Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please note: This role does not meet the minimum criteria for visa sponsorship under the current UK immigration rules, which set specific salary and skill thresholds. As such, we are unable to provide sponsorship for this post. Applicants will therefore need to already have the right to work in the UK to be considered. We include this information at the outset to provide clarity and avoid unnecessary inconvenience for applicants.

Please note that if you currently work for another NHS Trust or UHSussex and you are applying to accept this position as a secondment opportunity, before applying you must seek agreement and authorisation from your current Trust/Manager. Secondments can’t be agreed without this approval. If you are unable to gain approval, you should refrain from applying unless you wish to take this role as a fixed term position.

•  Accountable for the delivery of 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.
•  Responsible for the management of the patient’s pathway from triage, first outpatient appointment, through diagnostics, treatment planning and treatment, highlighting potential delays in the pathways to both Directorate Manager and Head of Booking & Clinical Administration Services, ensuring that all patients who are not on 18 week pathways also receive timely care and treatment
• Responsible for checking and reporting on Consultant’s triaging of new referrals to ensure that the service meets the 48 hour target, ensuring that the coding proforma’s are current and up to date.
•  Responsible for the identification of extra capacity slots required by each Service, to meet national targets with identification of the correct staffing and skill mix required to treat the patient lists.
• Responsible for the knowledge management of the PTL 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.
•  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 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.
• Work closely with Head of Booking and Clinical Administration Services and Directorate Manager(s) 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 to be the main link between Directorate and Centralised Administration Teams and for patients, relatives and GPs where those queries cannot be resolved by the individual booking teams.
• Actively manage the service’s waiting lists and maintain a clear overview of all patients currently active in their pathway and to be able to produce, analyse and present information on this at all directorate meetings.
• 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.
• 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.
• Maintain forward view of theatre lists and identify leave or lack of theatre availability and liaise with Inpatient booking team.
• Review all waiting lists and take appropriate action in working with “The Booking Hub” in the booking of outstanding patients.
• Work with the Booking Hub team leaders and booking appointments clerk 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)
• Ensure the Service Level Agreements between Centralised Administration Services and the Directorate(s) are followed and maintained.
• Provide advice and guidance to GP’s, Consultants, patients, carers, wards, in how to access their individual services in a timely manner, taking into account 18 week rules and  all Trust policies.
• Identify demand and capacity issues and to work with Directorate Manager (s) and Directorate staff to find a resolution to these issues.
• Analyse, investigate and resolve complex queries relating to the service.
•  Responsible for the maintenance of a number of information sources, in relation to projects.
• Keep up to date with relevant Patient Pathway guidance, Patient Access Policy, Service Level Agreements and strategies, best practice and impending changes which could impact on the way of working.
• Providing support to the Directorate Manager (s) for the attendance at key meetings in regard to the access target and PTL list, as required.
• On behalf of the Directorate Manager, to investigate and respond appropriately to complaints received in a timely manner, escalating trends and areas of concern to the Directorate Manager(s) to address with staff member, patient representative or patient.