Administrative Assistant - Private Overseas Patients

Administrative Assistant - Private Overseas Patients

We are looking for a self motivated, enthusiastic individual to join the Private Patient and Overseas Visitors Team managing the administrative, financial, and regulatory processes for private and non UK resident patients within Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust.

• Identify chargeable patients, assess eligibility for NHS treatment, secure upfront payments/deposits, maintain accurate records, and apply Department of Health regulations.
• Support the process of correctly identifying, recording and charging Private Patient and Overseas Visitors on Trust activity systems.
• First point of call for enquiries about eligibility, insurance and private patient treatment arrangements; give advice and help to front line staff, patients and relatives and advise on payment arrangements.
• Provide specific guidance to frontline staff about overseas patients, policies and procedures; interview patients in complex cases where eligibility for free NHS treatment is unclear.
• Work in accord with Department of Health Guidelines, Trust standing financial instructions and local policy on managing private practice in the NHS.
• Collaborate closely with Finance, Information Services, Directorate Management Team, Consultant colleagues and external NHS organisations.

The post will have a primary base at St James's University Hospital; however, there may be the opportunity for home working.

About us

Leeds Teaching Hospitals is one of the largest employers in Leeds, employing over 20,000 staff and providing care to 1.6 million patients every year.

The Finance team at Leeds Teaching Hospitals is large but friendly and there are many opportunities for development and progression. Our mission is to be the best provider of finance, procurement & planning services to support the delivery of patient care in The Leeds Way.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals is committed to our process of redeploying 'at risk' members of our existing workforce to new roles. As such, all our job adverts are subject to this policy and we reserve the right to close, delay or remove adverts while this process is completed. If you do experience a delay in the shortlisting stage of the recruitment cycle, please bear with us while this process is completed, and contact the named contact if you have any questions.

Job responsibilities

Makes decisions on own ability that often can have financial implications for the Trust and is willing to defend them when challenged.

Communicating - Relate well to people at all levels, communicating facts and ideas clearly and effectively to others.

Planning, Monitoring and Controlling - Plans and organizes time in order to deliver quality outputs to agreed timescales.

Working in Teams - Works with others cooperatively in a way which secures a high level of commitment, trust and energy.

Focusing on Development - Actively learns from own experiences of what does & does not work.

Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to work closely and effectively with staff at all levels and from other disciplines both within and outside the organisation, in particular with medical staff.

Ability to communicate with both visually impaired and foreign patients. Requires excellent communication and persuasion skills.

Ability to deal with disputes, complaints and confrontations.

Able to work under pressure and deal with patients who are very ill.

Able to deal with patients who are rude and very aggressive.

Ability to carry out in-depth investigation of fraudulent claims for free NHS treatment.

Ability to deal with frequent exposure to distressing, emotional and traumatic situations.

Qualifications

• HND/NVQ Level 3 or equivalent in a Business/Finance related subject, or demonstrate an equivalent level of knowledge gained from experience of working in Patient Services administration.

Experience

• Experience working in a team, managing own workload and making decisions independently on complex issues.
• Knowledge and understanding of the NHS and relevant NHS guidance on management of Private Practice in the NHS, and Consultant Code of Conduct, DoH Guidelines on Overseas Visitors eligibility.
• Awareness of Trust Financial systems and relevant financial regulations (both national and local) governing cash/debt management, invoicing/crediting.
• Knowledge and understanding of systems and processes including but not limited to Hospital Patient Administration Systems (PAS), Debtors/Creditors systems, SLAMS, contracting cycle.

Skills & behaviours

• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written, demonstrating an ability to deal with issues from service users which may be contentious.
• Ability to understand and communicate complex information.
• Ability to enter data with the required speed and accuracy into computerised/paper systems and regularly create financial spreadsheets.
• Ability to organise/plan work flexibly between areas and in response to service needs, ensuring tasks are performed in accordance with set deadlines.
• Understanding of the key requirements of relevant computerised systems - MESH, Oracle, Healthcode, PAS, PPM+, Microsoft Office.

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.