Job Description

Dr Haque's and Dr Islam are recruiting for a new Medical Receptionist to support the practice clinical team by undertaking reception duties, signposting patients to the appropriate healthcare professional or service and supporting the administrative team in delivering a polite and professional service to the practice patient population.

The Medical Receptionist plays a key role as a member of the medical reception team in providing efficient, helpful and sympathetic care to Practice patients, developing skills in equating practice protocol with patient's demands. Through sensible use of initiative, flexible approach and working to consistent high standards of accuracy, he/she will provide valuable help and support to the Partners and all colleagues in the Primary Health Care team. You will be expected to manage, plan and prioritise tasks efficiently and effectively to achieve and maintain a high standard of patient care.

Mission statement

Dr Haque's & Dr Islam's is a small GP practice based in South Shields with a branch surgery at Flagg Court with a patient population of approximately 4,600 patients. Our team consists of three GP partners, two Nurse Practitioners, one Practice Nurse, Health Care Assistant and a GPA (General Practice Assistant). Our clinicians are closely supported by an excellent Administration/Reception and management team. We strive to deliver the highest standard of patient care and maintain good working relationships with external services.

Generic responsibilities

All staff at Dr Haque's & Dr Islam have a duty to conform to the following:

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

A good attitude and positive action towards Equality Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I) creates an environment where all individuals can achieve their full potential. Creating such an environment is important for three reasons - it improves operational effectiveness; it is morally the right thing to do, and it is required by law.

Patients and their families have the right to be treated fairly and be routinely involved in decisions about their treatment and care. They can expect to be treated with dignity and respect and will not be discriminated against on any grounds including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion, or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

Patients have a responsibility to treat other patients and our staff with dignity and respect.

Staff have the right to be treated fairly in recruitment and career progression. Staff can expect to work in an environment where diversity is valued, and equality of opportunity is promoted. Staff will not be discriminated against on any grounds including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion, or belief, sex, or sexual orientation. Staff have a responsibility to ensure that they treat our patients and their colleagues with dignity and respect.

Safety, Health, Environment and Fire (SHEF)

The practice is committed to supporting and promoting opportunities for staff to maintain their health, wellbeing, and safety. All employees have a duty to take reasonable care of health and safety at work for themselves, their team, and others and to cooperate with employers to ensure compliance with health and safety requirements.

All personnel are to comply with the:

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974,

Environmental Protection Act 1990,

Environment Act 1995,

Fire Precautions (workplace) Regulations 1999

Coronavirus Act 2020

Other statutory legislation

Confidentiality

The practice is committed to maintaining an outstanding confidential service. Patients entrust and permit us to collect and retain sensitive information relating to their health and other matters pertaining to their care. They do so in confidence and have a right to expect all staff will respect their privacy and maintain confidentiality.

It is essential that, if the legal requirements are to be met and the trust of our patients is to be retained, all staff must protect patient information and provide a confidential service.

Quality and Continuous Improvement (CI)

To preserve and improve the quality of the practice's outputs, all employees are required to think not only of what they do but how they achieve it. By continually re-examining our processes, we will be able to develop and improve the overall effectiveness of the way we work. The responsibility for this rests with everyone working within the practice to look for opportunities to improve quality and share good practice and to discuss, highlight and work with the team to create opportunities to improve patient care.

Induction

At Dr Haque's & Dr Islam's, you will be required to complete an induction on your first day of employment.

Learning and development

The effective use of training and development is fundamental in ensuring that all staff are equipped with the appropriate skills, knowledge, attitude, and competences to perform their role. All staff will be required to partake in, and complete mandatory training as directed by their line manager.

Collaborative working

All staff are to recognise the significance of collaborative working and understand their own role and scope and identify how this may develop over time. Staff are to prioritise their own workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are embedded within the culture of the team.

Teamwork is essential in multidisciplinary environments and the post holder is to work as an effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploring the mechanisms to develop new ways of working and work effectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon care delivery

Effective communication is essential, and all staff must ensure they communicate in a manner which enables the sharing of information in an appropriate manner.

Managing information

All staff should use technology and appropriate software as an aid to management in the planning, implementation and monitoring of care and presenting and communicating information. Data should be reviewed and processed using accurate SNOMED/read codes to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes.

Service delivery

Staff will be given detailed information during the induction process regarding policy and procedure.

The post holder must adhere to the information contained within the practice policies and ensuring protocols are always adhered to.

Security

The security of the practice is the responsibility of all personnel. The post holder must ensure they always remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity immediately to their line manager.

Under no circumstances are staff to share the codes for the door locks with anyone and are to ensure that restricted areas remain effectively secured. Likewise, password controls are to be maintained and are not to be shared.

Professional conduct

All staff are required to wear uniforms provided for their role.

Primary responsibilities

The following are the core responsibilities of the Medical Receptionist. There may be, on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent on factors such as workload and staffing levels:

Process and effectively signpost patients to the appropriate healthcare professional depending on the presenting condition

Answer incoming phone calls, transferring calls or dealing with the callers' requests appropriately

Process patient requests for appointments

Process repeat prescription requests

Action incoming emails and correspondence as necessary

Initiate contact with and respond to requests from patients, team members and external agencies

Enter read code data on EMIS Web

Photocopy documentation as required

Data entry of new and temporary registrations and relevant patient information as required

Input data into the patients' healthcare records as necessary

Direct requests for information, e.g., SAR, insurance/solicitors' letters and DVLA forms, to the administrative team

Manage all queries as necessary in an efficient manner

Scan patient-related documentation and attach scanned documents to patients' healthcare records

Maintain a clean, tidy, effective working area at all times

Monitor and maintain the reception area and noticeboards

Support all clinical staff with general tasks as requested

Undertake all mandatory training and induction programmes

Attend a formal appraisal with their manager at least every 12 months. Once a performance/training objective has been set, progress will be reviewed on a regular basis so that new objectives can be agreed

Job Type: Part-time

Benefits:

Free flu jabs Free parking Health & wellbeing programme On-site parking Sick pay Transport links
Schedule:

Monday to Friday
Ability to commute/relocate:

South Shields: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (preferred)
Education:

GCSE or equivalent (preferred)
Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 05/06/2025
Reference ID: MR/JM005