Patient Services Advisor Band 3

As a Patient Services Advisor, you will play a key role in ensuring patients receive timely, efficient, and compassionate support throughout their healthcare journey. The role focuses on coordinating patient care pathways, managing appointments and elective procedures, and acting as a central point of contact between patients, clinical teams, and healthcare services. You will be responsible for supporting patients from referral through to treatment by scheduling and managing appointments, monitoring patient pathways, responding to enquiries, and ensuring all information is communicated accurately and promptly. Working within Patient Service Hub Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and Trust policies, you will help maintain high standards of patient experience while supporting performance targets such as Referral to Treatment (RTT) and Cancer Waiting Time (CWT) standards. The role requires excellent communication, organisational, and administrative skills, with a strong focus on patient-centred care. You will use healthcare information systems to record and monitor patient activity, manage booking tasks, identify potential pathway risks, and escalate issues appropriately to supervisors. By working collaboratively with patients, clinicians, and wider healthcare teams, you will contribute to the effective delivery of safe, high-quality healthcare services. Main duties of the job * Coordinate patient pathways and elective care activities to ensure timely access to appointments and procedures. * Schedule, monitor, and manage outpatient appointments, admissions, and treatments in accordance with SOPs and SLAs. * Provide patients with accurate and timely information regarding appointments, procedures, and care pathways.Respond to patient enquiries and assist with appointment rescheduling or cancellations when required. * Maintain effective communication between patients, Patient Service Hubs, clinical teams, and external healthcare providers. * Record, update, and report patient and performance data using Trust information systems.Monitor booking worklists and action tasks within required timescales. * Identify and escalate operational issues, RTT risks, and CWT risks to supervisors.Support service performance by meeting reporting deadlines and highlighting potential breaches or concerns. * Ensure compliance with Trust policies, Elective Access Policy, Standard Trust Administration Guidelines (STAGS), and relevant healthcare regulations. About us Lincoln Hospital is a thriving university city and with the opening of the medical school, it provides all major specialties and a 24-hour major accident and emergency service. United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust has been granted teaching hospital status, after demonstrating evidence to significant teaching commitment. From now on it will be known as United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Pilgrim Hospital is situated in beautiful countryside and serves the communities in the South Lincolnshire area. It provides all major specialties and a 24-hour major accident and emergency service. Grantham and District Hospital serves the communities of Grantham and the local area. It provides ambulatory paediatric and accident and emergency services. Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS) and United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) have come together in a Group arrangement, with the goal of improving the care provided to patients across the county. This will not constitute a formal merger of the two organisations, but will bring the Trusts together under a single Board and Executive Leadership Team, with the goal of improving the care that is provided to patients both in the community and in hospitals across Lincolnshire. Both Trusts will retain their separate statutory names and legal obligations. The Group will be known as Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals NHS Group (LCHG). Job responsibilities Booking PatientsTo support with booking patient appointments including Outpatients, Cancer/Diagnostic appointments, Elective theatre procedures.To support with rescheduling patient appointments/procedures cancelled by the patient, when required, ensuring adherence to the Access Policy.To support with rescheduling patient appointments/admissions cancelled by the hospital, when required, ensuring they have been approved by the Clinic Management & Performance Team (following agreed service level agreement (SLAs and SOPs).To monitor appointment slot/theatre slot capacity (via empty slot reports) to ensure slots are filled if they become available.To prioritise and manage own workload and ensure that patients are booked in chronological and clinical priority (or as specified in Elective Access Policy).To liaise with the Cancer Centre team to ensure patients on a two week wait (2WW) pathway are appropriately managed post-appointment.To fill shortnotice clinic slots and contact patients to offer alternative appointments where needed.To book urgent appointments and procedures e.g within set timeframe / with other considerations when required. Patient ContactTo contact patients, either via telephone, SMS or letter within agreed protocols, with information relevant to their appointment, procedure or any other related subject.To answer any inbound queries via relevant channels and to transfer to a different team or Patient Service Supervisor as and when required.To produce post-appointment clinical letters using clinician dictations and coordinating timely delivery to GPs/referrers/patients/patient deputies.To signpost patients to correct services, where appropriate.To perform non-clinical triage (e.g. if red-flag symptoms are disclosed by patient) and escalate for clinical triage or another appropriate route as defined in the Patient Services Hub SOPs.To ensure any patient accessibility requirements (such as transport or translator needs) are recorded appropriately and any associated admin to facilitate these requirements is completed.To communicate with patients, or their representatives, in a clear, compassionate manner. Person Specification Qualifications * GCSEs Grade C and above in Maths and English or equivalent * Experience and training to NVQ Level 3 or equivalent * Computer Literacy and Information Technology (CLAIT) * Basic knowledge of Medical Terminology Previous Experience * Experience of customer care or Experience of working in an office environment * Experience of using Microsoft Office - to include Excel and Outlook. * Knowledge or experience of NHS working Evidence of Particular * Ability to evidence/demonstrate key values and behaviours in line with the Trust framework * Ability to prioritise and organise own workload * Ability to work on own initiative * Excellent oral and interpersonal communication skills, written and verbally, with ability to demonstrate fluency, clarity and effectiveness at all levels * Attention to detail and accuracy Specific Requirements * Ability to maintain confidentiality * Ability to work effectively within a large team or individually * Ability and willingness to work flexibly * Ability to cope with sometimes distressing/emotional situations * Ability to work effectively under pressure and meet tight deadlines 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. 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