Job description

Job responsibilities

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To be the focal point for all the Ophthalmology Teams, acting as a link between patients, patients relatives and medical workforce.
• Ensuring all communication is passed on accurately whilst upholding confidentiality to GPs, Wards, Theatres, the general public and all other medical personnel.
• To ensure that the Electronic Patient Records are an accurate documentation of the patients care, updating information where necessary and as required.
• Transcription and production, from Winscribe digital dictation system, of typewritten reports and correspondence for the Consultants and their teams including outpatients reports, theatre lists, admissions lists, reports and any other general correspondence.
• To be able to prioritise workloads and have the ability to work under pressure maintaining accuracy and meeting deadlines.
• To manage waiting lists, plan theatre lists, ensuring lists are fully utilised, thereby ensuring all national and local guidelines on waiting list key standard targets are owned and met.
• Audit the Consultants waiting list through validation, thereby anticipating any problems, which may arise, thus ensuring waiting list key standard targets are met/maintained.
• Must be able to make last minute changes to admissions/theatre lists, to ensure full utilisation of theatre time.
• Register patients accurately on the waiting list system.
• Send appropriate information regarding admission/procedures.
• Manage and maintain the admission diary, the appointments diary, liaise with appointments centre and failsafe to arrange outpatient appointments when necessary.
• Ensure IPTs coming in and outgoing to external Trusts have the correct paperwork attached and actioned accordingly.
• Validating pathways ensuring patients have a plan that is documented via adhoc on Powerchart, chasing dates for investigation, ensure requests have been made accordingly, escalate accordingly if patient is over 52 weeks and needs a TCI date.
• Send letters of discharge after patient has failed to attend, closing the pathway accordingly.
• Correct patient pathways accordingly.
• Ensure funding is in place for IFR procedures, if funding is not in place, to inform clinician that a request must be sent to the GP for IFR confirmation, prior to listing.
• Cancel clinics accordingly due to clinician annual/study leave as per policy. Cancel and reduce clinics/theatre lists as requested by consultants, ensuring that the 6-week Rule is adhered to whenever possible. Where clinics are cancelled within the 6-week rule, ensure the appropriate forms are completed and dispatched to the appropriate persons.
• Provide cover for colleagues, ie sick/annual leave or during excessively busy times, ensuring smooth running of the Department.
• Offer advice and support and demonstrate duties to new members of staff.
• Provide non-clinical information to patients, patients relatives, GPs, other hospitals etc, whilst exercising judgement to ensure that all the relevant personnel are given necessary information as quickly as possible, thereby ensuring that any action, which needs to be taken, is taken promptly.
• To be able to work on own initiative and make decisions within written guidelines, sometimes without reference to others.
• Ad hoc duties as required and requested by the line manager or the Directorate Team.

Job responsibilities

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To be the focal point for all the Ophthalmology Teams, acting as a link between patients, patients relatives and medical workforce.
• Ensuring all communication is passed on accurately whilst upholding confidentiality to GPs, Wards, Theatres, the general public and all other medical personnel.
• To ensure that the Electronic Patient Records are an accurate documentation of the patients care, updating information where necessary and as required.
• Transcription and production, from Winscribe digital dictation system, of typewritten reports and correspondence for the Consultants and their teams including outpatients reports, theatre lists, admissions lists, reports and any other general correspondence.
• To be able to prioritise workloads and have the ability to work under pressure maintaining accuracy and meeting deadlines.
• To manage waiting lists, plan theatre lists, ensuring lists are fully utilised, thereby ensuring all national and local guidelines on waiting list key standard targets are owned and met.
• Audit the Consultants waiting list through validation, thereby anticipating any problems, which may arise, thus ensuring waiting list key standard targets are met/maintained.
• Must be able to make last minute changes to admissions/theatre lists, to ensure full utilisation of theatre time.
• Register patients accurately on the waiting list system.
• Send appropriate information regarding admission/procedures.
• Manage and maintain the admission diary, the appointments diary, liaise with appointments centre and failsafe to arrange outpatient appointments when necessary.
• Ensure IPTs coming in and outgoing to external Trusts have the correct paperwork attached and actioned accordingly.
• Validating pathways ensuring patients have a plan that is documented via adhoc on Powerchart, chasing dates for investigation, ensure requests have been made accordingly, escalate accordingly if patient is over 52 weeks and needs a TCI date.
• Send letters of discharge after patient has failed to attend, closing the pathway accordingly.
• Correct patient pathways accordingly.
• Ensure funding is in place for IFR procedures, if funding is not in place, to inform clinician that a request must be sent to the GP for IFR confirmation, prior to listing.
• Cancel clinics accordingly due to clinician annual/study leave as per policy. Cancel and reduce clinics/theatre lists as requested by consultants, ensuring that the 6-week Rule is adhered to whenever possible. Where clinics are cancelled within the 6-week rule, ensure the appropriate forms are completed and dispatched to the appropriate persons.
• Provide cover for colleagues, ie sick/annual leave or during excessively busy times, ensuring smooth running of the Department.
• Offer advice and support and demonstrate duties to new members of staff.
• Provide non-clinical information to patients, patients relatives, GPs, other hospitals etc, whilst exercising judgement to ensure that all the relevant personnel are given necessary information as quickly as possible, thereby ensuring that any action, which needs to be taken, is taken promptly.
• To be able to work on own initiative and make decisions within written guidelines, sometimes without reference to others.
• Ad hoc duties as required and requested by the line manager or the Directorate Team.

Person Specification

QUALIFICATIONS / TRAINING

Essential

• Good standard of education. GCSE English grade 4-9 (A*C, or equivalent), GCSE Mathematics grade 4-9 (A*C or equivalent)
• Willing to undertake further development/training

Desirable

• RSA II (or equivalent) typing/word processing
• Audio typing skills

KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE & EXPERTISE

Essential

• Significant experience working in a busy office environment (to deadlines and targets)
• Experience of working in an NHS environment
• An understanding of medical terminology
• Knowledge of software packages such as Word, Excel

Desirable

• Knowledge of EPR, Bluespier and Medisoft
• An understanding of waiting list management

COMMUNICATION AND RELATIONSHIPS (INCLUDING MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES)

Essential

• Excellent communication skills
• Ability to prioritise workloads and work under pressure maintaining accuracy and meeting deadlines
• Ability to work on own initiative and make decisions within written guidelines, sometimes without reference to others
• Ability to deal with situations involving phone calls and face to face contact with anxious patients/relatives and typing of information of an upsetting nature
• Ability to deal with verbally aggressive patients/relatives in a professional and calm manner

QUALIFICATIONS / TRAINING

Essential

• Good standard of education. GCSE English grade 4-9 (A*C, or equivalent), GCSE Mathematics grade 4-9 (A*C or equivalent)
• Willing to undertake further development/training

Desirable

• RSA II (or equivalent) typing/word processing
• Audio typing skills

KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE & EXPERTISE

Essential

• Significant experience working in a busy office environment (to deadlines and targets)
• Experience of working in an NHS environment
• An understanding of medical terminology
• Knowledge of software packages such as Word, Excel

Desirable

• Knowledge of EPR, Bluespier and Medisoft
• An understanding of waiting list management

COMMUNICATION AND RELATIONSHIPS (INCLUDING MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES)

Essential

• Excellent communication skills
• Ability to prioritise workloads and work under pressure maintaining accuracy and meeting deadlines
• Ability to work on own initiative and make decisions within written guidelines, sometimes without reference to others
• Ability to deal with situations involving phone calls and face to face contact with anxious patients/relatives and typing of information of an upsetting nature
• Ability to deal with verbally aggressive patients/relatives in a professional and calm manner

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Acre Mill outpatients

Acre Street

Huddersfield

HD3 3EB

Employer's website

https://www.cht.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)