General Practice Assistant (GPA)

• Work closely with Call Handlers and other members of the patient access team to help progress patient requests efficiently.
• Identify administrative actions that can appropriately be completed or progressed at the first point of contact.
• Gather and prepare relevant information to support a GP or GP Consultant where clinical review or advice is required.
• Act as a conduit between the patient access team and the supervising clinician, ensuring queries requiring clinical input are presented clearly and efficiently.
• Support patients with navigation through practice, community and wider NHS services, using agreed practice processes and pathways.
• Arrange and support referrals, investigations, appointments and follow-up activity when directed or appropriate within established protocols.
• Help track outstanding actions and ensure agreed next steps are progressed.
• Liaise with patients, healthcare professionals, hospitals and other external organisations.
• Support clinicians with administrative tasks arising from patient care.
• Review and process correspondence and documentation within clearly defined practice protocols, escalating anything requiring clinical judgement.
• Maintain accurate and comprehensive patient records.
• Help identify opportunities to improve patient access, administrative workflow and the overall patient experience.
• Work closely with colleagues across the practice as we continue to develop new and innovative ways of delivering primary care.

Essential

• Initiative
• Good judgement
• Genuine desire to develop.

Desirable

• You might currently be:
• An experienced GP receptionist, administrator, care navigator or call handler looking for your next development opportunity.
• A senior administrator who would like greater involvement in patient pathways and clinical-team support.
• Someone who has worked elsewhere within the NHS, healthcare or social care and wants to develop experience within primary care.
• A graduate with a healthcare-related qualification who is interested in gaining practical experience of general practice.
• A Physician Associate graduate or someone with similar healthcare training who is interested in gaining broader experience of primary care and is comfortable undertaking a clearly defined non-clinical administrative role.
• Someone from another customer-facing or professional environment who can demonstrate strong judgement, communication skills and the ability to learn.
• Previous general practice experience would therefore be helpful, but it is not essential.