General Practice Administration Assistant (Patient Assistant Team)

The Methodist Church in Britain; West of England; On-site; GBP 17,000 - 19,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Staff policies

Flexible hours

Staff events

Monthly rewards

Appreciation tokens

Job summary

Downend Health Group is seeking a Patient Assistant to join the Patient Assistant Team. Based across Christchurch and Willow Surgeries, the role focuses on front-of-house patient contact, appointment booking and record updates, with cover for other practice teams when needed.

The role requires GCSE maths and English, strong IT skills, and excellent literacy and communication. You will work 24+ hours per week on a rotating rota between 7.15am and 6.45pm, with flexible hours to cover staffing

Qualifications

• Very good IT skills and a thorough understanding of Microsoft Office.
• High literacy with excellent verbal and written communication.
• Positive customer service mindset.
• Understanding of and adherence to strict confidentiality and clinical governance.
• Attention to detail and accuracy in documentation.
• Ability to pick up different work processes and concepts quickly.

Responsibilities

• Meet, greet and signpost patients; handle registrations and record changes.
• Book, cancel and rebook nurse and clinical appointments.
• Update non-clinical records in EMIS, Docman and AccuRx.
• Assist patients with NHS App and Klinik appointment system.
• Calm patients to prevent escalation and formal complaints.
• Open/close the practice per internal protocols.
• Offer chaperone assistance.
• Triaging appointment requests in Sentiers by clinical priority and saving to EMIS.
• Manage SARS requests, consent letters and IGPR records.
• Administrative tasks: registration workflows, coded records, immunisation workflows, post handling.
• Medical secretary tasks: audio typing, e-referrals, letters, minute taking.
• Cover for short/long-term absence across teams and other duties.

Skills

High literacy and communication

Positive customer service mindset

Attention to detail

Confidentiality and governance

Adaptability and quick learning

Team collaboration

Education

GCSE Maths and English

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Based across Christchurch and Willow Surgeries, this role sits in the Patient Assistant Team at Downend Health Group. Most of the work is front-of-house patient contact, appointment booking and record updates, with cover for other practice teams when needed. Hours are at least 24 a week, worked within a rota between 7.15am and 6.45pm that can change with staffing levels. GCSE maths and English are essential.

What the job involves

• Meeting, greeting and signposting patients, and handling their queries on registrations, record changes, proxy access, medication, samples, private work and letter collections
• Booking, cancelling and rebooking nurse and clinical appointments
• Updating non-clinical patient records on EMIS, Docman and AccuRx
• Helping patients use the NHS App and the Klinik appointment system
• Calming patient frustrations to prevent escalation and formal complaints
• Opening and closing the practice in line with internal protocols
• Offering chaperone assistance
• Triaging appointment requests in Sentiers by clinical priority and saving them to EMIS
• Managing SARS requests, patient consent letters and records requests on the IGPR platform, including sourcing and photocopying paper records
• Administration team tasks such as registration workflows, coded records, child health and immunisation workflow, and opening and distributing post
• Medical secretary tasks such as audio typing in Lexicom Transcribe, e-referrals, advice and guidance letters, and minute taking
• Covering short and long-term absence across teams, and other duties needed to keep workflow running

Qualifications

• GCSE maths and English

Skills & knowledge

• Very good IT skills and a thorough understanding of Microsoft Office
• High literacy with excellent verbal and written communication
• Positive customer service mindset
• Understanding of and adherence to strict confidentiality and clinical governance
• Attention to detail and accuracy in documentation
• Ability to pick up different work processes and concepts quickly

Other

• Resilience and ability to work collaboratively with multiple teams
• Self-directed and motivated, able to act on own initiative
• Adaptable to changing work environments and work streams
• Flexibility to increase hours when demand arises, such as holiday or sickness cover, and to adapt to changing shift patterns
• Keeping own statutory and mandatory training records up to date in Teamnet

What’s offered

• Range of staff policies, including a Menopause Policy and mental wellbeing resources
• Flexibility in working patterns where possible to support work-life balance
• Social gatherings and staff sweepstakes on sporting events
• Monthly reward scheme recognising employees who go the extra mile
• Small tokens of appreciation for commitment to the practice