Patient Access Coordinator

Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 24,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent healthcare provider in Greater London is seeking a motivated Patient Access Officer for its oncology services. You will be responsible for managing outpatient appointments, responding to patient queries, and ensuring an efficient patient experience. This role requires strong customer service skills and offers an opportunity to work from home one day a week after training. Embrace this chance to contribute to patient-centered care in a supportive environment.

Qualifications

• Previous hospital administration experience is essential.
• Good understanding of the 18-week patient pathway.
• Strong communication skills to handle patient queries.

Responsibilities

• Respond to patient queries professionally.
• Book and manage outpatient appointments.
• Support waiting list management for oncology services.

Skills

Attention to detail

Customer service skills

Organizational skills

Ability to work under pressure

Job description

Overview

We are excited to offer Band 3 Patient Access Officer opportunities within Guy’s Cancer Centre, part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. We are offering an excellent opportunity for a motivated and organised individual to join Guy’s Cancer Centre, part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.

This role is ideal for someone looking to develop their administrative experience within a busy oncology setting. You will be required to prioritise a high-volume workload, work effectively under pressure, and provide a professional, compassionate service to patients and carers.

Working closely with clinicians and multidisciplinary teams, you will support the smooth delivery of cancer services by covering reception areas, booking outpatient appointments, and managing calls within a busy call-centre environment. As a key point of contact, you will play an important role in ensuring patients experience a safe, efficient, and supportive pathway of care.

We are looking for someone who is highly organised, reliable, and committed to delivering excellent patient-centred care in line with Trust values. Once fully trained and established in the role, there is an opportunity to work from home one day per week, subject to service needs and manager approval.

Please note due to high response rate we sometimes close adverts early and we advise you apply as early as possible.

Details

We currently have two full-time posts (37.5 hours per week), working on a rotating shift pattern Monday to Friday between the hours of 08:00 - 18:00 (including Bank Holidays & occasional Saturday’s, subject to service demand). There is also an expectation for cross-site cover/working, between Guy’s Cancer Centre, Guys Hospital, and Guy’s Cancer Centre at Queen Mary’s Hospital Sidcup.

We are seeking dedicated and enthusiastic individuals with excellent attention to detail and strong customer service skills. You will need the ability to prioritise a busy workload, work effectively under pressure, and demonstrate a good understanding of the 18-week RTT pathway, particularly within a cancer services setting.

Responsibilities

• Responding to patient queries or concerns in an effective and professional manner.
• Booking, cancelling, and rescheduling outpatient appointments across cancer pathways.
• Supporting day-to-day waiting list management for oncology and haematology services.
• Liaising closely with clinicians and the wider multidisciplinary team to ensure patients are booked within agreed time frames.
• Escalating capacity or pathway issues to Team Leaders to support timely resolution.

A good understanding of the 18-week patient pathway and previous hospital administration experience are essential for this role.

Organisation and Values

Organisational Values: Our values help us to define and develop our culture, what we do and how we do it. It is important that you understand and reflect these values throughout your employment with the Trust. The post holder will be: a. Caring, b. Ambitious, c. Inclusive. Our values and behaviours framework describes what it means for every one of us in the Trust to put our values into action. The framework can be found on our Trust careers pages and GTIntranet.

Duties and Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities listed below are representative of the Patient Access Coordinator role and its purpose within the service; they are not exhaustive and the post holder may be required to undertake additional or alternative administrative duties and responsibilities commensurate with the level of the post, to support the smooth running of the service.

Main Duties

• Act as the first point of call for all patient access queries to the Trust.
• Be responsible for the scheduling of outpatient appointments according to clinical urgency and length of wait in accordance with departmental procedures and Trust Policies.
• Liaise with patients prior to their hospital visit to ensure that a mutually convenient date and time is agreed.
• Ensure that patients are appropriately reminded of their appointments. This may include sending reminder letters or contacting patients by telephone, up to seven days before their visit to re-confirm attendance in line with departmental protocols.
• Ensure that departmental standards are met for patients receiving notification or acknowledgement of their visit.
• Provide a courteous and efficient point of contact for patients both face to face and over the telephone.
• Ensure that each patient is treated as an individual and their individual needs are met (e.g., appropriate support is in place for their appointment, such as interpreting support).

Ongoing pathway management

• Develop expertise in all aspects of the multiple sub-speciality pathways in the department.
• Using the Waiting Lists, ensure that the booking of all patients is in line with Trust and National waiting time targets and escalate exceptions.
• Respond to patient queries or concerns in an effective and professional manner, escalating where appropriate to Team Leaders.
• Responsible for the accurate input and maintenance of confidential data onto relevant Trust IT systems.
• To have a clear and up to date knowledge of the rules and protocols of the service to ensure full and effective utilisation of clinical capacity.
• Ensure regular, efficient validation of all waiting list data in accordance with Trust Policies.
• In conjunction with Team Leaders, review cancelled/suspended/deferred patients ensuring appropriate action is taken.
• Work flexibly to ensure the department operates effectively, including working across both acute hospital sites and across all speciality boundaries.
• Assist in investigating any complaints or incidents that arise in relation to appointments or admissions for your speciality.
• Ensure that any telephone, e-mail or written queries are responded to within the appropriate time frame and escalated if necessary.
• Develop and maintain relationships with all staff groups to ensure the patient access teams function as effectively as possible.

Standards monitoring

• Ensure telephone calls are answered within the agreed time and in line with the Trust greeting policy.
• Ensure that all patient demographics are checked and updated on all Trust systems.
• Ensure patient cancellations/changes are recorded appropriately on all relevant Trust systems.
• Ensure that any patient initiated pauses to appointment or admission dates are recorded accurately and in real time on EPIC.
• Ensure that Patient Waiting Lists are proactively managed in line with Patient Access targets.
• Ensure that local and Trust policies are adhered to at all times.
• Ensure that all clinics are ‘cashed up’ within 24 hours of the end of the clinic with all appropriate outcomes completed.
• Ensure urgent referrals/queries are dealt with in line with agreed protocols.
• Escalate any issues and breaches of the above standards to the Team Leader in the first instance.
• Support the Team Leader to investigate any breaches of the above standards.

Other

• Work within a multi-disciplinary team in developing the service in line with departmental plans and Trust corporate objectives.
• Participate in department development as appropriate and participate in department meetings.
• Undertake any other duties commensurate to the grade, required to ensure the smooth and efficient running of the department.
• Undertake any training as required to complete the tasks associated with the job role.
• Ensure that all health records are appropriately tracked and securely stored whilst in the department according to the Health Records Policy.
• To provide general administration support as directed by management.
• Please see the job description attached for further details of the post and the main responsibilities.

This advert closes on Monday 2 Feb 2026