Care Navigator

Our Care Navigation staff are the first

point of contact for the Practice, whether it be face to face, by telephone, or

via an online communication offering support and guidance to patients on

choosing the right service for their needs.

The team handle and file all incoming clinical documentation identifying relevant clinical information, coding appropriately and complete any actions required.

Care Navigators support clinicians by liaising with

patients regarding appointments and general enquiries and also liaises with other

healthcare providers to support patient care.

Experience of working in a high pressure reception environment and

providing a service to the general public is essential as is a passion for

providing excellent customer service.

Darwin Medical Practice provides services from Greenwood Health Centre, Lichfield Road, Burntwood, St Chads Health Centre, Dimbles Lane, Lichfield and Chasetown Medical Centre, 29-31 High Street, Chasetown, Burntwood.

Our aim is to deliver a high quality service which will benefit our patients. With a large team working together we will maintain and improve the quality of care with the sharing of expertise and skills, this will enable patients to have more choice. We have a coordinated approach, developing our teams to support patients with long term and complex conditions.

We value our relationship with our patients and have an active Patient Participation Group to help us deliver the best service possible.

Let us help patients live a full and active life.

The following teams make up Darwin Medical Practice

In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately.

In the performance of the duties outlined in this Job Description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential.

Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.

The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others health, safety and security as defined in the practice Health & Safety Policy, to include:

Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines.

Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks.

Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills.

Using appropriate infection control procedures and maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards.

Reporting potential risks identified.

The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:

Acting in a way that recognises the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current legislation.

Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues.

Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgemental and respects their circumstances, feelings, priorities and rights.

The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, such training to include

Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and or professional development.

Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.

The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will

Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk.

Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision.

Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance.

Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs.

Effectively manage own time, workload and resources.

The post-holder should recognise the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to

Communicate effectively with other team members.

Communicate effectively with patients and carers.

Recognise peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly.

Contribution to the Implementation of Services

The post-holder will

Apply practice policies, standards and guidance.

Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work.

Participate in audit where appropriate.

To be first point of contact for the Practice, whether it be face to face, by telephone, or via an online communication, offering support and guidance to patients on choosing the right service for their needs.

To provide support to ensure the Practice runs smoothly and provides a high level of service to patients, clinical staff and other members of the Practice team

Provide front of house reception duties providing support and greeting patients and visitors in a warm, friendly and professional manner

Handle all incoming calls to the practice, dealing with requests and forwarding calls to the relevant person where appropriate

Allocate and rearrange appointments in line with Practice protocols

To care navigate patients to appropriate services, and document on the clinical IT system

Maintain the practice general email inbox, action requests from external agencies and forward incoming correspondence to the relevant person

Identify relevant clinical information documented in patient correspondence, code appropriately and complete any action required

To review incoming medical records and summarise onto the clinical IT system

Process prescriptions in line with the practice protocol

Darwin Medical Practice has a team of over 100 staff and provides care to over 24,000 patients. The reception team consists of more than 30 Care Navigators and whilst the role can sometimes be pressurised, the team are

very friendly and supportive of each other. The team is led by our Operations Support Manager and Operations Team Coordinator.

The wider practice ethos is to provide excellent care to our patients,

showing respect to both patients and our colleagues.

All teams meet regularly to discuss updates, share training and changes

to processes but we also have whole practice sessions to ensure that everyone

is informed about practice developments and has chance to meet others that they

would not usually see.

Qualifications

Essential: - Experience of working in a high pressure reception environment; - Experience of providing a service to the general public

Personal qualities

Motivation

Essential: - Ability to work unsupervised and as part of a team.; - Willingness to undertake appropriate training.; - Passion for excellent customer service

Experience

Essential: - Knowledge of confidentiality, equal opportunities and cultural sensitivity; - Use of ICT systems including MS office