Patient Access Coordinator
Guy’s and St Thomas’ is among the UK’s busiest and most successful NHS foundation trusts. We provide a full range of hospital and community services for people in south London and as well as specialist care for patients from further afield including cancer, renal, orthopaedic, respiratory and cardiovascular services.
Guy’s is home to the largest dental school in Europe and a £160 million Cancer Centre opened in 2016. As part of our commitment to provide care closer to home, in 2017 we also opened a cancer centre and a kidney treatment centre at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup.St Thomas’ has one of the largest critical care units in the UK and one of the busiest emergency departments in London. It is also home to Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
Evelina London cares for local children in Lambeth and Southwark and provides specialist services across south east England including cardiac, renal and critical care services. We lead a number of specialist service networks aiming to ensure children are treated locally where possible, but have access to specialist expertise when they need it.Our community services include health visiting, school nursing and support for families of children with long-term conditions.
Our adult community services teams deliver care at the heart of the local communities we serve, working in partnership with GPs, local authorities and other healthcare and voluntary sector organisations. Working with our partners in Lambeth and Southwark, we are focusing on new ways of working to improve care for local patients.
In February 2021 the Royal Brompton and Harefield joined Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, bringing together world-leading expertise in the care and research of heart and lung disease. Our merger provides a once in a generation opportunity to build a lasting, world-renowned heart and lung centre, providing the highest quality care for patients and conducting world-leading research.
We have a reputation for clinical excellence and high quality teaching and research. We are part of King’s Health Partners, one of eight accredited UK academic health sciences centres. In partnership with King’s College London we have dedicated clinical research facilities including an MHRA accredited Phase I clinical trials unit.
Patients are at the heart of everything we do and we pride ourselves on ensuring the best possible patient experience as well as safe, high quality care. We are proud to have one of the lowest mortality rates in the NHS. Following a comprehensive Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in 2019 we maintained our overall rating of ‘good’.Our adult community services achieved a rating of ‘outstanding’.
The commitment of our 23,500 staff is key to our success. We are one of the largest local employers and we aim to develop and support all our staff so they are able to deliver high quality, safe and efficient care. The 2019 NHS staff survey results show that we have one of the most engaged and motivated workforces in the NHS.We know this has a positive impact on the care provided to our patients.
We have one of the most ambitious capital investment programmes anywhere in the NHS.
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen in the Chemotherapy Day Unit at Guys Cancer Centre for a Band 3 Patient Pathway Access Co Ordinator.
Do you want to make a difference to our cancer patients? Then this is the job for you!!!
We are seeking an enthusiastic, dynamic, and innovative individual with a patient-centred approach, who enjoys working in a busy, friendly, multidisciplinary team environment to support us in the delivery of high-quality services.
Flexible working - Opportunity to work from home one day a week, once fully trained and complete knowledge of service (subject to service demands).
Cross site cover as per rota permits
This is a permanent, full time role- 37.5 hours per week, alternating shift pattern: 8am
- 6pm Monday- Friday
- incl. Bank holidays (the occasional Saturday, subject to service needs).
We look forward to having you on board!
Main duties of the job
3 x Patient Access Coordinator - Band 3 Position
An exciting opportunity has arisen within the Chemotherapy Service at Guys Cancer Centre.
We're one of the leading centres in the country for cancer treatment and research.
Most of our care takes place in the purpose-built Cancer Centre at Guy's. Our Cancer Centre at Queen Mary's Hospital (QMH), Sidcup means we can also, treat local patients closer to home.
The Patient Access Co-ordinator will be the first point of contact for patients and service users providing an in depth knowledge of outpatient and inpatient scheduling procedures for their speciality.
The Patient Access Co-ordinator will liaise closely with the clinical team and speciality management teams to ensure patients receive timely andappropriate appointments according to their care pathway.
This role includes, alternating shift pattern: 8am - 6pm Monday- Friday - incl. Bank holidays (the occasional Saturday, subject to service needs).
Working for our organisation
Our values help us to define and develop our culture, what we do and how we do it. It is important that you understand and reflect these values throughout your employment with the Trust.
The post holder will:
Caring – we put patients first
We provide patient and person-centred care. We care about others’ needs and wellbeing. We listen. We are compassionate to ourselves and others. We reflect on our actions. We are respectful and welcoming.
Ambitious – we innovate and strive for excellence
We innovate and strive for excellence. We act with integrity. We act on staff and patient feedback. We seek ways to improve the care and experience of others. We are efficient. We are committed to growth. We find new ways to deliver excellence.
Inclusive – we respect each other and work collaboratively
We respect each other and work collaboratively. We act on diverse views. We put ourselves in ‘others’ shoes’. We are building an anti-racism organisation. We seek opportunities to collaborate. We show sensitivity towards diversity of culture.
Our values and behaviours framework describes what it means for every one of us in the Trust to put our values into action. The framework can be found on our Trust careers pages and GTIntranet .
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Act as the first point of call for all patient access queries to the Trust.
Book appointments from the work queue on EPIC, in date order in line breach and target dates.
Be responsible for the scheduling of outpatient, elective admissions and all associated appointments according to clinical urgency and length of wait in accordance with departmental procedures and Trust Policies.
Liaise with patients prior to their hospital visit to ensure that a mutually convenient date and time is agreed.
Ensure that patients are appropriately reminded of their appointments. This may include sending reminder letters or contacting patients by telephone, up to seven days before their visit to re-confirm attendance in line with departmental protocols.
Ensure that departmental standards are met for patients receiving notification or acknowledgement of their visit.
Provide a courteous and efficient point of contact for patients both face to face and over the telephone.
Ensure that each patient is treated as an individual and their individual needs are met (i.e.: appropriate support is in place for their appointment, such as interpreting support).
Person specification
Qualifications/ Education
Essential criteria- Good general education with English and Maths to GCSE standard or equivalent Relevant NVQ 3 or equivalent qualification or experience
- Relevant NVQ 3 or equivalent qualification or experience
- Customer service qualification / training
- IT package qualification / training such as the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL)
Previous experience
Essential criteria- Experience of working in a customer focused environment demonstrating the ability to deal difficult customers and challenging situations
- Experience of working both autonomously and in a team
- Proven experience of working in an administrative role demonstrating evidence of: 1. competent data collection and data quality 2. working with confidential documents and information
- Knowledge of medical terminology
- Experience of an administrative role within the NHS
Skills/ Knowledge/ Abilities
Essential criteria- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to: (i) relate to a diverse group of professional staff and Public (ii) communicate clearly in writing, face to face and on the phone, (iii) convey sensitive information in an appropriate manner (iv) communicate non-clinical advice to patients in a sensitive and tactful manner
- Excellent organisational skills, with a demonstrable ability to manage and prioritise workload and work methodically, efficiently and accurately to meet tight deadlines
- Proficient IT skills experience of using Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook
- Ability to work on own initiative and with minimal supervision
- Ability to work within a team and develop good working relationships with colleagues at all levels
- Understanding of confidentiality and its application and maintenance in and out of the workplace. Understanding of equal opportunities
- KKnowledge of the key waiting times targets including 18 weeks
- Knowledge of clinical systems
Guy’s and St Thomas’ celebrates, respects and values the diversity of its staff and patients. We review our policies, procedures and practices to ensure that all employees, patients and carers are treated equitable according to their needs. We are actively committed to ensuring that no one who applies for a job, works or study’s at the Trust, or accesses our services is discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, religion or belief, age, gender identity , gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, or marital/civil partnership.
Applications are welcomed from applicants with a disability. We can make reasonable adjustments and offer support and advice in a variety of ways throughout the application process. Equality of opportunity is our policy.
As an organisation we are committed to developing our services in ways that best suit the needs of our patients. This means that some staff groups will increasingly be asked to work a more flexible shift pattern so that we can offer services in the evenings or at weekends.
Flexible working
We are committed to supporting all employees to achieve a healthy work life balance and to work in a way that is best for them and our patients. We will consider all requests to work flexibly, taking in to account the individual’s personal circumstances as well the needs of the service.We encourage all prospective applicants to discuss their individual circumstances with the recruiting manager as part of the on-boarding process.
Your e-mail address is important to us - We communicate to all job applicants via the e-mail address which has been provided on the application form. Please ensure that you check your e-mail on a regular basis.
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