Receptionist/ Administration Assistant

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Single Point of Contact (SPC) Contact Centre at Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust.

The SPC Contact Centre provides a central access point for patients, carers and healthcare professionals seeking support from community health services. As part of a busy contact centre environment, the successful candidate will play a key role in handling a high volume of calls, managing referrals and providing administrative support to ensure patients are directed to the appropriate services quickly and efficiently.

Due to the nature of the SPC Contact Centre service, this role will require a combination of on-site working and remote working following completion of training and once the post holder is confident in the role.

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys working in a fast-paced contact centre environment, has excellent communication skills and is committed to delivering a high standard of customer service.

Main duties of the job The post holder will work within the SPC Contact Centre team, providing a professional telephone and administrative service.

Key responsibilities include

• Handling a high volume of incoming calls from patients, carers and healthcare professionals
• Providing clear and accurate information in response to enquiries
• Recording and updating patient information on Trust systems
• Processing referrals and requests for community services
• Ensuring calls are handled efficiently and in line with service standards
• Managing calls and prioritising tasks within a busy contact centre environment
• Escalating calls or queries where appropriate to clinical teams or senior staff
• Completing administrative tasks linked to patient referrals and service coordination
• Maintaining accurate records while adhering to confidentiality and information governance standards
• Working as part of a team to maintain service performance and support operational targets

About us Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Job responsibilities Act as a first point of contact, providing call handling services for patients, carers, staff, public, internal, and external customers, maintaining patient confidentiality at all times.

Ensuring referral pathway is followed, and appointments are organised and booked efficiently using the patient administration system to effectively utilise clinical time, including identifying cancelled appointments and re-prioritising patients, ringing, and reminding patients of face to face and virtual appointments.

Contribute to the processing of all forms of incoming and outgoing mail.

Accurately record new and follow up attendances, updating patient records/waiting lists on patient information systems and associated correspondence e.g., appointment details letters, failure to attend (FTA) letters, FTA discharge letters.

To be able to work without direct supervision, prioritising own workload to assist in the smooth running of the clinical services.

Demonstrate working practices to new staff as part of the induction process.

Recognise and assist as part of the team with the management of medical emergencies should they arise.

To escalate any issues or problem areas to senior colleagues within the team(s) as appropriate. Complex enquiries should be escalated according to locally agreed procedures.

Observe a personal duty of care in relation to equipment/resources.

To work in a flexible manner when cover is required, to support and maintain service delivery.

Have an awareness of the Trust complaints procedure which will include defusing potential complaints or conflict and escalating appropriately as necessary.

Contribute to any changes in procedures and implement procedures for the service.

Communicate appropriately and sensitively with patients and carers recognising the need for alternative methods of communication to overcome distressing situations, physical and learning disabilities, visual or hearing impairments, dementia, challenging behaviour, cultural background, and preferred ways of communicating. This may include requesting the services of a translator.

Provide statistical information as required for audit purposes.

GENERIC RESPONSIBILITIES FOR ALL STAFF All post holders will agree to: Commit to the vision of supporting Mersey Care in becoming a leading organisation in the provision of community services, mental health care, addiction services and learning disability care, and in doing so fully utilise their skills and experience to support the objectives of the Trust. Role model the values of the Trust Continuous Improvement, Accountability, Respectfulness, Enthusiasm and Support in all activities and interactions with employees, service users and other stakeholders. Challenge the stigma associated with mental health and learning difficulties. Comply with the Duty of Candour, defined by Francis as: 'The volunteering of all relevant information to persons who have or may have been harmed by the provision of services, whether or not the information has been requested and whether or not a complaint or a report about that provision has been made. Work across professional and organisational boundaries to improve services for all. Maintain their specific knowledge base and develop new skills. Value the contribution of the patient/ service user voice. Operate within any organisational codes of practice or those from a relevant professional body. Respect equality and diversity across all areas of working practice and communications with staff, service users and other stakeholders. Take responsibility for the accurate and timely collection and recording of data and ensuring all personally identifiable information is protected and used only for the purposes for which it was intended. Comply with all health and safety legislation and local policies and procedures. Adhere to all organisational policies. Have knowledge and understanding of technology in the workplace which is sufficient to maintain their efficiency and also how technology can empower service users in a digital environment. Comply with the NHS Constitution in relation to the staff responsibilities that it sets out for NHS employees. Attend a one day Just and Learning & Civility and Respect training workshop. Be an ambassador for Just & Learning and Civility & Respect following the training. Positively advocate the just and learning culture within your team. Be a confident supporter and implementer of the Trust CARES Values including Civility & Respect within your team. Support their team/ services to create a positive environment for Just and Learning Culture. Participate in Just and Learning Culture events. Bring Just and Learning Culture updates/ information to the attention of team members and other MCT colleagues they work with. Support and encourage the sharing of concerns about the safety and quality of care with senior leaders with the aim of improving safety and quality. Actively participate in creating an open culture within your team so that concerns and difficulties can be discussed safely and respectfully. Speaking up in the event that they are exposed to incivility between colleagues in the workplace . Listening and understanding others who have concerns and taking a collaborative approach to work towards a solution to improve civility and respect.

Person Specification QUALIFICATIONS:

• GCSE or NVQ2 or equivalent experience
• Customer Service Qualification

KNOWLEDGE/ EXPERIENCE:

• IT literate
• Proven experience of word processing, spreadsheet, and email software
• Experience of using patient administration systems
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills including telephone skills and face to face communication
• Experience of general administration office skills - filing, photocopying, faxing, note taking.
• Ability to work to conflicting demands and work effectively within teams
• Ability to work in a confidential and sensitive manner
• Experience of handling cash/raising invoices relating to patient charges
• Ability to plan, prioritise and schedule own work
• Good organisation skills
• Ability to work without supervision
• Able to work flexibly in accordance with service needs

VALUES:

• Accountability
• Support
• High professional standards
• Responsive to service users
• Engaging leadership style
• Transparency and honesty
• Discreet
• Change oriented
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