Receptionist / Clerical Officer

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust; Salford; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 25,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare organization in Salford is seeking a Receptionist to provide comprehensive reception and administrative support. The ideal candidate will manage patient appointments, assist with queries, and maintain accurate patient records. This position requires excellent communication skills and the ability to work flexibly across shifts, including weekends. Join us in delivering exceptional patient care and support.

Qualifications

• Experience in reception and administrative roles is preferred.
• Ability to work flexibly across various shifts.
• Knowledge of patient information systems is beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Greet and assist patients and visitors at the reception.
• Manage scheduling and appointment systems.
• Liaise with multidisciplinary teams for patient support.

Skills

Communication Skills

Problem solving

Organizational skills

Customer service

Tools

Medway system

PCs

Job description

The main purpose of the role is to provide a full and confidential reception and administrative service. The post holder will act as the first point of contact to visitors and patients attending the hospital, prioritising information and dealing with routine enquiries from service users, colleagues and visitors. The post holder will be required to work closely with other administrative staff, but also work alone and use their initiative to resolve/process daily queries. They will provide Reception/Administrative support to other areas within the radiotherapy service at The Christie at Salford. The post holder must contribute to the efficient running of the service, and work within The Christie NHS Foundation Trust policies and Health & Safety legislation. See job description for further information. Communication Skills: Ensuring accurate recording/input of treatment and planning data Organising and scheduling patient appointments Greeting and escorting patients Assisting patients with appointment queries Knowledge, training and experience: Problem solving & forward thinking Uses knowledge of integrated clinical information systems for collating data and adding referrals Data input and radiotherapy completion tasks Where applicable, provides retrieval of medical documents for clinical information including those from other Trusts Personal Skills: Liaises with the multi‑disciplinary team to ensure that adequate information and support is available to patients Other Responsibilities: Is responsible for stock control in areas of work Is responsible for the production and processing of all relevant completion letters following a patient’s treatment Creation of Follow up appointments on treatment completion Effort: Patient transfer Manual handling tasks as required, The Christie at Salford opened in 2011 and is one of three Christie satellite centres delivering Radiotherapy to patients closer to their homes. The Reception team works closely with the radiographers and medical team providing administration, practical and clinical support for patients. Working hours must be flexible to fit the needs of the service and individuals will be expected to participate in all shift patterns and will be contracted to work between 6am and 11pm, however routinely the department works between the hours of 7.30am and 8pm Monday to Friday (including bank holidays). Flexible working and part‑time/job shares will be considered. Patient care is important to us and training will be given for the skills required.

Key Responsibilities

• Meet and greet patients attending the Radiotherapy department, using effective communication skills when dealing with enquiries, providing empathy and reassurance to service users, relatives and visitors who may become aggressive, or emotionally distressed, referring them to the appropriate person or department for further assistance.
• Exchange information with patients and staff, both verbally and in written format.
• Communicate information between departments internally and externally.
• Post holder is expected to follow all relevant protocols, and standard practice.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues to ensure policies are adhered to.
• Undertakes surveys/audits as necessary to own work.
• Manager is available as point of reference for any queries and will meet regularly.

Knowledge, Training and Experience

• Access patients’ demographic details on Medway and amend as necessary.
• Enter patient onto the Medway appointment system.
• Provide comprehensive advice to patients/relatives regarding appointments.
• Track patient case notes in Medway system.
• Deal with queries from patients and other service users, for example GP’s, hospital staff, social services, voluntary organisations and Trust management.
• Liaise with other members of staff regarding case notes and patient visits.
• Resolves issues arising in own role, such as cancellation of patient appointments.
• Uses own initiative to liaise with clinical staff where necessary regarding patient queries.
• Use patient information systems to assist patients and staff.
• Work in Medway system, requiring standard keyboard skills.
• Use of office equipment including PCs, fax machine, and phones.
• Maintain patient confidentiality at all times.
• Follow all relevant policies and legislation.

Planning and Organisation

• Use own initiative to solve problems referring to manager as necessary.
• Book patient transport where applicable and deal with transport queries.
• Book and schedule physiotherapy and complimentary therapy and support services on site.
• Plan and organise own time and workload activity with prioritisation.
• Record all data in an accurate and timely manner.
• The post holder will be expected to undergo relevant training and to take an active role in own personal development.
• The need for flexibility in this role is paramount as the post holder may be required to work in other locations and work flexible shifts.

Patient Care

Undertakes a range of different delegated duties across the Radiotherapy Department as allocated by the relevant line manager. Will record patient information and data and contribute to the implementation of patients clinical care packages. Freedom to Act will be required to utilise own initiative but work within defined SOPs, procedures and policies. When there is doubt or the post holder is unsure then there will be more senior members of staff available to raise issues with and receive guidance from.

Working Conditions

• Working hours must be flexible to the needs of the service, this may include working weekends.
• Expected to participate in all shift patterns.

Teaching/Training

• Attends all relevant mandatory training courses.
• Maintains own personal development.
• Participate in relevant training, meetings and work at The Christie Withington site and other satellites within the network as required.
• Assists in the training and/or orientation of clinical support workers and any other students.
• Complete Christie Care Certificate as mandated by the Trust.
• Required to demonstrate tasks and duties to new and less experienced members of the team.

The closing date for this post may be extended if there are insufficient applicants or brought forward if there is a high volume of applicants. We want to ensure that everyone who works at the Christie or uses our services is welcomed, valued and treated with dignity and respect. The Christie values diversity and is committed to ensuring equal opportunities for all and fair representation across the organisation at all levels. In support of these commitments, we particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority people and people with disabilities for this post. Appointment will be only on merit. We are committed to creating a balanced and diverse workforce. As such we welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. Together we will foster inclusion and tackle inequity and health inequalities in cancer care. As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy.

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust is committed to the highest standards of ethical conduct and integrity in all our activities. We have a zero‑tolerance approach to modern slavery in any of its forms, including slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour, and human trafficking. We are fully committed to acting ethically and with transparency in all our business dealings and relationships, and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in our organisation or supply chains.

All positions within the Christie are subject to the receipt of satisfactory written references, medical clearance and evidence of your Right to Work in the UK. Some roles will require a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check. Please note if you are successfully appointed to a post with this Trust, you will be required to pay for your own DBS Disclosure. By applying for this post you are agreeing to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there. If you have not heard from us within four weeks of the closing date, I regret that on this occasion your application will have been unsuccessful. The Inter‑Authority Transfer (IAT) process is a critical and beneficial component of ESR and will form part of the recruitment process. In the event that you are successful following interview your previous NHS employment data, if applicable will be transferred from your current / most recent employer. Overseas candidates wishing to apply for this position and who would require immigration sponsorship, may wish to self‑assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for the post on the UKVI website. You should be aware the Trust operates a No Smoking Policy and therefore employees are not permitted to smoke at work.