Senior Receptionist

This is an excellent opportunity to join DHC Outpatients as part of an independent NHS organisation that values high standards, teamwork, and continuous improvement. You will be joining a service where your contribution can make a real difference to patients and colleagues every day, helping clinics run effectively, supporting the reception team, and playing an important part in delivering responsive, patient-centred outpatient care.

As Senior Receptionist, you will help coordinate reception

services across DHC Outpatient locations, ensuring patients receive a

professional, efficient and welcoming service. Working with the Lead Receptionist, you will

support team supervision, rota

planning, training, service standards and escalation of complex

patient enquiries. You will also help investigate incidents, monitor performance and fill vacant clinic appointments to maximise capacity and reduce waiting times. This role combines reception duties with

leadership and operational support.

We are looking for an organised, proactive and patient-focused individual

with good communication, administration and IT skills. You will be confident in a busy environment, able

to manage competing priorities, support colleagues, solve problems and maintain confidentiality. Attention to detail, a positive attitude, and a

commitment to continuous improvement are essential.

Training will be provided for our in-house IT systems; however good working knowledge

of Microsoft Office is beneficial.

Please note: This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship, and the successful candidate must have an existing right to work in the UK.

The

Senior Receptionist is responsible for supporting the Lead Receptionist in the

day-to-day management and coordination of reception services across all DHC

outpatient locations. Acting as deputy to the Lead Receptionist, the post

holder will provide operational leadership to the reception team, ensuring high

standards of patient service, administrative efficiency, and compliance with

departmental procedures.

The

role combines hands-on reception duties with supervisory responsibilities,

including staff support, rota coordination, training, performance monitoring,

and ensuring reception functions are delivered effectively and consistently.

The Senior Receptionist will act as the first point of escalation for more

complex patient enquiries and service issues, exercising initiative, judgement,

confidentiality, and diplomacy when resolving concerns.

In

the absence of the Lead Receptionist, the Senior Receptionist will oversee

reception operations, allocate workloads, monitor performance indicators, and

ensure appropriate staffing levels are maintained to support the smooth and

effective delivery of outpatient services.

DUTIES AND

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POST

-

Support

the Lead Receptionist in the day-to-day supervision and coordination of the

reception team.

-

Act

as deputy for the Lead Receptionist during periods of absence, annual leave,

or when off-site.

-

Allocate

daily responsibilities and monitor workload distribution to ensure efficient

service delivery.

-

Provide

guidance, support, and coaching to reception staff to promote high

performance and development.

-

Assist

with recruitment, induction, training, and competency assessments for new and

existing team members.

-

Support

the completion of probation reviews, one-to-one meetings, appraisals, and

development plans.

-

Monitor

staff attendance, punctuality, and compliance with departmental procedures,

escalating concerns where appropriate.

-

Assist

in identifying training needs and opportunities for professional development.

-

Produce

and maintain team rotas, ensuring adequate staffing levels and reception

cover across all DHC locations.

-

Investigate

incidents and record findings on the incident reporting platform.

-

Coordinate

adjustments to rotas to accommodate annual leave, sickness absence, training,

and service requirements.

-

Monitor

reception performance against departmental KPIs and support improvement

initiatives where required.

-

Support

the Lead Receptionist in reviewing patient feedback, complaints, and service

performance metrics.

-

Proactively

contact patients to fill vacant clinic appointments, utilising waiting lists

and cancellation lists to maximise clinic capacity and minimise unused

appointment slots.

-

Ensure

reception processes comply with organisational policies, information

governance requirements, and local procedures.

-

Where

required, act as a receptionist, which consists of:

for clinicians, staff, patients, carers, and service providers.

bookings, cancellations, and rescheduling.

concerns and complex enquiries.

records.

responding to requests for information.

and training sessions.

-

Undertaking

any other duties appropriate to the grade and nature of the role.

WORK SETTING AND REVIEW

-

To

manage own workload efficiently and effectively on a daily basis. Maintain confidentiality at all times. Make decisions pertaining to the smooth and

efficient running of DHC Operations, where necessary referring problems to

senior management via the quickest route possible.

-

Be

able to work with a degree of autonomy.

-

Work

with a continuous improvement mindset.

to objectives as set by the DHC Board of Directors.

CONFIDENTIALITY

The

post holder must maintain the confidentiality of information about patients,

staff and DHC business in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and

Caldicott principles.

This is an exciting opportunity to join Dorking Healthcare (DHC) during a

period of growth as we recruit a new Senior Receptionist to support our

professional and friendly Outpatients team. DHC provides a wide range of

high-quality healthcare services across Surrey and Sussex and is proud to be

rated Good by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and accredited as an Any

Qualified Provider (AQP). Our vision is to continually improve local services

by delivering first-class care and reducing waiting times. We offer a

supportive, collaborative environment where staff are valued, encouraged to

develop, and empowered to make a positive difference to patients every day.

A can-do attitude is a vital asset at DHC, and we are looking for

like-minded individuals to work with us who share the same approach and work

ethic.

The benefits we offer include

service

surveys

DHC

actively encourages and promotes diversity, ensures all voices are heard and

included and is committed to equal opportunities for all.

Skills and Aptitudes

Others

Qualifications

Knowledge

Experience

Attributes