Access Booking Officer | Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

The post will be responsible for the day to day co-ordination of various Consultant outpatient appointments, involving allocation of patients to the Consultants clinics based on clinical priority, waiting times as well as general admin duties., · Toprovideacomprehensiveinpatient andoutpatientservicetoPatients within the Spinal Injuries Unit

· Tobenamedcontact pointliaisingwithpatients, relativesand/orcarersaswell asmedical representatives, GP's, nursingstaff, surgicalteam, andsupport servicestoensuretheoutpatient serviceisappropriatelyplannedand managed. This can be face to face, over the telephone, in writing or electronic.

· Accurateadditionofpatientstothepartial booking and surgicalwaitinglistensuringanyrelevantnotesrecorded.

· Toprovideadvicetopatientswithmattersrelatingtotheir appointments andwith regard to their position on the waiting list.

· Ensure that with effective planning and organisation, the outpatient clinics are utilised to their maximum potential which requires taking in to account specific patient needs, cancelling/rescheduling patients, replacing short noticecancellations,liaisingwiththeclinical teamstoensureappropriate booking of patients.

· Responsibleforcommunicatinginformationandchangesrelatingtoelectiveadmissions, theatrelistsetcwith regards intended procedures, specific kit requirements, specific anaesthetic input to relevant staff Trustwide.

· Identify, attempt to resolve, and pre-empt situations which may result in a breach of access targets. Regularly analysewaitinglistinformationtoensurecompliance withnational waitingtimestandardsandescalateinatimely manner any requirements for additional capacity to ensure patients are treated within waiting time standards.

· Toworkflexiblyaccordingtotheneedsoftheserviceincludingcoveringforreceptioncolleaguesduringperiodsofleave.

· Ensurethatallpatientsareplacedon Careflow and Bluespeir(theatresystem)assoonaspatients'bookingisconfirmed.

· Responsibleforappointingall patientsfromthePTLsandmanagingallOutpatient waitingliststoensure accurate patient management, enabling the Trust to meet all its performance targets.

· Responsibleforbookingallnewandfollowupappointmentsinaccordancewithdepartmentalprocedures.

· Liaisedirectlywithpatientsinrelationtobookingandagreeingoutpatientappointmentswithintheappropriatetimescales.

· Working under the direction of the operational management teams, when dealing with requests for clinic cancellations; willberesponsibleformanagingthecancellation/reductionof theclinicsonPASandERS, andthe patient's future appointments effectively and timely.

· ResponsibleforallclinictemplatechangesduetochangestoMedicalRota's.

· ManageallappointmentsontheERSsystem ensuringall newappointmentswhicharecancelledbythepatient, are discussed with the patient and the appointment either remade or discharged within the appropriatetimescales.

· Managementof the partial booking waiting lists, ensuringthebookingof appointmentorescalatingcapacityissuestotheappropriate operational and clinical team.

· Responsibleformanaging partial bookinglistsand escalating any problemsto the operationalmanagement teams/team leader.

· Retrospectivelyrecordallattendancesoutsideclinicasperworkinstruction.

· Answeringtheaccessandbooking/reception?maintelephonelineforpatient queries and booking.

· Undertake administrative duties as necessary including filing, producing clinic lists, taking messages, answering queries, and photocopying.

· Using a range of IT systems, including the National Spinal Cord Injury database and other clinical systems to ensure accurate inputting is undertaken.

· Thepost holderwillberequiredtoundertakemandatorytrainingand isresponsible forkeepingthis training up to date.

· The post holder will have an appraisal of performance each year and will be responsible for agreeing a development plan in line with the Trust's PDR system in agreement with their manager or immediate supervisor. The development plan will be reviewed each year.

· TheTrust willprovideassistanceandagreeddevelopmentto enablethepostholderto achievetheir objectives and standards in line with the development plan.

· Ifthepost holder feelshe/she isnotachievingtheirobjectiveasagreed inthedevelopment planthey will bring it to the attention of their supervisor or manager at the earliest opportunity.

· Prioritiseownworkloadonadailybasiswhilerecognisingwhenit isappropriatetoescalatetomanager.

· To understand,contribute,implement, andapplyknowledgeofarelevant proceduresandknowledgeof how to resolve non-routine problems.

· Assist inthetrainingand inductionofnewstaffandprovidecontinuoussupportwithregardstothe co-ordination of their workload.

· Participateinthecoverofwork colleaguesduringtheirabsencesoratother timeswhenrequired.

· Requiredto contributetoservice/department meetingsgivingprogressreportsonactivityforeach consultant and reduction of wait times.

· Thepost holderwillsupporttheline managerutilisingtheproperuseoftheTrust'sresourcessuchas stationery, telephone usage, photocopying and other consumables in the course of business, ensuring minimal waste and minimal cost.

· Responsiblefordataqualitywhenmaintaining,inputting,extracting,andproducinginformation (including information to patients) in the Trust's multiple computer systems.

· To usespeedandaccuracywithclinicaland non-clinicalinformationrelatingto patient caretoensure patient safety at all times.

· To workunderowninitiativewithinapprovedpolicies, procedures, bookingguidelinesandescalation processes to make decisions to ensure efficient and patient centred service delivery.

· To attendweeklymeetingswiththeoperationalteamtoprovide informationfortheaccessmeetings and to discuss any capacity issues/shortfalls and contribute to help identify a solution.

· Responsible forthegenerationandsendingofalllettersandappropriate informationleaflets, for both paperandelectronicreferralsbookedthroughPASandtheERSSystemandforpartialbookinginvites.

· Proactivelyengagewithclinicians/GP's/staffand patientsto enableaneffectivepatient flowthrough the pathway.

· Receiveand handlepatienttelephoneenquiriesinanempathic,reassuring,timely,appropriate,and confident manner.

· Toovercomebarriersonadailybasis insupportingpatientsthat might noteasilyunderstanddueto culturalor language differences, physicalor mental special needs, or dueto age. To use tact and persuasionto negotiateamutuallyconvenient dateforapatients'procedurewhenthey maybeupset orangry.

· To communicate unpleasant news in an empathetic manner to patients, relative or carers over the telephoneandprovidereassuranceattimesofdistressorwhendiscussing issuesofasensitive nature.

· Prioritiseownworkloadonadailybasiswhilerecognisingwhenit isappropriatetoescalatetomanager.

· To understand,contribute,implement, andapplyknowledgeofarelevant proceduresandknowledgeof how to resolve non-routine problems.

· Assist inthetraining and inductionofnewstaffand providecontinuoussupport withregardstotheco- ordination of their workload.

· Participateinthecoverofworkcolleaguesduringtheirabsencesor atothertimeswhenrequired.

· Requiredto contributetoservice/department meetingsgivingprogressreportsonactivityforeach consultant and reduction of wait times.

You should have excellent keyboard skills. Knowledge of the Hospital Patient Administrative System (Careflow) and have some experience working within an office setting. Good communication and telephone skills and the ability to work independently are also essential., Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.

Our services:

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation, freeing up space for more unwell patients. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018


• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)


• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme