Job Description

Middlewood Partnership is a GP Practice and Primary Care Network of 34,500 patients, established in April 2019.

We operate from 4 sites across Cheshire - Bollington, Disley and Poynton and we are looking for an enthusiastic individual who shares our values and has the energy and skills contribute to shaping how we deliver care for the future, to join the Middlewood Partnership as a Patient Services Advisor. This is a unique opportunity to be part of, and contribute to, the development of a new and innovative primary care organisation.

Full time or part time hours may be available. Candidates must understand that whilst this post may primarily be based at one base, flexibility will be required to work from any of the Middlewood practice bases (Poynton/Bollington/Disley), according to business need. Working hours may be variable, with the working week being organised according to a rota. Hours will be notified in advance on a monthly basis.

The purpose of this role is to be a trusted, caring, and informative person to/for our patients when they require access to our services or support. In doing this you will be the main point of contact between doctors, patients, and other medical colleagues. You will also provide support services to all members of the Practice team across our sites, including a range of administrative tasks relating to care, record keeping and communication. You will be working in our reception and office areas to ensure the smooth & efficient flow of work.

Job summary

To provide a caring, informative, and professional service to patients and others with regard to appointments, queries and other information supporting the all-round care that patients receive at our surgeries.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

Applicants with a disability, who meet the minimum criteria for the job they are applying for, will be guaranteed an interview. Suitable candidates must indicate in their application that they wish their application to be considered under the scheme (if applicable)

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Job Title:

Patient Services Advisor

Based:

Middlewood (Cheshire based villages of Poynton / Bollington / Disley)

Accountable to:

The Middlewood Partners

Reports to:

Patient Services Lead

Hours:

Full time / Part time

Salary / Hourly Rate:

12.21 per hour

Type of position:

Permanent

Would you like to work in a friendly & supportive environment alongside dedicated and caring people? If yes, then please read on.

Our team of Patient Services Advisors support the people of the communities of Bollington, Disley and Poynton, with the full range of services you would expect from your GP surgery, and more. We are investing in our team and organisation, with a new team structure focused on great people.

As one of our Patient Services Advisors, put simply, what you bring will be integrity, kindness, and teamwork, as well as your skills to support our patients and the team. Working in our Partnership offers great life experience, an opportunity to learn about medicine, health, and wellbeing in the broadest possible sense, as well as the functions of a successful organisation. Learning and a sense of accomplishment for doing valuable work are a given here.

Main duties of the job

The purpose of this role is to be a trusted, caring, and informative person to/for our patients when they require access to our services or support. In doing this you will be the main point of contact between doctors, patients, and other medical colleagues. You will also provide support services to all members of the Practice team across our sites, including a range of administrative tasks relating to care, record keeping and communication. You will be working in our reception and office areas to ensure the smooth & efficient flow of work.

About us

We are an organisation of approximately 160 people working in four surgeries and we are lucky to have a team of dedicated, friendly clinical staff along with a fantastic support team. We merged to become the Middlewood Partnership 4 years ago and love what we do and the organisation we have created.

The Patient Services Advisor Team is at the heart of our practices and our care. You will play a key role in supporting our patient population and work closely with all members of the practice including our team of nurses and other healthcare professionals. You will also liaise and build relationships with colleagues across all our four practices and the wider community.

Our People

We are a supportive, friendly, and hardworking team who care about the people in the community we serve as well as each other. We know the work can be challenging, and we support people when they need it the most. We chip in to support and help each other and are there for one another when needed. We feel our work is very rewarding - we care for and serve the community, we get to know people as individuals, and we make a difference to their health and life.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

To provide a caring, informative, and professional service to patients and others with regard to appointments, queries and other information supporting the all-round care that patients receive at our surgeries.

Key tasks include:

Booking patient appointments with GPs or other health professionals using the practice appointments system

Supporting patients in accessing our on-line digital request system

Explaining practice arrangements to new patients who register with the practice both on a permanent and a temporary basis

Responding and helping with all queries and requests for assistance from patients and other visitors.

Being positive and supportive and treating everyone with dignity and respect.

Directing enquiries to the appropriate people and understanding and managing patient expectations through effective questioning.

Chaperoning during clinical consultations, as required following training and support

Sometimes there can be difficult conversations and part of the role will be handling these situations in a calm and professional manner with support from colleagues.

Being responsible, alongside colleagues, for opening and closing procedures for the surgery following suitable training

Responding to all general patient enquiries and following and directing patients through our practice processes and procedures. This includes but is not limited to; new patient registrations, requests for patient access, repeat prescription requests, requests for patient information such as Subject Access Requests and receiving samples from patients.

Ensuring that colleagues are provided with any information about any unresolved or urgent matters either using the message book or internal email.

Prioritise workload according to daily requirements, through consultation with the Reception Manager and other team members.

Keeping all areas in the surgery tidy especially the reception and waiting room areas.

Ensuring that all outgoing patient correspondence is filed in order ready for collection.

Taking payments and issuing receipts for non-NHS work where appropriate.

To ensure that all patient records are kept up to date within the remit of the role.

To ensure that our strict confidentiality guidelines are adhered to

To ensure that all equipment in the reception area is working before the start of the session, and during a shift, reporting any faults as and when discovered, to the Practice Operational Manager.

To use all IT systems to enhance communication to patients

To carry out any duties that maybe necessary to assist with the smooth running of the surgery

Flexibility is essential to cover for annual leave, absence, and all other instances

Data & IT Skills

Effective use of reception computer systems

MPS phone system - receive, transfer, hold calls and change system settings

EMIS Clinical System - cancel and edit appointments. Send patient linked messages. Issuing prescriptions. Investigating patient notes. Logging and linking on patient records

Docman - opening and responding to messages

Teamnet - effective use and knowledge of Partnership intranet system

Patchs - respond to and direct patient requests appropriately

Safeguarding

All employees have a duty and a responsibility to protect adults at risk and to safeguard children. The post holder should have an understanding of the important role all staff have in fulfilling their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding.

Quality

The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the Partnership, and will:

Actively participate in meetings with your line manager as appropriate, to review and take responsibility for personal/team performance, learning and development.

Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities, making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance team performance, and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.

Actively participate in the Partnership's appraisal scheme, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development.

Undertake training as required including mandatory and statutory training, core skills training and on-going developmental training.

Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk.

Work effectively with external agencies to meet patients' needs.

Effectively manage own time, workload, and resources.

Provide a high standard of professional conduct.

Behave with integrity at all times, showing respect to others and to the organisation.

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

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 Partnership infection control policy and published procedures. This will include:

Using personal security systems within the workplace according to Partnership 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, free from hazards.

Actively reporting 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.

Demonstrate due regard for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

Confidentiality

While 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 Partnership 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.

Information Governance

The Partnership is registered under the Data Protection Act 2018. The post holder will comply with the Data Protection Act and the Access to Health Records Act and with the Partnership policies regarding information governance at all times. You must not at any time use the personal data held by the practice for a purpose not described in the Register entry or disclose such data to a third party. If you are in any doubt regarding what you should and should not do in connection with the Data Protection Act, then you must contact the Caldicott Guardian.

Communication

The post-holder will 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.

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 Partnership procedures and policies, and current legislation.

Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues.

Behaving in a manner that is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.

This job description is intended to provide an outline of the key tasks and responsibilities only. There may be other duties required of the post holder commensurate with the position. The responsibilities may be amended, after discussion with the post holder, to take into account the development of both the post and the practice. All members of staff should be prepared to take on additional duties or relinquish existing duties in order to maintain the effective running of the practice.

Person Specification

Education and Training

Essential:
Good standard of education with excellent literacy and numeracy skills

Excellent keyboard and word processing skills

Knowledge and experience

Essential:
Experience of working with the general public
Experience of working in a team
Experience of working closely with colleagues, managers and clinicians
Knowledge and experience of conflict management
Desirable:
Experience of working in a healthcare setting
Knowledge of Clinical Systems
Knowledge and experience of safeguarding

Skills

Essential:

Excellent communication skills and interpersonal skills

Demonstrable IT skills including word processing, emails and the internet

Telephone switchboard operational skills

Proven problem solving and organisational skills

Ability to maintain a positive work environment

Demonstrable attention to detail

The ability to build relations with key internal and external colleagues

Excellent time management skills

Aptitude

Essential:
Ability to listen and empathise with people
Sensible and able to use own initiative
Demonstrates honesty and integrity and promotes organisational values
An ability to maintain confidentiality and trust
Ability to work under pressure
Proven team worker with ability to motivate others
Able to demonstrate emotional resilience
Able to demonstrate flexibility, enthusiasm and commitment
Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk

Qualities and Attributes

Essential:
Access to own transport and ability to travel across the locality

Full job description and person-spec available on request

Job Types: Full-time, Part-time

Pay: 12.21 per hour

Schedule:

Day shift Monday to Friday No weekends
Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 18/05/2025