Contact Handler / Administrator

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust; West of England; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 26,000; Full time

Job summary

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a dedicated Contact Handler for our busy Patient Contact Centre. You will manage telephone and email enquiries, update outpatient appointments, and help maintain waiting lists with accuracy and courtesy.

Full-time hours are Monday to Friday, 9-5. Training is provided, and you will join a team committed to excellent patient service and professional development within the NHS setting.

Qualifications

• Educated to GCSE level or equivalent; experience in customer care is desirable.
• Knowledge of IT systems, good keyboard skills, willingness to learn new IT packages.

Responsibilities

• Handle telephone and email enquiries.
• Process outpatient appointment cancellations and rescheduling.
• Add patients back to waiting list and escalate concerns when needed.
• Discharge patients when appropriate.
• Work in a high-volume, patient-focused outpatient environment.

Skills

Customer Service

Call Handling

IT Skills

Multitasking

Data Protection

Education

GCSE or NVQ2 in Customer Care

Basic IT knowledge

Tools

NHS booking system

Telephone handling

Job description

Qualifications

Essential criteria

Job Overview

Centralised Outpatient Services at Bristol NHS Foundation Trust support the clinical divisions and specialities to administer their outpatient services. The service comprises our patient-facing Reception Team, our telephone and email-based Patient Contact Centre and our administrative Booking and Referrals Teams.

About This Role

Candidates are invited to join our very busy Patient Contact Centre. You will require clear spoken and excellent written communication skills, be a good listener and able to assist patients with their varied queries.

You will also be required to be fully trained on multiple Information Technology systems so that outpatient appointments and waiting lists are updated.

You will join a highly performing team in a sometimes-challenging environment, where you will be required to take upward of 80 calls per day. Full training and support will be available.

This is a dynamic service with opportunities for future development for staff who excel in their roles. This is a patient-focused environment, where we are a committed to supporting professional growth and career progression.

If you have the relevant experience, a strong work ethic and the drive to make a meaningful contribution, we encourage you to apply for one of our posts. Your contribution really does make a difference to the patient journey.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will handle telephone and email enquiries, processing outpatient appointment cancellations, rescheduling or adding patients back to the waiting list. It may also be necessary to raise escalated concerns with colleagues or discharge patients.

The Contact Handler is a vital role within Centralised Outpatient Services and an excellent opportunity for those wishing to build a career in the NHS.

Full-time hours, Monday-Friday, 9-5 only to be considered.

Working for our organisation

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust brings together more than 28,000 staff to deliver over 160 clinical services across thirteen hospital locations, operating from three main sites at Southmead, Bristol city centre and Weston.

With an annual turnover of £2.3 billion, we are now one of the largest NHS trusts in the United Kingdom. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone’s throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust values all people as individuals. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

For a more detailed job description, main responsibilities, and Person Specification, please refer to the job description document attached to this vacancy.

Previous applicants for this role will not be considered.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Educated to basic GCSE or equivalent e.g. NVQ2 in Customer Care or have relevant experience
• Knowledge of IT systems, good keyboard skills and a willingness to learn new IT packages.

Desirable criteria

• NHS booking system/telephone handling

Work Experience

Essential criteria

• Previous experience of working in an administrative and clerical role.
• Experience of working in a high volume service

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working in a call centre

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

Essential criteria

• Demonstrate the ability to work on multiple tasks with frequent interruptions.
• Produce work to an accurate and high standard, with competence in writing and recording information.

Personal Qualities/Special Circumstances

Essential criteria

• Provide an understanding of the importance of confidentiality and data protection in a hospital environment.
• Able to effectively communicate with the public and colleagues, over the telephone and face to face, in a professional and courteous manner.
• Resilient demeanour, flexible and adaptable to change, able to work a range of shifts and move across specialties as the need arises.

We hope that you will decide to join us and become part of this exciting journey, helping us to shape our future together.

• As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.
• The Trust is committed to investing in and caring for all our staff. We will support you in maintaining and improving your health and wellbeing, as well as your career development through management and training support - developing exceptional people for exceptional careers.
• BFT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults.
• To comply with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 all applicants must be able to speak fluent English to an appropriate standard which will be assessed at Interview.
• If you require sponsorship for a visa to work in the UK, to avoid disappointment, please check to ensure you are eligible under the UKVI points based system.
• The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.
• By applying for this post, you are agreeing to Bristol NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.
• Please be aware of scams – unless specified above, we will only communicate with you via @recruit.trac.jobs or nhs.net e-mails and we will never ask you for any payments.

Important

Please note that if you apply for a position with this Trust, you may be contacted via Trac or via email. This includes invites for job interviews. We therefore recommend that you regularly check your Trac account and email accounts. We may also contact you by texting the mobile number, if provided, on the application form.

Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts we may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date. Therefore, please apply for this post as soon as you can, if you are interested and you meet the requirements of the Person Specification

Only those candidates who clearly demonstrate how they meet the person specification will be shortlisted for this job.

As a guide interviews should usually take place within 3 weeks of the closing date.

When providing employment reference details, please provide correct work-related email addresses so references can be sought promptly when we are looking to progress your application. Your referee must all be known to you in a line manager or professional lead capacity.