Outpatient Bookings Call Handler

Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our friendly Outpatient Booking Team at the Royal United Hospital in Bath. If you have great customer service, excellent interpersonal and organisational skills - this could be the role for you!

You will work within the Trust's Outpatient Booking Centre, providing essential support in relation to outpatient booking services.

You will be part of the team, booking and rescheduling a whole range of outpatient appointments, as well as other administrative tasks that are needed to ensure patients experience high-quality care at the first stage of their pathway.

We are looking for an individual who can be flexible, adaptable and able to work well under pressure. You will work alongside other members of the Call Handling Team and other colleagues within the department. We are looking for someone who can provide a professional, compassionate and comprehensive service to our patients.

Excellent attention to detail and previous customer service experience would be beneficial as you will be liaising directly with patients to book outpatient appointments within specified time limits to ensure all local, regional and national outpatient access targets are achieved.

Main duties of the job

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• To receive and make calls, in a professional and courteous manner, taking action and providing information as appropriate.
• To answer calls within the agreed time frames.
• To ensure that patients/caller needs are met with regard to booking systems and/or general enquiries.
• To sensitively explain to patients when their appointment has been cancelled or postponed and ensure a new appointment is negotiated when appropriate.
• To deal sympathetically with distressed patients, including difficult conversations with potential cancer patients who may not be aware of their suspected condition.
• To deal with patient complaints concerning outpatient appointment details/cancellations referring exceptionally angry/distressed patients to the Call Centre Team Leader when necessary.
• Signpost patients to PALS and the Trust Complaints procedure when necessary.
• To provide general non-clinical advice regarding outpatient appointments to patients and their carers.
• Answer telephone enquiries, taking and relaying messages in a polite and helpful manner, taking action as appropriate. This will include enquiries from patients and GPs.

About us

At the RUH we're proud to put people at the heart of what we do, working together as one team to make a difference for our patients, each other, and our community. No matter what your role is, we value everyone's contribution in supporting the exceptional, person-centred care we pride ourselves on.

We are committed to creating a compassionate and inclusive environment. This can be seen in our growing community of staff networks - celebrating successes and creating opportunities to listen and learn. We value our differences, champion kindness and civility, and truly believe that diversity makes us stronger.

A culture of learning, developing and innovating is the thread that runs throughout our whole organisation. We want to support you to thrive, taking your career to its full potential.

We value staff wellbeing, with a well-established programme of support. We believe in a holistic approach spanning all aspects of living a healthy life, including physical, emotional, spiritual and financial wellbeing.

We are committed to supporting you and hope you want to join our team. In the meantime, find out more about living and working in the beautiful historic city of Bath, learn about our extensive package of staff benefits, and read about how we're providing healthcare fit for the future with the landmark Dyson Cancer Centre and our passion for research.

Job responsibilities

Please find attached to the vacancy a detailed person specification and job description for further information about this role.

Person Specification

• Experience of dealing with public by telephone
• Able to work calmly under pressure
• Understand the importance of confidentiality
• Demonstrable ability to work effectively as a team member
• Previous experience in a call-handling environment
• Previous experience of Millennium
• Computer literate - experience of MS office programmes, including Word, Excel and Outlook

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer name

Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust