Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Dimensions

– The post holder has no budgetary responsibility, manages their own workload and works under their own initiative with minimal supervision.

– The Sleep co-ordinator is responsible for accurate data collection and recording to enable effective patient tracking of all suspected and positively diagnosed OSA patients as well as patients referred to the ventilation service.

– The sleep service currently carries out around 1000 sleep studies, 550 CPAP titrations and almost 4000 sleep follow ups per year.

Key results areas

Whilst the organisation and structure within the division may vary the specific remit of the role will include:-

– To work with the clinical team to ensure that actions are taken to support the smooth delivery of the patient pathway

– To support proactive tracking of patients to ensure their pathway through the system is smooth and efficient and achieves appropriate targets. Potential breaches in target times must be clearly escalated in a timely way.

– Ensure the clinical staff are able to review their referrals in a timely manner

– Booking follow up appointments as requested by the clinical team if appropriate, including negotiations of dates with the patient and creating correspondence

– Booking investigations as requested by the clinical team, including negotiation of dates with patients.

– Ensuring that any vacant appointment slots are fully utilised and acted upon.

– Ensure the preparation and smooth running of the MDT meetings, to include preparation, organising and circulating lists of patients for discussion.

– To assist in the distribution of MDT decisions relating to the individual patients management plan to appropriate staff

– Ensure all outcomes from MDT are documented accordingly and minutes written.

– Ensuring that arrangements are made to achieve the trust targets and are reflected on IT systems in a timely manner

– Undertake routine office duties including electronic note tracking, filing of correspondence and results and maintenance of records

– Take the initiative as and when required as well as working flexibly and adapting to the demands of the team as requested

– Undertake any other appropriate duties commensurate with the role, as required at the request of your manager.

Service Improvement

– Using speciality databases for recording patient information/ clinical activity for audit/ survey purposes, as well as sending out any associated paperwork.

– Assist in regular audit of data undertaken so decisions can then be made by the team to appropriate service improvements

– Support the development of improvements to working practices and processes and contribute to service reviews and the implementation of new arrangements

– As directed support the resolution of complaints or concerns from patients/carers by helping to collate information and work with senior staff to respond or escalate appropriately.

Most challenging part of the role

– Time management and prioritisation of heavy workloads within deadlines.

– Extracting and supporting the provision of relevant information for complex medical dialogue.

– Exposure to information related to diagnosis and treatments for patients.

– Tracking of patients to identify breaches across both sites.

– Maintaining the role within the specialist team and implementing new concepts within the existing team.

Communications & Working Relationships

– To work as part of the team working flexibly to ensure excellent, efficient standards

– Liaise with relevant team members to ensure that any process changes run smoothly and efficiently

– Physiological staff

– Medical staff

– Patient/carers/relatives

– Clerical officers

– Medical secretaries

– Business Intelligence team

– Health records

Physical, Mental & Emotional Effort & Working Conditions

– Exposure to occasional unpleasant working conditions due to extremes of office temperatures

– Predominantly the job will be office based and require long periods of sitting at a workstation

– Use of VDU on a daily basis (workstation assessments undertaken)

– Dealing with sensitive and confidential information

– The work pattern may be unpredictable due to frequent interruptions

– Priorities can change during the day

– Movement of medical notes and notes bags

– Some cross county work may be involved

– Occasional exposure to undertake receptive duties for patients or carers

– Working in an office where there are interruptions throughout the day that may require urgent attention and therefore re-prioritisation of workload.

General conditions:

Confidentiality

In the course of your employment, you may have access to, see or hear confidential information concerning the medical or personal affairs of patients and or staff. Unless acting on the instruction of an authorised officer, on no account must such information be divulged or discussed except in the performance of normal duties. Breaches of confidence, including improper passing of registered computer data, will result in disciplinary action, which may lead to dismissal. You should be aware that regardless of any action taken by your employing authority, a breach of confidence could result in a civil action for damages.

In addition, records, including VDU screens and computer printouts of registered data must never be left in such a manner that unauthorised persons can obtain access to them. Written records must either be destroyed or retained in safe custody when no longer required, VDU screens should always be cleared when unattended.

Terms and Conditions of Service

The principle terms and conditions of your appointment will be those set out in the Agenda for Change national agreement as amended from time to time by the NHS Staff Council. These terms and conditions are set out in the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook, which is available on the Trusts intranet and NHS Employers web site.

Health and Safety

It is the duty of every employee to work in such a way that accidents to themselves and to others are avoided, and to co-operate in maintaining their place of work in a tidy and safe condition, thereby minimising risk. Employees will, therefore, refer any matters of concern through their respective line managers.

Data Quality

As part of your employment you may be required to record Patient Information (computerised or on paper). You have a responsibility to ensure that information is entered accurately, completely and consistently. It is particularly important that patients demographic details are kept up to date. Problems should be reported to your Manager.

No Smoking Policy

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust operates a no smoking policy. Smoking is not permitted anywhere within the buildings and grounds of all Trust sites. These restrictions include all areas up to the boundaries of all sites.

Job Share

As part of its commitment to Equal Opportunities in employment, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has a policy on Job Sharing. Under this policy all posts, unless exempted, are open to Job Share.

NB

This job description is not intended to form part of the contract of employment or to be a complete list of duties and responsibilities, but is a good guide for information to the job. It will be periodically reviewed in the light of developing work requirements in the department. The officer in the post will be expected to contribute to that review.

Contact Details

If you require any more information on this position then please contact;

Beverley Gray – Sims –

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Literacy and Numeracy qualification at grade C/4 or above
• ECDL or equivalent

Desirable

• TRAK training

Experience

Essential

• Previous experience with managing patient wait lists
• Previous experience in a similar role
• Experience of working independently as well as part of a team

Knowledge / Skills

Essential

• Capacity to understand and analyse data provided in various formats
• Ability to use databases, excel and email
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal)
• Excellent time management

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.