Access Team Leader

St. Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; Ormskirk; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust is seeking an Access Team Leader to supervise and develop the Access Team across Ormskirk District General Hospital and Southport District General Hospital. You will guide staff, ensure timely patient access, and drive service improvements in a fast-paced NHS setting.

The role emphasizes leadership, staff development, and delivering a high-quality patient journey within set performance targets.

Qualifications

• Lead, motivate, and develop the Access Team with clear guidance and training.
• Oversee day-to-day operations and ensure smooth workflows and high service standards.
• Foster a positive team culture and deliver an excellent patient experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead, motivate, and develop the Access Team, providing clear guidance and confident leadership.
• Oversee day-to-day operations, ensuring smooth workflows and consistently high service standards.
• Build positive relationships and deliver excellent patient experience in line with Trust expectations.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Decision making

Organisation

Discretion and tact

Prioritisation

Problem solving

Interpersonal skills

Staff training

Staff management

Reception management

Education

NVQ level 4 in administration or relevant other subject or equivalent level of knowledge

GCSE-level with 5 grades at C or above or equivalent experience

European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL)

Tools

Medway Patient Administrative System

Job description

Job overview

Work Pattern: Between 8:00am and 18:00pm, Monday to Friday - final arrangements will be discussed at interview.

Location: Based across both Ormskirk District General Hospital and Southport District General Hospital.

We're excited to offer a fantastic opportunity for an Access Team Leader to join Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust, supporting our teams across the Southport and Ormskirk sites.

This is a key role for a motivated, proactive individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment. We're looking for someone who brings strong leadership qualities, excellent communication skills, and a positive, solutions-focused approach. As Access Team Leader, you'll guide and support the Access Team to deliver high-quality service, meet performance targets, and ensure a smooth and efficient patient access journey.

If you're driven, organised, and passionate about leading people to achieve great results, we'd love to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

You will play a key role in leading, motivating, and developing the Access Team, providing clear guidance, effective training, and confident leadership to help every team member perform at their best. This is a fast-paced and rewarding role, ideal for someone who brings energy, enthusiasm, and a flexible, can-do approach to meeting the needs of the service.

You will oversee the day-to-day operations of the team, ensuring smooth workflows, strong communication, and a consistently high standard of service. Building positive relationships and fostering a supportive team culture will be central to your role, alongside delivering an excellent patient experience in line with Trust expectations.

Working for our organisation

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.

Our services

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation, freeing up space for more unwell patients. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018


• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)


• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

What You’ll Bring

• A confident, professional approach, with the ability to engage effectively with a wide range of people in a fast-paced, high-profile environment


• Strong communication skills, whether face-to-face, over the phone, or in writing, with the ability to adapt your style to suit the situation


• Proven decision-making skills, with the ability to prioritise effectively when faced with competing demands


• Excellent organisational abilities, combined with clear, concise com

Person specification

Our values

Essential criteria

• We are Kind


• We are Open


• We are Inclusive

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• NVQ level 4 in administration or relevant other subject or equivalent level of knowledge


• Educated to at least GCSE level with 5 grade at C or above or equivalent experience


• European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL)

Knowledge and experience

Essential criteria

• Data entry experience


• Good knowledge of Administrative Systems


• Previous supervisory and staff management experienceKnowledge of 18 week RTT and cancer targets


• Experience of dealing with customers


• Experience of dealing with complaints

Desirable criteria

• Previous NHS experience


• Knowledge of Medway or other Patient Administrative System


• Experience of scheduling outpatient and inpatient appointments


• Experience of managing reception desks

Skills

Essential criteria

• Standard keyboard skills


• Ability to train and motivate staff


• Ability to use own initiative when dealing with staff and patients issues


• Good organisational skills


• Ability to maintain a high level of discretion, diplomacy and tact at all times.


• Ability to prioritise own workload


• Ability to recognise and solve problems and identify when further action is required


• Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to use tact and diplomacy.


• Detail oriented and able to meet deadlines


• Good understanding of confidentiality


• Good verbal and written communication and telephone skills

Other

Essential criteria

• Combination of sitting standing and walking throughout the day.


• Frequent interruptions throughout the day when dealing with patient and staff queries


• Ability to remain calm and work effectively in pressure situations


• Daily requirement to deal with distressed patients and staff


• Occasional requirement to deal with verbal aggression from patients and staff


• Use of VDU throughout the day.

Thank you for considering an application to work for Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust. MWL is an exciting and forward-thinking NHS Trust who are one of the best places to work for in England.

The Trust may contact you during the recruitment process for your feedback on your experience. We always aim for continuous improvement in our practice.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity, and respect for all individuals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and value the unique skills, perspective and experience you bring. We are grounded in the belief that diversity enhances our collective strength, fostering innovation and excellence within our workforce. We welcome all applications irrespective of people's race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and in particular those from under‑represented groups.

Disability Confident Leader

As a Disability Confident Leader, we commit to offering an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.