicants on the reserve list for 3 months with applicants consent., The post holder has responsibility to undertake the full range of duties commensurate with the role (booking/ reception / patient reminder/ general) and shall as necessary be flexible in providing cover for absent colleagues in order to maintain service provision. The post holder shall follow all the policies and procedures of the organisation. Booking of appointments Liaise with secretaries and admin departments regarding booking of appointments, referral letters etc. Using the PAS and CRIS systems, in chronological order, invite patients and book appointments as appropriate. Manage appointment slot issues in line with local/national standard operating procedures; refer to line manager any issues which jeopardise 18 week pathway. To process and prioritise the scheduling of outpatient appointments due to clinical urgency and length of wait and in accordance with departmental procedures, protocols and Trust Policies. Receive and process telephone calls from relatives/carers of patients informing the Trust of the patient's death and amend PAS accordingly. This may require sensitive handling. Telephone patients to negotiate convenient outpatient appointments or receive calls from patients/relevant others (e.g. Other Hospitals) regarding booking, changing or cancelling their appointments. This involves identifying the correct appointment, clinic, session and doctor code to which the caller is referring and rescheduling or cancelling the appointment as appropriate. Inform the appropriate Consultant/ Directorate/secretarial staff of patients who have cancelled their appointment inappropriately e.g. urgent appointments. Receive and process telephone calls from patients to update and amend their demographic details and make the necessary changes on the PAS system. Contact GP Practices/other Hospitals for validation of patient demographic details and to obtain information if required e.g. copy letters, NHS Number etc. In accordance with Trust procedures, open suspended clinics, add on patients and re-suspend clinic ensuring appropriate comments are recorded on PAS. On the instruction and authorisation of the Consultant/Clinician, overbook clinics ensuring authority to do so is recorded on PAS. Working with guidance from clinical staff/secretaries, pro-actively fill cancelled appointment slots with patients to minimise the impact of non-attenders. Offer patients a mutually convenient date and time for outpatient appointments on either a full or partial booking basis in accordance with local standard operating procedures. Remind patients of their appointments via letter, text, voicemail, email or telephone call to reconfirm attendance in line with departmental protocols. Produce and manage daily reports in line with patient reminder systems to ensure patient information is kept updated. Contact patients as requested in order to cancel/reschedule their appointments. Inform line manager of any system or appointment slot issues. Reception of patients Undertake reception duties in a professional, pleasant, tactful and understanding manner. Greet patients upon arrival, check demographic information is up to date on PAS and arrive patient on system. On instruction from clinical staff distribute tea/coffee vouchers where appropriate. Update information on patient display screen within reception area. Assist patients and visitors with any problems that may arise during their visit. Act as the first point of contact for all enquiries presenting in the reception area. Exercise judgement when problems arise by taking appropriate action to resolve the problem or refer on to the appropriate person. Attempt to diffuse difficult situations with angry or distressed patients/visitors and when unable to do so contact the appropriate manager or clinical staff for support. Arrange and book interpreters for patients attending clinics as required. Advise patients/visitors of any identified delays that occur and explain to individuals why other patients may have to be seen sooner. During the clinic session, liaise with all clinical staff to ensure the smooth running of the clinic. Process daily clinic activities as per procedures including; printing the clinic booking summary, the booking of appointments, completion of appointment cards, production of appointment letters, discharging patients, recording arrival/departure times, recording ethnicity/transgender information, liaising with clinical/directorate staff regarding next available appointment and entering relevant data regarding patient appointment into PAS system. Provide advice/guidance in relation to Friends & Family testing / Consent for Consent. Complete clinic outcome forms in a timely manner preferably during clinic session. Direct patients to other areas/departments within the Trust using experiential knowledge. Issue travel expenses claim forms to patients upon request, ensuring details entered upon the form align with the information recorded on the PAS system. In the event of a discrepancy, refer to General Office. Prepare scanning folders for outpatient clinics following trust procedures and protocols. Receive patient identifiable information via fax/email. Print ID sheets/labels as necessary., 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.

Essential criteria

• Educated to GCSE standard with 4 GCSE's at level A-C (or equivalent)
Desirable criteria
• ECDL, CLAIT or IBT qualification
• Registration with and/or working towards records management or legislative qualification e.g. ISEB, DPA, IHRIM, BCS, Records Management Society etc., Experience working with the public/patients
• Clerical experience with the ability to undertake duties including filing, photocopying, scanning, data entry, faxing, email etc.
Desirable criteria
• Experience working in a hospital or NHS environment
• Experienced user of a patient administration system (PAS), Awareness of legislation, standards and guidelines relating to records and information
• Knowledge of health records processes or systems, Accurate keyboard skills
• Ability to use own initiative
• Ability to work to deadlines
• Team player, Physically able to perform the duties of the post
• Ability to travel to any Trust site as required
• Courteous, polite and of smart appearance
  
  Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust comprises Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital & Royal Liverpool University Hospital.
We are part of NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, formed on 1 Nov 2024 from the coming together of LUHFT and Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust. The Group was born from a shared aim to improve the care we provide our patients. UHLG is one of the largest employers in the region, with over 16,800 colleagues dedicated to caring for our communities - from birth and beyond. For the 630,000 people across Merseyside, we are their local NHS. We provide general and emergency hospital care, alongside highly specialised regional services for more than two million people in the North West. Aintree University Hospital is the single receiving site for adult major trauma patients in Cheshire and Merseyside and hosts a number of regional services including an award-winning stroke facility. Broadgreen Hospital is home to elective surgical, diagnostic and treatment services, together with specialist patient rehabilitation. Liverpool Women's Hospital specialises in the health of women and babies, delivering over 7,200 babies in the UK's largest single site maternity hospital each year. The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is the largest hospital in the country to provide inpatients with 100% single bedrooms and focuses on complex planned care and specialist services.

Note: Under current Home Office Immigration Rules we are currently unable to offer right to work visa sponsorship for Band 2 and 3 roles with a salary of less than £25,000 pa as they do not meet the UK Visas & Immigration criteria. Only those applicants who demonstrate clearly how they meet our person specification will be shortlisted for interview. We reserve the right to close any vacancies from further applications when we have received a minimum number of applications from which to make a shortlist. Please ensure you apply without delay if you wish to be considered for this role. Candidates applying for the role of Healthcare Assistant on the staff bank should note that due to the nature of the role, workers must be aged 18 or above when commencing in post. Applicants are therefore welcome from those aged over 18 or within 3 months' of their 18^th birthday. The Trust is committed to promoting a healthy work-life balance and achieve fair, equitable and consistent practice. We welcome flexible working requests and will consider a variety of flexible working arrangements from day one of your employment. Not all roles are suitable for every flexible working opportunity all of the time. Flexible working options may include reduced hours, compressed hours, fixed shifts, time back in lieu and home working. The Trust is committed to promoting equality and diversity; we value the contribution of individual talent, skills, knowledge and experience and aim for a workforce demography representative of the local community. We encourage applicants from the following groups that are currently under-represented in our workforce black, Asian and minority ethnic, lesbian, gay, bisexual and Transgender (LGBTQ+), disabled, male and age 16-24. Trust policy requires that the cost of submitting & processing the successful applicant/s DBS application be recovered via salary deduction following start in post. The amount of £26.50 (standard disclosure) or £54.50 (enhanced disclosure) will be deducted from salary, in manageable monthly instalments for up to 3 months following commencement of employment. Bank posts require upfront payment. From April 2017, Skilled visa applicants and their adult dependant(s) will be required to provide a criminal record certificate from each country they have lived in consecutively for 12 months or more in the past ten years. Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa. This organisation has a zero-tolerance approach to the abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All staff must ensure they adhere to the organisations safeguarding children and adults' policy and comply with the Local Safeguarding Children and Adult Board procedures. Staff should be mindful of their responsibility to safeguard children and adults in any activity performed on behalf of the organisation in line with the requirements of statutory guidance and legislation. All employees (and volunteers)are expected maintain their safeguarding knowledge and skills by completing mandatory safeguarding training which includes understanding and recognising the signs of abuse and neglect and taking appropriate action. As an organisation, we have adopted the Merseyside Domestic abuse workplace scheme which supports our staff who are experiencing Domestic Abuse /any forms of sexual violence. If you have any personal requirements that will enable you to participate in our recruitment process please contact a member of the Recruitment Services by phone on at the earliest opportunity to ensure that measures can be put in place to enable your application for this post. Please note: new entrants to the NHS will commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.