JOB DESCRIPTION 1. JOB IDENTIFICATION Job Title: Clerical Officer (Outpatients) Responsible to : Health Records Manager Department(s) : Medical Records Directorate: Clinical Services Job Reference: Last Update : March 2018 2. JOB PURPOSE The key responsibilities: To act as first point of contact for the Health Records Department. Undertaken general administrative duties (e.g. filing, general Clerical duties such as photocopying and preparing case notes). Contacting the patient by telephone to make or change appointments Other responsibilities may include as required, The post holder will be required to cover the opening hours of the Health Records Department, Monday to Friday between the hours of 7:45am 7pm. Hours will vary according to contracted hours. 3. DIMENSIONS (Job Facts and Figures) The Clerical Officer is an important part of the hospital providing important clerical and administrative support to all departments and within the Health Records Department. The Post Holder may be required to work additional hours to cover holidays and sickness, at the request of your line manager. The Health Records Department clerical team consists of 11 substantive clerical officers and several bank clerical officers who cover the department s core hours for the Hospital. The role profile is intended to provide a broad outline of the main responsibilities only. The post holder will need to be flexible in developing the role and in initial and ongoing discussions with the Support Services Supervisor or Health Records Manager.
4. ORGANISATIONAL POSITION Director of Nursing and Acute Services Health Records Manager Secretarial Support Supervisor Ward Clerks x 5 Reception Team Leader Clinical Coder Team Leader Surgical Secretaries x 3 Main Hospital Receptionist s x 7 Coding Receptionist s x 5 Medical Secretaries x 3 Filing Clerks x 2 Paediatric Secretary Out Patient Receptionist Pain/ Anaesthetic Secretary Visiting Consultant Secretaries x 4 Patient Focused Booking Clerks x 2 5. MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Answering the Telephone in a professional and pleasant manner to ensure that the caller is dealt with accurately and effectively. To be able to deal with telephone calls whilst at the same time managing face to face enquires, directing patients / relatives. To be point of contact for dealing with all enquires either by telephone, fax or face to face, from patients and/or relatives, visitors and passing them through to the appropriate person. Ensure effective communication with GP s and other services to ensure that information is handled appropriately and sensitively whilst observing patient confidentiality and departmental protocols. Prioritise workload throughout the day. Assist in the induction of new members of staff to the department and provide appropriate support as necessary, e.g. demonstrating procedures and tasks. To provide practical training to new members of staff and bank staff in all aspects of the job as appropriate. To work within NHS Shetland policies and procedures with regard to the use of supplies and equipment. This list is not exhaustive and may include other duties as required by the Board or line manager.
6. SYSTEMS, EQUIPMENT AND MACHINERY 1. PCs and the various software packages, i.e. Word, Excel and E-mail 2. EDIS for printing of clinic sheets and letters 3. TrakCare to update patient details, tracking of case notes required for A&E, admit patients to wards, discharge patients from wards, making patient appointments. 4. Photocopier 5. Scanner 6. FAX 7. Telephone Maintenance for the above is reported directly to the relevant department or through the appropriate supervisor. Responsibility for Medical Records All records created in the course of the business of NHS Shetland are corporate records and are public records under the terms of the Public Records (Scotland) Act 1937. This includes email messages and other electronic records. It is your responsibility to ensure that you keep appropriate records of your work in NHS Shetland and manage those records in keeping with the NHS Shetland Records Management Policy and with guidance produced by NHS Shetland specific to your employment. 7. DECISIONS AND JUDGEMENTS As first point of contact for patients, relatives and visitors to the hospital. Working is generally unsupervised being required to make decisions autonomously adhering to local protocols and guidelines. The post holder has the ability to prioritise their workload to ensure departmental needs are met. 8. MOST CHALLENGING/DIFFICULT PARTS OF THE JOB Keeping composure and professional when faced with a high volume of work for the department during peak periods, and patients/visitors attending the hospital, which at times can be stressful. Being able to disengage from deep emotional stress experienced and observed which can continue after the post holder s shift has finished. 9. COMMUNICATIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS Communicates daily effectively, face to face, written or verbally, with senior management, medical, nursing, General Practitioners, secretarial / clerical staff. Contacting ward staff to collate daily admissions and discharges update TrakCare by admitting and discharging patients. Transfer of media enquiries to the relevant department, depending on time of day. Use persuasive skills, tact, diplomacy and empathy with patients and/or relatives whose first language is not English or have impairment. Must ensure that patient confidentiality at all times.
10. PHYSICAL, MENTAL, EMOTIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEMANDS OF THE JOB Physical Skills 1. Telephone skills 2. Keyboard skills Physical Effort 1. Lifting large individual patients records Emotional Effort 1. Dealing with aggressive patients, e.g., under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. 2. Initial Communications with patients and/or relatives in very sensitive situations. Mental Effort 1. Ability to work and prioritise in a pressurised environment. 2. High level of concentration required when taking patient details to ensure accuracy. 3. Unpredictability of covering colleague s duties at short notice due to unplanned episodes. 4. Daily workload can be unpredictable due to the nature of the department. Working Conditions 1. Occasional exposure to dust from archived medical records. 2. Continuous use of VDUs for the part of the post holder s working day 3. Daily direct exposure to verbal/aggressive behaviour by patients and/or their relatives/carers, 4. Indirect exposure to body fluids, e.g., blood, or vomit. 11. KNOWLEDGE, TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED TO DO THE JOB Qualifications General basic education evident by formal education (standard grades) or gained through equivalent work experience relevant to the post. Skills Numeracy, literacy, keyboard, can work well in a team and autonomously, ability to work unsupervised, excellent communication skills, able to be proactive, able to deal sensitively with anguished and distressed individuals, able to maintain confidentiality at all times with regards to patients and staff, organisational skills Experience Previous work experience, i.e. within the NHS or dealing with the general public, face-to-face and telephone, experience of working in a pressurised environment. On the Job Training Learn the systems, machinery and equipment within the Health Records Department, and ensure knowledge of appropriate departmental and organisational policies and procedures as well as attending mandatory training, i.e. load handling, fire lectures, and systems training. 12. JOB DESCRIPTION AGREEMENT A separate job description will need to be signed off by each jobholder to whom the job description applies. Job Holder s Signature: Date: Head of Department Signature: Date:
JOB DESCRIPTION 1. JOB IDENTIFICATION Job Title: Clerical Officer (Patient Booking Clerk) Responsible to : Health Records Manager Department(s) : Medical Records Directorate: Clinical Services Job Reference: Last Update : 28 th July 2015 2. JOB PURPOSE The key responsibilities: Logging all referrals into the out-patient computer system and checking to ensure that the correct information is entered into the patient information system. Phoning all patients to offer an outpatient appointment and sending a letter to confirm the appointment for the Health Records Department. Monitoring out-patient waiting times and to keep line manager informed of any potential breach of appointment guarantees. Undertaken general administrative duties (e.g. filing, general clerical duties such as photocopying and preparing case notes). Other responsibilities may be included as required The post holder will be required to cover the opening hours of the Health Records Department, Monday to Friday between the hours of 7.45 am 7.00 pm. Hours will vary according to contracted hours. 3. DIMENSIONS (Job Facts and Figures) The Clerical Officer is an important part of the hospital providing important clerical and administrative support to all departments and within the Health Records Department. The Post Holder may be required to work additional hours to cover holidays and sickness, at the request of your line manager. The Health Records Department clerical team consists of 11 substantive clerical officers and several bank clerical officers who cover the department s core hours for the Hospital. The role profile is intended to provide a broad outline of the main responsibilities only. The post holder will need to be flexible in developing the role and in initial and ongoing discussions with the Support
Services Supervisor or Health Records Manager. 4. MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Answering the telephone in a professional and pleasant manner to ensure that the caller is dealt with accurately and effectively. To be point of contact for dealing with all appointment enquires by telephone from patients. Ensure effective communication with GP s and other services to ensure that information is handled appropriately and sensitively whilst observing patient confidentiality and departmental protocols. Prioritise workload throughout the day. Assist in the induction of new members of staff to the department and provide appropriate support as necessary, e.g. demonstrating procedures and tasks. To provide practical training to new members of staff and bank staff in all aspects of the job as appropriate. To work within NHS Shetland policies and procedures with regard to the use of supplies and equipment. This list is not exhaustive and may include other duties as required by the Board or line manager. 5. SYSTEMS, EQUIPMENT AND MACHINERY 1. PCs and the various software packages, i.e. Word, Excel and E-mail 2. EDIS for printing of clinic sheets and letters 3. TrakCare to update patient detail and tracking of case notes. 4. Photocopier 5. Scanner 6. FAX 7. Telephone Maintenance for the above is reported directly to the relevant department or through the appropriate supervisor. 6. Responsibility for Medical Records All records created in the course of the business of NHS Shetland are corporate records and are public records under the terms of the Public Records (Scotland) Act 1937. This includes email messages and other electronic records. It is your responsibility to ensure that you keep appropriate records of your work in NHS Shetland and manage those records in keeping with the NHS Shetland Records Management Policy and with guidance produced by NHS Shetland specific to your employment. 7. DECISIONS AND JUDGEMENTS As first point of contact for patients to the hospital. Working is generally unsupervised being required to make decisions autonomously adhering to local protocols and guidelines. The post holder has the ability to prioritise their workload to ensure departmental needs are met.
8. MOST CHALLENGING/DIFFICULT PARTS OF THE JOB Keeping composure and professional when faced with a high volume of work for the department during peak periods, which at times can be stressful. Being able to disengage from deep emotional stress experienced and observed which can continue after the post holder s shift has finished. 9. COMMUNICATIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS Communicates daily effectively, face to face, written or verbally, with senior management, medical, nursing, General Practitioners, secretarial / clerical staff. Transfer of media enquiries to the relevant department, depending on time of day. Use persuasive skills, tact, diplomacy and empathy with patients and/or relatives whose first language is not English or have impairment. Must ensure that patient confidentiality at all times. 10. PHYSICAL, MENTAL, EMOTIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEMANDS OF THE JOB Physical Skills 3. Telephone skills 4. Keyboard skills Physical Effort 2. Lifting large individual patients records Emotional Effort 3. Dealing with aggressive patients, e.g., under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. 4. Initial Communications with patients and/or relatives in very sensitive situations. Mental Effort 5. Ability to work and prioritise in a pressurised environment. 6. High level of concentration required when taking patient details to ensure accuracy. 7. Unpredictability of covering colleague s duties at short notice due to unplanned episodes. 8. Daily workload can be unpredictable due to the nature of the department. Working Conditions 2. Occasional exposure to dust from archived medical records. 3. Continuous use of VDUs for the part of the post holder s working day 4. Daily direct exposure to verbal/aggressive behaviour by patients and/or their relatives/carers, 5. Indirect exposure to body fluids, e.g., blood, or vomit. 11. KNOWLEDGE, TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED TO DO THE JOB Qualifications General basic education evident by formal education (standard grades) or gained through equivalent work experience relevant to the post. Skills Numeracy, literacy, keyboard, can work well in a team and autonomously, ability to work unsupervised, excellent communication skills, able to be proactive, able to deal sensitively with anguished and distressed individuals, able to maintain confidentiality at all times with regards to patients and staff, organisational skills
Experience Previous work experience, i.e. within the NHS or dealing with the general public, face-to-face and telephone, experience of working in a pressurised environment. On the Job Training Learn the systems, machinery and equipment within the Health Records Department, and ensure knowledge of appropriate departmental and organisational policies and procedures as well as attending mandatory training, i.e. load handling, fire lectures, and systems training. 12. JOB DESCRIPTION AGREEMENT A separate job description will need to be signed off by each jobholder to whom the job description applies. Job Holder s Signature: Head of Department Signature: Date: Date: