Patient Access Coordinator

General Administration

1. Support the service development projects in the implementation of pilot programmes or new systems for e.g. inpatient admissions, partial booking, and pre-assessment appointments.

2. Attend meetings for service development initiatives as and when requested.

3. To be able to contribute to the continuous service improvement initiatives by the use of good analytical skills to identify areas for improvement and problem-solving.

4. Use Trust IT systems to ensure relevant and appropriate patient information is entered and captured.

5. Maintain an accurate database of cancelled outpatient activity (by hospital and/or patient) and lost capacity, to include number of patients and reason for cancellation.

6. Investigate any patient DNAs and deferrals, communicating the results to the Consultants and business unit team as appropriate, updating EPR and waitlists accordingly.

7. Cancellations communicate the details to the Clinician ensuring that all information is available. Notify the General Practitioner and update EPR and waitlists.

8. Liaise with Clinical coders to ensure notes/medical records are available so that all patient episodes are coded accurately and promptly.

9. Facilitate and arrange meetings and room bookings, related to the management of the patient pathway.

10. Handle post according to SOP.

11. Undertake general typing duties e.g. references and patient information leaflets.

Outpatient Pathway

1. Validation of the Outpatient PTL ensuring its accuracy and validity. Action and prioritise patients according to their clinical urgency and treatment breach dates.

2. Process and log all referrals, including paper and Choose and Book, according to the SOP in line with activity.

3. Register new patients details on to EPR as well as update existing patient details.

4. Book new and follow-up appointments, ensuring that capacity is proactively and efficiently used. This includes booking patients into the right clinic to ensure that they are seen by the most appropriate clinician first time and for subsequent follow-ups.

5. Recognise when patients are on cancer care pathways and work with the MDT Coordinator to ensure patient pathways are expedited and treatment targets met.

6. Ensure that any diagnostics and investigations that are required as part of the patient pathway are requested according to SOP and that the results are available for consultations. This will include those that are carried out at other Trusts.

7. Co-ordinate appointments and procedures at others hospitals and organisations, where the pathway requires input from these.

8. Complete clinic cancellation forms and process according to SOP.

9. Reschedule outpatient clinics as requested by the management team.

10. Use the Trusts medical transcription system and ensure that letters are processed in accordance with SOP and adherence of Trust letter turnaround initiative.

11. Liaise with patient records staff, ward administrators/assistants and other organisations to ensure all medical notes, referral letters, results and discharge summaries are available for outpatient appointments and consultations.

Pathway Tracking

1. To understand 18 weeks referral to treatment (RTT) rules and use them to manage all elective patient journeys.

2. Undertake validation of the RTT Patient Tracking List. Investigate and take the appropriate action where pathways are incomplete to ensure that patients are receiving timely treatment and Trust information is robust.

3. To be responsible for identifying and escalating any issues to the team leader which compromise delivery of the 18 week RTT pathway, e.g. lack of capacity either in outpatients or for surgery.

4. Ensure inter-provider transfers are timely and that the appropriate paperwork has been completed and sent or received.

5. Liaise with internal and external colleagues to share patient pathway information and diagnostic information, and expedite patient journeys where needed.

6. Manage consultant to consultant transfers within the speciality to avoid delays.

7. Manage and monitor outpatient and theatre scheduling (where appropriate) making best use of capacity, giving early warnings of where demand exceeds capacity.

8. Ensure Trust systems are updated with patient pathway status information and that data quality is maintained.

9. Proactively manage pathways to avoid breach targets and take steps to resolve any issues e.g. 28 day cancelled operations.

Communications/Customer Care

1. Demonstrate high levels of customer care and be an ambassador for customer care within the Trust.

2. To be the friendly, sensitive and accessible focus for patient and carer communication, ensuring that all patients have the opportunity to agree their appointment and admission dates.

3. Act as the communication hub for the clinical team, primary care, patients and their relatives as well as internal and external organisations.

4. To be responsible for dealing with and recording all concerns/complaints coming into the department, both on the telephone and in writing, escalating as appropriate.

5. Liaise with PALS, Patient Feedback systems and groups and any other patients forums to improve care for patients.

6. Liaise with the Health Advocacy Team to book interpreters prior to appointments and admissions.

7. Inform transport department of patients who require transport where appropriate following Trust protocols.

8. Send written confirmation of appointments and admissions to all patients.

9. To be responsible for timely written and verbal communications with patients, clinicians, nursing staff and management.

10. Deal with patient pathway queries from other organisations.

11. Attend clinics where appropriate to co-ordinate the patient pathway.

12. Facilitate the timely production and dissemination of discharge summaries to achieve quality measures, e.g. CQUIN within national target timescales.

Inpatient/Day Case Pathway (Speciality Specific)

1. Validation of the Inpatient PTL ensuring its accuracy and validity. Action and prioritise patients according to their clinical urgency and treatment breach dates.

2. Ensure that the Trust agreed standard of service is delivered to patients requiring elective admission to the speciality.

3. Ensure details of patients to be admitted are entered onto EPR/CRS/PAS and other Trust systems e.g. TIMS.

4. Create a waiting list entry for patients requiring admission.

5. Undertake the booking of elective admissions for cancer patients and liaise closely with the MDT Coordinator to ensure that these are scheduled appropriately within the pathway.

6. Contact patients offering them a choice of admission dates and agree with them the date of admission.

7. Book pre-operative assessment appointments, where required by contacting the patient to agree the appointment.

8. Ensure that patients requiring anaesthetic pre-operative assessment appointments have these booked at the same time as POA.

9. Act on clinic outcome forms for pre-operative assessment clinics.

10. Ensure that appropriate tests and investigations are arranged and completed with the results available before surgery.

11. Liaise with theatres to ensure that specialist equipment is available where needed and theatre slots are utilised appropriately. Ensure ward, surgery areas and clinical teams are aware of patients who have been booked in for surgery and any specialist requirements for the admission.

12. Inform and liaise with the Clinical Site Management Team and Clinical Team that ITU/HDU beds have been booked for elective patients where needed.

13. In line with departmental protocols communicate basic clinical information to patients relating to their procedures and treatments, ensuring appropriate distribution of patient information booklets.

14. Liaise with ward administrators/assistants to ensure completion of discharge summaries.

15. Proactively produce reports to inform clinical teams of pathway management.