Receptionist/ AdministratorinHoveinHovePUBLISHED MON 17 MAR 2025

Hove Medical Centre is a well established training practice at the foot of the South Downs that requires someone to join their friendly and supportive reception team.

If you like to learn new things and like to be kept busy, please read on.

We have a vacancy for either a full time or 2 part time receptionists working between 20 and 37.5 hours per week.

The hours will be worked between 08.00 and 18.30 Monday to Friday and will likely include some early starts (08.00) and some late finishes (18.30).

There will be an opportunity to work additional hours to cover holiday absences and occasional early evening clinics.

The right person will provide a professional, positive and friendly service to our patients, deal with general enquiries and support our GPs, nurses and other clinicians to deliver a first class medical service.

Main duties of the job

The role will involve

Dealing with patient enquiries either face to face or over the phone

Booking appointments

Accessing confidential patient information

Keeping patient data up to date

Explaining procedures

Assisting and supporting clinic staff

Liaising with other healthcare organisations

The candidate will need

To be confidential

Be customer focussed

Have excellent communication skills

Able to work independently

Have good attention to detail

Be computer literate

Be a team player

Overview of your organisation

Hove Medical Centre's clinical team is made up of 4 GP partners, 3 salaried GPs, 1 nurse practitioner, 3 practice nurses, 1 clinical pharmacist, 2 healthcare assistants, 1 social prescriber and 1 Mental Health Coordinator.

The clinical team is supported by a business manager and a team of 16 admin/reception staff.

Being a training practice, the clinical team can include GP registrars, student nurses, paramedic practitioners, physician associates, clinical pharmacists and medical students. It is so rewarding to see some of these clinicians return in the future, fully fledged, knowing that we helped them on their journey.

We support our staff on their own journey by providing a friendly and proactive working environment.

About us

JOB TITLE: RECEPTIONIST

REPORTS TO: RECEPTION MANAGER

HOURS: 20-37.5 hours per week

Job summary

Receive, assist and direct patients in accessing the appropriate service or healthcare professional in a courteous, efficient and effective way.

Provide general assistance to the practice team and project a positive and friendly image to patients and other visitors, either in person or via the telephone.

Job responsibilities

Ensure an effective and efficient reception service is provided to patients and any other visitors to the practice

Deal with all general enquiries, explain procedures and make new and follow-up appointments.

Using your own judgment and communication skills, ensure that patients with no prior appointment but who need urgent consultation are seen in a logical and non-disruptive manner.

Explain practice arrangements and formal requirements to new patients and those seeking temporary cover, and ensure procedures are completed.

Receive and make telephone calls as required. Divert calls and take messages, ensuring accuracy of detail and prompt appropriate delivery.

Enter requests for home visits into the visit book, ensuring to carefully record all relevant details and referring to duty doctor where necessary.

Action repeat prescription requests and ensure that they are ready for collection by the patient within 48 hours, either on the computer or manually.

Prepare lists and notes for all surgeries and clinics held, ensuring completion of all associated paperwork.

Advise patients of relevant charges for private (non General Medical Services) services, accept payment and issue receipts for same.

Enter patient information on to the computer as required.

Patient notes and correspondence:

Retrieve and re-file records as required, ensuring strict alphabetical order is adhered to

Ensure correspondence, reports, results etc. are filed promptly and in the correct records, ensuring that all recent correspondence is available when patients are seen.

Ensure records are kept in good repair, with all necessary information on the outside cover clearly visible.

Make and serve refreshments, ensure the kitchen is kept clean and tidy and air and tidy the waiting room in turn with other staff.

Premises

Open up premises at the start of the day when first to arrive, de-activate alarm and make all necessary preparations to receive patients.

When last to leave at the end of the day, ensure that the building is totally secured, internal lights are off and the alarm activated.

Ensure that all new patients are registered onto the computer system promptly and accurately

Undertake any other additional duties appropriate to the post as requested by the partners or the business manager.

Confidentiality

In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately

In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential

Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data

Health & safety

The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others health, safety and security as defined in the practice health & safety policy, the practice health & safety manual, and the practice infection control policy and published procedures. This will include

Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines

Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks

Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills

Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards

Actively reporting of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised

Keeping own work areas and general patient areas generally clean, assisting in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness consistent with the scope of the job holders role

Undertaking periodic infection control training (minimum annually)

Reporting potential risks identified

Demonstrate due regard for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

Equality and diversity

The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include

Acting in a way that recognises the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current legislation

Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues

Behaving in a manner that is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.

Personal/professional development

The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, such training to include

Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development

Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work

Quality

The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will

Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk

Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision

Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance

Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs

Effectively manage own time, workload and resources

Communication

The post-holder should recognise the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to

Communicate effectively with other team members

Communicate effectively with patients and carers

Recognise peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly

Contribution to the implementation of services

The post-holder will

Apply practice policies, standards and guidance

Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work

Participate in audit where appropriate