Clinical Administrator/Call handler

Job summary

At Hospiscare, every role helps us provide outstanding care and support to people living with a terminal illness and those close to them. We are looking for a compassionate, organised and professional Clinical Administrator / Call Handler to join our Clinical Services team.

Main duties of the job

As the first point of contact for many patients, families and healthcare professionals, you will play a vital role in delivering a welcoming and responsive service. You will handle telephone enquiries with sensitivity and care, support the management of referrals, maintain accurate records and provide administrative support to our clinical teams, helping to ensure our services run smoothly and efficiently.

About us

Hospiscare is an independent charity providing specialist palliative and end-of-life care across Exeter, Mid and East Devon. Our teams work together to help people live well for as long as possible, offering expert care, advice and support both in patients' homes and across our hospice services. Joining Hospiscare means becoming part of a compassionate organisation where every role contributes to making a real difference to local people and their families.

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. To support fair and unbiased recruitment, we use a blind shortlisting process for all candidates.

Job responsibilities

Job Description

1. JOB DETAILS

Job Title: Clinical Administrator / Call Handler

Band: 3

Location: Clinical Coordination Centre/Clinical Administration, Searle House, Exeter EX2 5JJ

Team/Directorate: Clinical Services

Responsible To: Community Cluster Team Leader

Responsible For: N/A

Accountable to: Chief Nurse

2. JOB PURPOSE

• To provide efficient and effective administrative and secretarial support to clinical teams.
• To provide telephone care, support and signposting for patients.
• To work within the multi-disciplinary team alongside registered nursing staff to
• contribute to the delivery of a high standard of evidence-based specialist palliative
• care.

3. KEY RESULT AREAS/PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

3.1 Main Responsibilities

Clinical Administrator

Provide a welcoming and professional first point of contact with Hospiscare services by responding to face to face, telephone and email enquiries.

Process new referrals and discharges, liaising with key stakeholders to ensure full relevant records are held in line with legislation and Hospiscares policies and procedures.

Liaise with clinical teams, passing on relevant correspondence and information to ensure communication takes place in a timely and professional manner.

Assist in compiling reports and statistics from the patient record database and other relevant sources, to enable the review and monitoring of service provision.

Coordinate meetings, including booking rooms, organising catering, preparing materials and producing attendee lists, to ensure they are well organised in advance and run smoothly.

Act as note-taker for meetings to ensure accurate minutes are produced and actions recorded.

Provide cover for other teams during periods of absence to ensure there is continuity of clinical administration support across all areas of the service.

Call Handler

Provide a first point of telephone contact for patients, carers and healthcare professionals to ensure a timely response whenever information or support is required.

Liaise with Hospiscares Clinical Nurse Specialist teams to ensure a consistent approach to the triage process and that patients are prioritised appropriately.

Communicate in a sensitive and professional manner with patients, relatives, colleagues and others, to promote and maintain Hospiscares values and ensure dignity and respect are observed.

Adhere to Hospiscares clinical recordkeeping policy when providing and sharing verbal, digital or written information and instructions, to ensure patient confidentiality is observed at all times.

3.2 Key Contacts

Internal:

• Clinical Administration team colleagues
• Clinical Coordination Centre team
• Community Cluster Team Leader
• Community Clinical Nurse Specialist teams
• Medical team
• Inpatient Unit team
• Supportive Care team
• PA to Chief Nurse
• Chief Nurse

External:

• Patients and those close to them
• Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (RDUH)
• General Practitioners
• NHS Community Services
• Social and Domiciliary Care Workers
• Providers of out-of-hours services

3.3 Health & Safety

Ensure that Health and Safety guidelines and fire regulations are strictly adhered to

Comply with safe working practices as defined by Hospiscare

Complete online training as and when required

Take reasonable care for your own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by acts or omissions at work

Report any accidents, incidents or near misses as soon as reasonably practicable

Manage own work life balance and general wellbeing, including any relevant pressures in respect of lone working, travel, difficult environments and challenging situations.

3.4 Data Protection and Confidentiality

Comply with all the requirements of the Data Protection Act, other relevant legislation and Caldicott principles whilst carrying out the duties of your role

Ensure the confidentiality of all information relating to patients, staff, volunteers, visitors or contractors, and of financial and commercial information.

3.5 General

Be aware of and adhere to Hospiscare policies and procedures at all times

Take part in progress/performance reviews throughout the year

Cooperate with other Hospiscare departments

Attend training courses and complete online training modules as required to meet the requirements of the post

Take responsibility for own personal development, seeking out opportunities to learn new skills

Undertake any other duties as requested by management which are reasonably deemed to be within the scope of the role.

3.6 Other

Apply the Hospiscare values and behaviours to every aspect of the role at all times

Promote and maintain the brand standards of Hospiscare.

Person specification

Additional requirements

Essential

• Willing to work in different Hospiscare locations occasionally if required

Experience

Essential

• Demonstrable experience in a customer facing service environment
• Demonstrable secretarial/administrative experience
• Demonstrable experience of using databases, including entering data
• Demonstrable experience of taking notes at meetings and producing minutes

Desirable

• Audio typing
• Experience of interrogating data and producing reports
• Experience of setting up systems and processes from scratch
• Experience in a health care setting
• Experience of working under appropriate supervision as part of a multi-disciplinary team and of multi-agency partnership working
• Experience of providing and receiving complex sensitive information

Knowledge

Essential

• Understanding of patient record databases
• Understanding of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• Awareness of the work of hospices and of Hospiscare

Desirable

• Understanding of the complexities of working with individuals at times of distress and conflict
• Understanding of the importance of effective team working in a healthcare context

Personal attributes

Essential

• Able to prioritise own workload on a daily basis, using initative to solve problems and improve ways of working
• Able and willing to work flexibly as part of a team, juggling competing priorities in a rapidly changing environment
• Able to remain calm under pressure and to manage stressful situations in a professional manner.
• Commitment to continuing professional development.
• Ability to act as a patient advocate
• Awareness of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in all aspects of work

Skills

Essential

• Developed communication skills
• Developed organisational skills
• Developed IT skills

Qualifications

Essential

• General education to GCSE level or equivalent, including maths and English at Grade C/4 or above

Desirable

• Communication Skills training