Patient Access Co-Ordinator

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Duties and Responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities listed below are representative of the Patient Access Coordinator role and its purpose within the service; they are not exhaustive and the post holder may be required to undertake additional or alternative administrative duties and responsibilities commensurate with the level of the post, to support the smooth running of the service.

Main Duties 
Act as the first point of call for all patient access queries to the Trust.

On receipt of all new referral letters ensure that the vetting process has 
been followed in line with departmental guidelines.

Be responsible for the scheduling of outpatient, elective admissions and all 
associated appointments according to clinical urgency and length of wait in 
accordance with departmental procedures and Trust Policies.

Liaise with patients prior to their hospital visit to ensure that a mutually 
convenient date and time is agreed.

Ensure that patients are appropriately reminded of their appointments. 
This may include sending reminder letters or contacting patients by 
telephone, up to seven days before their visit to re-confirm attendance in 
line with departmental protocols.

Ensure that departmental standards are met for patients receiving 
notification or acknowledgement of their visit.

Provide a courteous and efficient point of contact for patients both face to 
face and over the telephone.

Ensure that each patient is treated as an individual and their individual 
needs are met (ie: appropriate support is in place for their appointment,
such as interpreting support).

Ongoing pathway management
Develop expertise in all aspects of the speciality pathways for your access 
team.

Using the PML (Patient Management Listings) ensure that the booking of 
all patients is line in with Trust and National waiting time targets and 
escalate exceptions.

Respond to patient queries or concerns in an effective and professional 
manner, escalating where appropriate to Team Leaders.

Responsible for the accurate input and maintenance of confidential data 
onto relevant Trust IT systems.

To have a clear and up to date knowledge of the rules and protocols of the 
service to ensure full and effective utilisation of clinical capacity.

Ensure regular, efficient validation of all waiting list data in accordance 
with Trust Policies.

In conjunction with Team Leaders, review cancelled/suspended/deferred 
patients ensuring appropriate action is taken.

Attend regular meetings with management and clinical teams to review 
booking horizons and to ensure that theatre lists are signed off by clinical 
teams 7 days prior to this list taking place.

Work flexibly to ensure the department operates effectively, including 
working across both acute hospital sites and across all specialty 
boundaries.

Assist in investigating any complaints or incidents that arise in relation 
appointments or admissions for your speciality.

Ensure that the any telephone, e-mail or written queries are responded to 
within the appropriate timeframe and escalated if necessary.

Develop and maintain relationships with all staff groups to ensure the 
patient access teams function as effectively as possible.

Standards monitoring
Ensure telephone calls are answered within the agreed time and in line 
with the Trust greeting policy.

Ensure that all patient demographics are checked and updated on all Trust 
systems.

Ensure patient cancellations/changes are recorded appropriately on all 
relevant Trust systems.

Ensure that any patient initiated pauses to appointment or admission dates 
are recorded accurately and in real time on Epic.

Ensure that Patient Management List (PML) is proactively managed in line 
with Patient Access targets.

Ensure that local and Trust policies are adhered to at all times.

Ensure that all clinics are ‘cashed up’ within 24 hours of the end of the 
clinic with all appropriate outcomes completed. 

Ensure that all waiting list requests are added to the waiting list within 2 
working days of receipt of request. 

Ensure urgent referrals are dealt with in line with agreed protocols.

Ensure that any patient initiated pauses to appointment or admission dates 
are recorded accurately and in real time on Epic.

Escalate any issues and breaches of the above standards to the Team 
Leader in the first instance.

Support the Team Leader to investigate any breaches of the above 
standards.

Other
 Work within a multi-disciplinary team in developing the service in line with 
departmental plans and Trust corporate objectives.

Undertake any general office responsibilities including collection and 
distribution of faxes and post, sorting of incoming post into departmental 
and priority order, date and receipt stamping of any post. 

Participate in department development as appropriate and participate in 
departmental meetings.

Undertake any other duties commensurate to the grade, required to 
ensure the smooth and efficient running of the department.

Undertake any training as required to complete the tasks associated with 
the job role.

Ensure that all health records are appropriately tracked and securely 
stored whilst in the department according to the Health Records Policy.

To provide general administration support as directed by management.