Job summary
- Main area
- Diagnostics & Clinical Services
- Grade
- Band 2
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 22.5 hours per week (22.5 hours Wednesday to Friday working between the hours of 8am to 8pm ( General working hours are 8am to 5pm) 7.5 hours a day.)
- Job ref
- 435-D055-26
- Employer
- East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Royal Blackburn Hospital
- Town
- Blackburn
- Salary
- £25,272 pa
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 28/04/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Outpatient Department – Receptionist/Clerical Officer RBH
Band 2
At East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust our vision is to be widely recognised for providing safe, personal and effective care. We currently provide high quality services and treat over 600,000 people across East Lancashire and the surrounding area. We employ over 9,500 staff, many of whom are internationally renowned and have won awards for their work.
Job overview
At East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust our vision is to be widely recognised for providing safe, personal and effective care. We currently provide high quality services and treat over 700,000 people across East Lancashire and the surrounding area. We employ over 8,000 staff, many of whom are internationally renowned and have won awards for their work.
The post holder will be responsible for the provision of a comprehensive and efficient Reception Service to patients/service users within the East Lancashire Health Community, ensuring a high level of Customer Care whilst maintaining confidentiality at all times.
Outpatient Receptionist/Clerical Officer – 22.5 hours Wednesday to Friday working between the hours of 8am to 8pm ( General working hours are 8am to 5pm) 7.5 hours a day.
We have a fantastic team of people who are conscientious, caring, reliable, flexible and compassionate, all qualities which are essential to the NHS. If you want to be part of this team and have the necessary skills, we would like to meet you.
The successful applicant will be responsible for the provision of a comprehensive and efficient Reception Service to the general public, patients and staff within the East Lancashire Hospitals, ensuring a high level of Customer Care whilst maintaining confidentiality at all times.
Main duties of the job
A flexible approach to work is essential with a willingness to work across sites (Royal Blackburn & Burnley General Teaching hospitals) between the hours of 8am and 8pm, as you will be required to cover for holidays or sickness absence, this may also include Bank Holidays. You will be trained on all systems used at ELHT. Your duties will include, but not limited to , answering queries from patients whilst working on a busy reception desk as well as by telephone. This will include greeting and arriving patients, making follow up appointments . You must be able to deal with people confidentiality and sensitively both face to face and over the telephone, ensuring a high level of customer care. Arrange when necessary the attendance of interpreter/link workers for patients who require communication assistance when attending clinics and booking patient transport for their return journey.
You will also need to prepare casenotes provided for certain clinics, ensuring specific attention to the data items required for commissioning purposes and data quality in line with the Trust’s Clinical Records Policy. Adhere to departmental policies and procedures and participate in audits in order to maintain data quality and provide an efficient service
This can be a very challenging and physical environment including some manual handling (Casenotes).
Working for our organisation
Established in 2003 East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT) is a large integrated health care organisation providing high quality acute secondary healthcare for the people of East Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen.
Our vision is to be widely recognised for providing safe, personal and effective care. We currently provide high quality services and treat over 700,000 patients a year from the most serious of emergencies to planned operations and procedures. We employ over 8,000 staff, many of whom are internationally renowned and have won awards for their work and achievements
As a member of the ELHT family you will be rewarded with a pension scheme and generous holiday entitlement which starts at 27 days plus bank holidays (pro rata for part time positions).
We also offer a structured in-house training programme, dedicated supervision and support, together with a comprehensive appraisal system to encourage your personal development
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
- Act as first point of contact for all patients and visitors to the Department, providing a comprehensive reception and clerical Service to patients, relatives, carers, consultants and their teams
- Booking in patients attending outpatient clinics and issuing return appointments as directed by the consultant/nursing staff prior to the patient leaving the Department when required
- Identify potential Overseas Visitors and patients liable to pay for treatment at the point of referral/reception to the department, checking the residence status for all new patients for Overseas Visitors and inform the General Office Team as per the Overseas Visitors Policy and Procedure.
- Print referrals from the Choose and Book System/email system for patients attending forthcoming clinics (Currently Eye clinic only). Check Cerner Millenium for all other specialty referrals to ensure they are available for the Clinician to view.
- Work within the departmental shift patterns to cover the opening hours of the service, i.e. 8.00am – 8.00pm as and when required, including Bank Holidays across all sites
- Cancel/reduce clinic schedules, liaising with the patient by letter, txt or by telephone in the case of short notice cancellations.
- Re-schedule cancelled appointments and ensure all cancelled follow up patients are seen within reasonable time from their original appointment date in line with the Trust’s Access, Booking and Choice Policy as and when required, reporting any problems to the outpatient team leader/supervisor
Person specification
Qualifications/Experience
Essential criteria
- English Language and Maths GCSE Grade C/Level 4 or above or equivalent, Business Administration/ Customer Care NVQ Level 2 or equivalent.
- Previous experience in a customer care environment.
Knowledge and Skills
Essential criteria
- IT/ Keyboard skills
- Good verbal and written communication skills
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills in order to deal with all disciplines on the telephone using empathy and negotiating skills
Personal Attributes
Essential criteria
- Ability to demonstrate confidentiality and sensitivity when dealing with the public.
- Ability to work in a team, under pressure using own initiative
Other
Essential criteria
- Willingness to work across the departmental shift patterns to cover opening hours of the service, i.e. between the hours of 8am – 8pm; including evenings
Essential
Essential criteria
- Ability to work under pressure, use own initiative & willingness to learn new systems & processes
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Elizabeth Llewellyn
- Job title
- Deputy Outpatient Reception Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01254 732010
- Additional information
Sarah Turner - 01254 735026 8am to 6pm
Tara Gwilliam - 01254 733204 9am to 5pm
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