Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Role Summary 

This role is a key member of the administration management team, working towards the achievement of key targets for the Breast Cancer Unit and Cancer Directorate.

The post holder will be responsible to the Patient Access Service Manager and will work within the Trusts patient access policy to deliver high quality, effective and flexible patient access, clerical and administrative services.

They will also be responsible for the line management of the administrative Patient Access Clerks and Team Leaders. This will include the allocation of work, training and development, staff appraisal and recruitment and selection.

 Key Working Relationships

 Internal:

Operational Managers

Patient Access Managers

Senior Management Team

Team Members and colleagues within Directorates especially Consultant body and Clinical Nurse Specialists

Diagnostic teams

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Communication

• Contribute to meetings for the area of expertise and up-to-date knowledge of service performance in a clear, concise manner, which include both recommendations for issue resolution and corrective action.
• Lead by example and demonstrates excellent communication and listening skills to staff and customers/patients, as the issues are often complex, highly sensitive and highly emotive as they involve waiting lists, time to treatment and delays to care, including cancellations.
• Convey knowledge of Cancer Targets and the Patient Access Policy to a range of staff including doctors, administration teams, nurses and management representatives, and others as required e.g. Commissioners and GPs. Ensure that confidentiality is maintained at all times and that staff adhere to the Data Protection Act, Freedom of Information Act and the Caldicott Principles, especially as patient records are commonplace.

Service Delivery and Improvement

• To deliver a high quality, effective and flexible service in respect of the patient pathway from referral to treatment.
• Work closely with clinicians, nurses and all clinical staff to ensure that patients are actively managed through their pathways.
• To manage the patient’s pathway from triage, first outpatient appointment, through diagnostics, treatment planning and treatment, highlighting potential delays in the pathways to Patient Access Manager, so they can escalate to Directorate Management.
• To check and report on  triaging of new referrals to ensure that the service meets booking targets, ensuring that patients are booked appropriately and equitably.
• To identify extra capacity slots required by each Service, to meet national cancer targets with identification of the correct staffing and skill mix required to treat the patient lists.
• Responsible for the knowledge management of the Patient Tracking List (PTL for designated services on behalf of the Directorate.
• Being fully updated and aware of patient demand exceeding or diminishing in relation to current capacity and communication of the position to the Directorate Management Team, including the Patient Access Service Manager
• Responsible for the review of the outpatient, inpatient and day case waiting lists and the continuous monitoring of all patient pathways, both patients on 18 week pathways and those awaiting planned care or who require regular follow up monitoring and review. This includes identifying blockages, bottlenecks in service delivery, a worsening treatment position and risk to patient from inadequate timescales to clinic availability.
• Ensuring adherence to Trust policies and procedures, in particular National Cancer Targets and the Patient Access Policy. To recommend systems and processes which improve compliance to the policy.
• Minimising clinic cancellations by ensuring a 6 week look forward of consultant availability is tracked to the clinic templates available, therefore avoiding late cancellations and where possible, arranging alternative availability.
• To work closely with Patient Access Service Manager and Directorate Management to develop and refine policies and procedures to ensure seamless management of the patient pathway from referral to treatment.
• Maintain up to date knowledge of all applicable targets and processes relating to the patient pathway and to be a point of reference within the directorate.
• Actively manage the service’s waiting lists and maintain a clear overview of all patients currently active in their pathway.
• Predict and prevent breaches of waiting time targets and delays due to problems in capacity, through liaison with clinicians. This includes highlighting performance risks and potential breaches to the Directorate Management team including the Patient Access Service Manager
• Ensure outpatient utilisation is on target by analysing the look forward reports and taking appropriate action with the clinicians.
• Work with reception teams to ensure all outpatient clinic outcomes are recorded within 1 working day of the clinics.
• Ensure all diagnostics are booked within pathway target times.
• Review all waiting lists and take appropriate action in working with the Patient Access Clerks in the booking of outstanding patients.
• Work with the Breast Unit Booking Hub Staff in relation to correct adherence to the Patient Access Policy, ensuring all cancellations, DNA’s and patients affected by clinic changes are rebooked in an appropriate timely manner. Mobilise additional clinical capacity as required on behalf of the Directorate manager(s).
• Analyse, investigate and resolve complex queries relating to the service.
• Keep up to date with relevant Patient Pathway guidance, Patient Access Policy, best practice and impending changes which could impact on the way of working.
• Providing support to the Patient Access Service Manager for the attendance at key meetings in regard to the access target and PTL list, as required.

People Management and Development

• Assist Patient Access Service Manager in training of new staff, designing and monitoring the induction programme for the individual, including conveying knowledge of the service performance and systems and processes within the Trust which contribute to this.
• Responsible for the day-to-day line management of administrative staff in line with Trust policies and procedures.
• To maintain accurate annual leave and sickness records on behalf of the Patient Access Service Manager.
• To offer support and guidance through training and regular 1:1s with administration staff.

Learning and Development

• Attend mandatory training updates as required.
• Undertake training as necessary in line with the development of the post and as agreed with the line manager as part of the personal development process.
• Achieve and demonstrate agreed standards of personal and professional development within agreed timescales.
• Identify own learning needs and jointly plan training requirements with your line manager
• Participate in the Trust’s appraisal process to discuss how your role will help deliver the best possible care to our patients and help to deliver any changes in service.

This job description is an outline of the role and responsibilities. From time to time due to the needs of the service, we may ask you to flexibly undertake other duties that are consistent with your role and banding, including project work, internal job rotation and absence cover.

The job description and person specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the department and the organisation.

Mission and values

 The mission of University Hospitals Sussex – what we are striving to achieve – is to provide:

‘excellent care every time’

 All our efforts to do this put the interests of our patients first and foremost, and are underpinned by our values:

• Compassion
• Communication
• Teamwork
• Respect
• Professionalism
• Inclusion 

These values were selected by our staff, patients and public when we were talking about the merger and the sort of organisation we want University Hospitals Sussex to be.

Our mission and values are extremely important to us and we expect everyone who works at University Hospitals Sussex in any capacity to share and uphold them.

Patient First

 Patient First is our Trust-wide approach to improving the quality of care for patients and to build and embed a culture where staff can be confident that their views matter and will be heard.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

 The Trust is committed to supporting Inclusion as can be seen by our Patient First Triangle with a clear value being Inclusion.  We all have a responsibility to treat our colleagues, patients and service users with respect and dignity irrespective of; age, race, disability, gender reassignment/identity, marriage and civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity status, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

We are a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2) and part of the Stonewall Workplace Equality Champions programme.

All staff have a duty to report any behaviours which contravene this to their managers.