Health Records Assistant

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust; Plymouth; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 24,000; Full time

Job summary

A reputable healthcare trust in Plymouth is hiring a Health Records Assistant responsible for maintaining health records and ensuring their security within the Central Records Library. Responsibilities include managing urgent requests, filing, and participating in audits. Ideal candidates should have clerical experience, proficiency with PC and Microsoft applications, and a clear understanding of patient confidentiality. This role offers career development opportunities in a progressive working environment.

Qualifications

• Demonstrable clerical experience with a background in health records.
• Ability to work within a warehouse environment, involving manual handling.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills are essential.

Responsibilities

• Maintain the integrity and security of health records in various areas.
• Efficiently manage urgent requests and filing tasks.
• Participate in audits and ensure adherence to health and safety policies.

Skills

Clerical experience

PC and Microsoft applications proficiency

Managing workload to strict deadlines

Understanding patient confidentiality

Organizational skills

Education

Numeracy and literacy qualifications (GCSE or equivalent)

NVQ Level 2 in Business Administration

Job description

To provide and maintain an efficient and high standard Health Records Service throughout the Trust.

The post holder will work to maintain the Main Store and Archive area ensuring the integrity and security of all health records.

Main duties of the job

The Central Records Library comprises of three main areas: Main Office/Pre-file and Archive

Main Office/Pre-file area

To provide support for the pulling and filing of Health Records within the Central Records Library for all clinical activity.

Prioritising workloads and all other Central Record Requests.

Efficiently manging the urgent line with a professional approach.

Archive area

To provide support for the filing and culling of REI records and Deceased records.

Undertake the retention and destruction of all Health Records and REI records in accordance with the Records Management Code of Practice 2021 and following the Trust's policies and procedures.

Review and highlight any storage capacity issues and identify any bottlenecks within the store for yearly Deceased notes.

Roles in these three areas are generic which means the post holder can be allocated to any area within theCentral Records Library at any time. This will involve staff rotating across all 3 areas to ensure continuity of service during staff absences as and when required. This generic job description covers all duties required of a Health Records Assistant.

About us

We are a people business - where every member of staff matters and can make a difference. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care. The Trust has great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment. We offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION WILL BE ELECTRONIC, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY. If you have any issues with applying online and need additional support including reasonable adjustments with the application process please contact the recruitment manager for this post who will put you in touch with the recruitment team. We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants around less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. Please contact the recruiting manager to discuss this prior to your application submission. We commit to giving this full consideration in each case. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams. It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.

Job responsibilities

MAIN OFFICE/PRE-FILE AREA

Action all telephone calls/written/emailed requests for case notes promptly using a high standard of attention to detail, recording a detailed account and outcome of each request/call, retrieve and pack notes and trace electronically to the appropriate department.

• Ensure that all notes are available for clinics daily and ensure Prepping Teams are informed in advance of appointments of any notes that cannot be found.

Unpack all deliveries of case notes / loose sheets, pre-sort into appropriate filing areas, and then file into main store, tracing each case note onto iPM at every stage of the process.

Distribute all incoming external and internal mail deliveries to appropriate office areas within the CRL.

ARCHIVE AREA

Regularly reviewing storage capacity within the main store and archive area and planning for future growth to accommodate deceased and culled records. This entails moving boxes and hospital records in large quantities within a tight timeframe.

Filing of all REI records, boxing up Deceased and A&E records.

Ensuring all patient record requests from Crown are dealt with efficiently and spreadsheets are kept updated.

Responsible for the retention and destruction of all patient health records ensuring all guidelines are followed as per the Records Management code of practice 2021.

Scanning the main store as and when required to identify misfiles and growth.

Preparing and sorting Service Personnel records ready for destruction.

GENERIC TASKS ACROSS ALL MAIN OFFICE/PREFILE & ARCHIVE AREAS

Assist the CRL Supervisors in acting as a point of contact for Clinicians and other Staff groups, providing advice and support on all Health Records issues.

Generate electronic pulling lists for patients via the Corporate Services function on Trustnet and utilise those lists to locate and pull case notes from the main store and Archive area.

• To undertake comprehensive searches and take all necessary actions and exhaust all avenues to ensure the completeness of clinics.
• To use personal judgement and initiative when analysing the facts that are required to locate a patients record, such as looking for a mis-file or determining when a temporary folder should be created.

Utilise the CRL electronic emailing system to action and close electronic requests from a variety of hospitals, departments, and other areas.

• Ensure that all notes are in a good secure condition with year stickers, carry out basic repairs on badly damaged case-notes, or pass to Filing Coordinator for attention.
• Maintain tidy filing bays by moving case notes as and when necessary, in particular when dealing with excessively large case notes are returned to file.
• Maintain library storage in terminal digit order, including realigning, accurate filing and adhering to the Records Management Code of Practice 2021.
• Work within agreed standards and benchmarks with the ability to demonstrate initiative and flexibility to achieve good practice.

Monitor and report on personal workload statistics in readiness for analysis by the CRL Manager.

Participate in audits, questionnaires and surveys relating to evaluation of services.

Deal with queries from clinical and other Trust staff and have the initiative to know when help from a more senior staff member is required.

• There is a frequent requirement to concentrate when working to predetermined schedules, whilst having the ability to respond to ad-hoc interruptions and urgent queries throughout the shift.

During out of hours periods, action incoming telephone requests for urgent case notes.

Cover other CRL staff duties as and when required.

• Be available to work a Bank Holiday on a rota basis.

To assist new members of staff, demonstrating duties, sharing knowledge and experience, with ongoing help and support if required.

Undertake any other duties commensurate with the grade of post in agreement with the department manager.

• Maintain the status of a closed Medical Records library by ensuring identification of visitors to the department is checked at all times.
• All staff working evenings/weekends/bank holidays are required to secure all entrances/exits of the building and to set the alarm at the end of their shift, in accordance with the instructions displayed in the lobby area.
• All staff should familiarize themselves with the process to follow to deactivate the alarm at the beginning of their shift and complete this when necessary.

Participate and comment in discussions relating to departmental procedures and policy development supporting service change.

• Frequently liaise with higher disciplines of staff when requesting or searching for case notes, with sufficient influence to ensure their support in locating and sending the relevant documents.

To be familiar with and adhere to the Health and Safety Policy and other Trust policies and procedures.

To support and enhance the continual quality initiative ensuring a quality first approach to all aspects of work.

Person Specification

Knowledge & Experience

• oDemonstrable Clerical experience
• oDemonstrable experience working with PC's and Microsoft applications
• oDemonstrable experience of managing own workload and working to strict deadlines
• oUnderstanding of the need for Patient confidentiality
• oTrust background and proven knowledge of iPM and a range of Health Records/Case note Procedures

Qualifications

• oNumeracy and literacy qualifications (GCSE or 'O' level grade D or above, CSE grade 1, Key skills Level 1) or equivalent
• oNVQ Level 2 in Business Administration or equivalent demonstrable experience
• oAble to work within a warehouse environment, climbing ladders and using kik stools, while carrying case notes.
• oManual handling, to carry, move, lift case notes, load and unload blue boxes of case notes
• oAccuracy and attention to detail
• oExcellent communication and inter-personal skills
• oRemain calm within a busy environment
• oMaintain confidentiality in accordance with the Data Protection Act and Trust requirements
• oMeet deadlines and daily targets
• oWork as part of a team and have a flexible approach to cover colleagues during absences
• oGood organisational skills/prioritise workload

Desposition/ Atitiude / Motivation

• oSelf-motivated and able to work on own initiative
• oEnthusiastic and responsive to new demands
• oWilling to learn new skills and welcome change
• oDiscretion and tact
• oAdapt to change

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.