Outpatients Call Handler / Admin Clerk

North Bristol NHS Trust; Bristol; On-site; GBP 25,000; Full time

Job summary

North Bristol NHS Trust is seeking Outpatient Call Handlers to ensure high-quality administrative support and exceptional patient experiences in a fast-paced call centre environment. Candidates should demonstrate excellent communication skills and resilience while managing patient interactions and appointment bookings effectively.

Qualifications

• Experience in an administrative role and call centre.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks with interruptions.
• Understands the importance of confidentiality.

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive telephone services for patients.
• Handle appointment queries with professionalism.
• Assist administrative tasks as required by the team.

Skills

Communication Skills

Resilience

Confidentiality Awareness

Multi-tasking

Job description

This post is only open to internal applicants.

Band 2

Main area Core Clinical Services Grade Band 2 Contract Permanent: Substantive Hours

• Full time
• Part time

37.5 hours per week (Contact Centre opening hours 08:00 - 17:00, Monday to Friday, part time applicants considered) Job ref 339-CCS7968-CCC

Site Southmead Hospital Town Bristol Salary £24,169 per annum (FTE), pro rata for part time roles. Salary period Yearly Closing 29/05/2025 23:59

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Job overview

To provide a high quality and comprehensive Telephone appointments/referrals/admin service for patients contacting North Bristol NHS Trust.

Work as part of a team with focus on high quality experience for patients to administrate all aspects of outpatient appointments to the highest standards.

Provide a comprehensive call handling service for North Bristol NHS Trust including Outpatients, Physiotherapy, E-Referrals, and Therapies.

Main duties of the job

We are looking to recruit Outpatient Call Handlers into our appointments Call Centre. This role will have a vital part to play in all parts of outpatients appointments, serving as great experience for those looking to build a career in the NHS.

As a member of the Centralised Outpatient Services team, the post holder will have responsibility for answering a wide variety of calls and queries from patients each day. On average, each call handler answers approximately 80 calls per day in a challenging environment.

Reporting to the Outpatients Team Leader the post holder will ensure the responsive and professional standards of the North Bristol Outpatients Team are always maintained.

We are looking for talented individuals willing to work hard, with a positive attitude and with a flexible approach to change who can make a significant contribution to the important work of this highly performing team.

We are offering Full time and Jobshare for this post. Available working hours will be discussed during interview and agreed with each candidate as to what suits them best.

Working for our organisation

Our vision at NBT is that by enabling our teams to be the best they can be we will provide Exceptional Healthcare, Personally Delivered. This means that our patients recognise that we are exemplars of safe, harm-free care and that we give them the best possible health improvement.

As a major acute teaching hospital and centre of excellence in a number of fields we will do this through the dedication of you, our outstanding 8000 staff, and through a genuine partnership with our patients, the public and local partners. By doing this we will, as OneNBT, provide a place you are proud to work and an outstanding patient and carer experience.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

- Act as the first point of contact for patients telephoning the Appointments Centre confidently deal with queries via the telephone.
- To assist the referral team and booking team in administrative tasks as required by the team leaders.
- Answer general hospital queries and appointment queries as appropriate.
- Respond to and resolve patient queries where appropriate and in line with departmental guidelines.
- Assist in supporting new members of the team.
- Handle personal and confidential patient related information in a sensitive manner.
- Receive and accurately pass on information to relevant personnel/teams. - Maintain and update accurate patient details on hospital computer systems.
- Record the relevant Referral to Treatment (RTT) status as appropriate Book patient transport in line with the relevant procedure.
- Adhere to appropriate booking rules when rescheduling and cancelling appointments.
- Generate appointment letters as and when required.
- Effectively manage and respond to patient communications to the Outpatients email box.
- Work as part of a team processing diagnostic, tertiary, and non-consultant led referrals, ensuring these are processed in a timely manner.
- Take part in team meetings and play a role in service redesign.
- Ensure that compliments and complaints are escalated to the Team Leader or Performance and Operations Manager.
- Manage patient appointments/cancellations under supervision from Team Leader or Clinic Coordinator.
- Maintain good working relationships with other hospital staff.
- Adhere to Trust and departmental policies, procedures and guidelines.
- Participate in annual appraisal reviews.
- Co-operate fully in the introduction of new technology and methods of working.
- Demonstrate tasks to new and current staff as required.
- Undertake other duties commensurate with the role and grade.

Person specification

Work Experience

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

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• 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 Cir

• 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.

If you apply for this vacancy and have not received a communication from North Bristol NHS Trust within three weeks of the closing date, please assume that on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful.

Please note that North Bristol NHS Trust does not reimburse travel expenses relating to interview attendance.

If you feel you meet the requirements of the Disability Act / Two Ticks scheme and require further support/advice, please contact us on tel [phone].

North Bristol NHS Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

The successful applicant(s) will normally commence at the minimum of the scale unless they have previous NHS service at the same band. Progression through the scale is by annual increments.

At North Bristol Trust (NBT), we know diverse and inclusive environments lead to happier and healthier teams and improved patient care and outcomes. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are currently underrepresented in NBT’s workforce at Band 8a and above. These include people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled people and LGBTQIA+ people.

Please note that stringent pre-employment checks are undertaken on all successful applicants prior to commencement in post.

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