Job overview
We are looking for an enthusiastic individual to join our Booking Centre team, who is dynamic with extensive experience in the processes and procedures that support patient administration. You will oversee a team, which will comprise of Band 2 and Band 3 Booking Clerks.
You will be expected to demonstrate that you have a strong working knowledge of the NHS eReferral System, Cerner, SCR (Cancer Database) and possess a good understanding of the services we provide. The successful candidate will be responsible for the supervision of a large team within the department.
The post holder will oversee the delivery of a patient focused referral management and outpatient telephone booking service to patients, with the additional responsibility for the operational supervision, training and mentoring of staff within the Department. To assist the Deputy Booking Manager in the attainment of national and local booking targets, by monitoring primary targeting lists for outpatients, whilst also monitoring eReferrals and the Booking Centre APP.
Main duties of the job
The primary function of the Outpatient Booking Supervisor would be in delivering a comprehensive referral appointment and clinic management function for the majority of Consultant-led appointments.
You will be expected to play a role in a number of the different projects taking place; you should be comfortable working as part of a team and being directed, but equally may be expected to take the lead in some of the projects.
Administration skills, IT literacy, prioritisation and organisational skills along with excellent communication skills are also essential for this role.
You will be an enthusiastic person, keen to build relationships across organisational boundaries to improve care for patients. You will be willing to work flexibly with a wide range of stakeholders in a challenging operational environment, and have demonstrable experience of supporting service improvement and leading a team. You must have exceptionally strong attention to detail and a willingness to work around the needs of the team and organisation.
The post holder will be required to work the late shift, 4pm - 8pm, Monday to Friday. You may be required at times to be flexible at short notice and will be required to cover sickness and annual leave for the day shift supervisors.
Working for our organisation
We are a team of over 60 staff, comprising of Booking Clerks, Senior Booking Clerks, Supervisors, Directory of Services Co-ordinator, Deputy Managers, Outpatient Booking Manager and Head of Booking.
We work to strict deadlines and have to adhere to tight timescales. We are a fast paced department that is continually evolving.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Operational Management
1. Provide supervisory and managerial support to the outpatient booking teams.
2. Monitoring of quality and performance of staff, and processes, taking action to correct any lapse of standards, in conjunction with Deputy Booking Manager.
3. Performance monitoring of teams to ensure quality standards agreed within the service are maintained, including data quality
4. Maintain/update standard operating procedures (SOP’s.
5. Liaise closely with the Booking Centre Trainer to update records.
6. Be committed to continuous improvement of data quality, taking responsibility for the quality of service provided within Booking and to contribute towards and support service improvement
7. Undertake regular audits within your team to ensure high standards of data quality.
8. Responsible for monitoring call logs/reports to plan capacity to ensure continuous cover in office hours to manage telephone demand during the busiest periods.
9. Prioritise workload each day to ensure the departmental team runs efficiently and effectively. Use initiative and motivate colleagues in order to meet difficult targets.
10. Monitoring adherence of Access Policy (particularly in relation to Referral to Treatment and cancellations & DNA’s)
11. Work in collaboration with the Directorate managers to ensure the delivery of the Referral to Treatment target. Ensuring that outpatient appointments are allocated within waiting time targets, using advanced knowledge and skills to correctly allocate patient to the correct consultant and clinics over the various Trust sites. Entering them onto Cerner with specific attention to the data items required for commissioning purposes and data quality.
12. Assist in maintenance of Directory of Services on eReferrals to accurately reflect outpatient services available within the Trust.
13. Assist on an ad-hoc basis with requests from Business Managers for the creation and maintenance of clinics, ensuring all ad-hoc clinics are available within the agreed time-frame.
14. Assist when required, with capacity planning to define current usage of clinics and potential slot availability for direct booking through eReferrals.
15. Liaise and deal with the Patient Choice Centre, GP practice staff, medical, nursing and other staff to ensure that referrals, appointments and queries are processed efficiently and correctly and in a timely manner. Assisting your team with any unresolved queries.
16. Respond to telephone and email enquiries, contact with members of the public and staff of all disciplines, with tact, sensitivity and confidentiality at all times, being aware of The Data Protection Act, Caldicott and Freedom of Information policies.
17. Be responsible for the collection of statistical data and assist the Outpatient Booking Team Manager with ad hoc audits and projects.
18. Put forward proposals for the development and maintenance of procedures/protocols within the booking teams, updating departmental procedures and ensuring all information is communicated to the staff within your team
19. Responsible for setting up and overseeing systems for booking clinic appointments and generating patient confirmation letters following such requests, ensuring that clinics are not overbooked or booked in an inappropriate number. This requires an in-depth knowledge of each clinician's clinic.
20. Be aware of current outpatient waiting times for every specialty and to highlight to the Directorate Manager as and when capacity issues arise, ensuring that all appointments are made in accordance with the current outpatient appointment guidelines.
21. Monitoring and ensuring that capacity is utilised to a maximum.
22. Be responsible for overseeing the booking of follow up appointments from Patients, Wards, Secretaries etc.
23. Monitor and ensure that the electronic reviewing of referrals are actioned in a timely manner.
24. Ensure staff adhere to any changes which may occur in accordance within the eReferals guidelines and policies.
25. Action all PTL lists on a regular basis to ensure patients are being seen within targets, following up any queries or breaches identified to ensure they are seen within target.
26. Monitor and maintain worklists on e-referrals
27. General clerical duties including, filing, faxing, photocopying and stationery stock control.
28. Deal with patient complaints in accordance with the Trust Complaints Procedure.
29. Be involved in regular departmental Communication Meetings. Discuss departmental issues, putting forward issues and suggest possible solutions, implement and monitor the effectiveness of these working practices/procedures.
30. Responsible for the completion of IR1’s where necessary.
31. Provide flexibility in terms of hours worked in accordance with the needs of the service. Offer a telephone service between the hours of 8 am and 8 pm.
32. Be available and aware of major incident procedures.
Education and Training
Implement and deliver a comprehensive training package for staff in accordance with the Access, Booking and Choice Policy, eReferrals Guidance, Cerner, Departmental Procedures and Booking procedures - this also includes staff outside of Booking, including clinicians.
Responsible for identifying, developing and tailoring training to meet the requirements of the team.
Attend Trust manual handling updates acting as facilitator to the Booking Team, undertaking any necessary training.
Keep up to date with the latest eReferrals, Directory of Service releases, attending external training where applicable, and communicate this to your team.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
* GCSE – English Literature and Maths at grade C or above (or equivalent experience)
* Full knowledge of Booking Centre duties and systems used
* Fully competent using e-Referrals system
Desirable criteria
* NVQ supervisor management level 2 or equivalent experience
* ECDL
* Recent experience of supervising/managing staff to meet service objectives
Skills
Essential criteria
* Excellent motivational skills in order to inspire others
* Ability to communicate with colleagues at all levels of an organisation
* Excellent time management and organisational skills
Desirable criteria
* Presentation Skills