Receptionist/Clerical Officer

Elht; Burnley; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 27,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Holiday entitlement 27 days + bank

Structured training

Job summary

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust is seeking a Receptionist/Clerical Officer (Band 3) based at St Peter's Centre, Burnley. The role is predominantly reception and clerical support, delivering a high standard of customer service to patients and staff.

You will handle switchboard duties, appointment bookings, and general admin across the Health Centre, with opportunities to cover at other sites as required. Pro rata holiday entitlement applies for part-time work.

Qualifications

• GCSE in English & Maths - Grade C or above.
• ECDL or equivalent
• 2 years previous reception experience
• Experience of administration in an office based environment.

Responsibilities

• Operate the switchboard and answer queries from patients, staff and visitors.
• Book patient appointments using EMIS/CERNER or manual methods.
• Manage incoming/outgoing mail and organise room bookings.
• Provide administration support and maintain confidential records.

Skills

Switchboard / Telephone experience

EMIS/CERNER experience

Excellent communication and Inter‑pers

Multi-tasking

Education

NVQ 3 in Business Administration/Customer Service

GCSE in English & Maths

ECDL or equivalent

Tools

Databases

Job description

All our vacancies are below we would love for you to apply for one of our vacancies and start a fantastic new career with us. Check out our helpful tips on our application process page .

Information aboutwork experience and work shadowing canbe found by clicking here .

Main area Receptionist/Clerical Officer Grade Band 3 Contract Permanent: Mon to Fri 8.30 am - 4.30pm Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Monday to Friday 8.30am to 4.30pm) Job ref 435-D187-26

Site St Peter's Centre Town Burnley Salary £25,760 - £27,476 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 28/10/2026 08:00

At East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust our vision is to be widely recognised for providing safe, personal and effective care. We currently provide high quality services and treat over 600,000 people across East Lancashire and the surrounding area. We employ over 9,500 staff, many of whom are internationally renowned and have won awards for their work.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the ELHT Community Administration Team as a Receptionist / Clerical Officer. This is a part-time permanent position based at St Peter's Primary Health Care Centre, Burnley.

We invite candidates that are keen, enthusiastic and committed to improving patient services with excellent communication skills and the ability to work under pressure, in order to provide comprehensive administration support to all servicesbased at the Health Centre. The successful applicant will be required to provide an efficient and high quality service to the general public, patients and staff.

Main duties of the job

A flexible approach to work is essential with a willingness to work at other Trust sites as you could be required to cover for holidays or sickness absence. You will be trained on all systems used at the Health Centre. Your duties will include but are not limited to, operating a busy switchboard, answeringqueries from patients, staff, all building tenants and stakeholders queries,the electronic booking system for the Treatment Room, Podiatry Service and many other ELHT services, this will include greeting and arriving patients and making follow up appointments. You must be able to deal with people confidently and sensitively both face to face and over the telephone. You will be responsible for the booking of multi-purpose rooms within the building, reporting repair requests, and dealing with all aspects of incoming and outgoing, external and internal mail. With your previous reception experience and proven organisational skills you will have the ability to multi-task, work effectively as part of the team whilst having the ability to work alone whilst prioritising, organising and planning your workload.

Working for our organisation

The Community Administration team covers a vast majority of the East Lancashire area with 11 buildings in 5 localities providing community service support for our patients. As a member of the ELHT family you will be rewarded with a pension scheme and generous holiday entitlement which starts at 27 days plus bank holidays (pro rata for part time positions).

We also offer a structured in-house training programme, dedicated supervision and support, together with a comprehensive appraisal system to encourage your personal development.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To provide a general enquiry and reception service for the building, for the patients, visitors and staff.

To operate the switchboard for the Centre, answering queries and transferring calls to other health care professionals within the building.

To provide an efficient and effective message taking service in response to all enquiries from patients, visitors and staff redirecting accordingly.

To manually or electronically book patient appointments, using EMIS/CERNER either over the telephone, by post or face to face at reception, in a sensitive, competent and confidential manner.

To print off the daily appointment lists.

Receive patients onto the data bases for their appointments or alternatively confirm their attendance on appointment lists.

Responsible for adding patient referrals onto EMIS, maintain the integrity of the data base.

Deal with any security issues that may arise, calling for support as required from the Centre Manager and deputy (where applicable), other staff in the building, the security guard and the local PCSO or police.

Implement manual procedures in the event of IT system failures, report to IT and monitor progress

Book patient transport requests with the PTS service after treatment.

To provide comprehensive administration support to a variety of health professionals including laminating, photocopying, filing and typing highly sensitive and confidential reports

To type and process correspondence, reports and other documents as requested on a daily basis using Microsoft Office programmes such as Databases, Excel and Outlook for Email and Internet use.

Book and organise appointments for health professionals.

To deal with all aspects of incoming and outgoing and external and internal mail. Including sorting and accurately re-directing and forwarding to the correct department and liaising with the Royal Mail staff

Receive and receipt any delivered goods for the building, contacting the department, ensuring delivery to the correct department and reporting any discrepancies.

To be responsible for ordering and maintaining stationery stock levels, including non-stock items via NHS supply chain or e-procurement. Also responsible for receiving and receipting of delivered goods and reporting discrepancies.

Responsible for the booking of multi-purpose rooms within the building manually or electronically, for meetings/training and organise provision of equipment as necessary.

Responsible for issuing any aids and equipment as necessary including the building wheelchairs and maintain records.

Use a variety of office machinery/equipment including the printers and photocopiers.

Deal with any breakdowns with the office equipment and reporting them to the service departments as necessary

Provide cash reimbursement to patients attending clinics and verifying eligibility to claim travel expenses following Trust Policy.

To provide administration/reception cover at other Primary Health Care Centres as necessary.

To issue security keys and fobs as instructed, and following up fobs / keys not returned at the end of the day

Provide rapid response to various alarm systems, including nurse calls and accessible WC within the building, following protocols and any further actions as necessary.

Receiving and reporting all repair requests for the building, both manually or electronically, following up and monitoring progress as required.

Directing requests for new work to the Centre Manager.

To liaise with building contractors and personnel and undertake inductions if required.

To undertake relevant equipment checks which the Centre Manager has responsibility for e.g. fire extinguishers, defibrillators, mobile phones, wheelchairs, hearing loops, first aid kits, emergency bags and other appropriate Health and Safety tasks.

Receive lost property and maintain accurate record, disposing of goods according to Lost Property procedures.

Deal with complaints from service user and stakeholders and redirect as appropriate

Escort staff, patients and visitors around the building

Any other duty and reasonable request as identified by the Centre Manager.

Person specification

Qualifications/Experience/Skills

• GCSE in English & Maths - Grade C or above.
• ECDL or equivalent
• 2 years previous reception experience
• Experience of administration in an office based environment.
• Ability to multi-task in a busy environment, whilst dealing with constant interruptions.
• Good verbal and written communications skills – legible handwriting.
• Ability to produce accurately typed and photocopied documents efficiently and to a high standard.
• Complaints Handling
• Good organisational skills
• Ability to work as part of a team
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to demonstrate confidentiality and sensitivity when dealing with the public
• Ability to work under pressure using own initiative
• Flexibility regarding hours as these may change due to the development of services.
• Ability to cover for sickness & holidays throughout the Trust.
• NVQ 3 in Business Administration/Customer Service
• Switchboard / Telephone experience
• EMIS/CERNER experience
• Customer care training

Person Spec

• Qualifications
• Experience
• Knowledge and Skills
• Personal Attributes
• Other
• Qualifications
• Experience
• Knowledge and Skills

Dear Potential Applicant,

It is important you are made aware of the following as regards your application to East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

• Please note that the salary advertised is for full time hours. If this post is less than 37.5 hours per week, the salary will be pro-rata. For posts on Agenda for Change pay-scales, new entrants to the NHS will normally commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.
• This vacancy may close before the closing date if the recruiting manager deems sufficient applications have been received. Therefore it is advised to complete your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
• Please ensure you check the email account from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.
• Please note that shortlisting is completed anonymously with candidates being assessed against the essential criteria for the post. Therefore only applicants, who can clearly demonstrate how they meet our person specification criteria in their application, will be short-listed.

Disclosure and Barring Scheme (DBS)

If the role you are applying for is identified as either controlled or regulated activity as defined in in the Safeguarding vulnerable Groups Act (2006) any offer of employment is provisional upon a satisfactory DBS check being obtained.

The healthcare sector is exempted from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

In line with other NHS organisations in the North West Region, the Trust is now passing the charge for undertaking a DBS check on to candidates in the event they are successfully appointed into the post for which they have applied. Candidates can choose whether to pay this over 1-3 months as a deduction from the monthly salary. However, if you are applying for a post as a BANK worker, the payment must be made in full at the time of employment checks. By applying for this vacancy you are agreeing to this undertaking in the event you are successfully appointed.

The cost for an Enhanced DBS, is £45.90 and for a Basic & Standard, this is £24.90 this cost includes a £4.90 admin fee.

This cost is not applicable for a Volunteer post

The Trust is an equal opportunities employer, committed to improving the working lives of our staff and operates a 'Zero Tolerance' policy to aggression, violence, bullying and harassment. In addition, our aim is to help protect children and vulnerable adults by providing a first-class service to the recruitment of people into positions of trust.

We aim to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve.

We welcome applications from everyone irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, disability or social background.

We especially welcome applications from members of our black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, as we have identified that ELHT has an under-representation of BAME employees. Appointments will be made on merit.

Applicants who have a disability and meet the essential criteria for the job will be interviewed if you indicate you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme.

If you require a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process please make the recruitment services team aware as soon as possible. By telephone [phone] or email [e-mail] write to Employment Services, Parkview Offices, Haslingden Road, Blackburn, BB2 3HH

Employer certification / accreditation badges

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. Please complete and submit your application in good time to avoid disappointment.