Band 3 Ward Administrator | Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

Posting date:	06 March 2025
Salary:	Not specified
Additional salary information:	£29,485 - £31,088 Inclusive of HCAS per annum
Hours:	Full time
Closing date:	05 April 2025
Location:	London, NW3 2QG
Company:	Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
Job type:	Permanent
Job reference:	7047587/391-RFL-7047587

Summary

The ward administrator is responsible for providing a front-line reception service to the ward and for delivering a high standard of customer care to a wide range of client groups, including the ward’s multi-disciplinary team, patients, relatives and their carers.
The post-holder must play a proactive role in collecting, investigating, verifying and recording a high standard of patient demographic and treatment data. The post holder must accurately and in a timely manner enter such information on the computerised patient information system to ensure that the trust receives the appropriate level of income for patient activity, avoids the potential clinical risks inherent with inaccurate patient records and is compliant with national NHS targets (e.g. on data quality and length of patient wait).
The post-holder must undertake effective forward planning to ensure that the administrative needs of the service are met and must carry out a range of effective administration processes to support the delivery of high quality patient care.
These duties do not require direct supervision on a day-to-day basis. The ward administrator is responsible for the management and prioritisation of their own workload.



Please see attached job description for more information about this role and working at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES
Infection Control
Infection control is everyone’s responsibility. All staff, both clinical and non clinical, are required to adhere to the Trust’s Infection Prevention and Control policies and procedures and the Health Act (2006) Code of Practice for the prevention and control healthcare associated infections and make every effort to maintain high standards of infection control at all times thereby reducing the risk of Healthcare Associated infections.
It is the duty of every member of staff to take personal responsibility for the prevention and control of infection, as laid down in the Trust’s polices and procedures which reflect the statutory requirements of the Hygiene Code.
 To work in close collaboration with the Infection Control Team.
 To ensure that monitoring of clinical practice is undertaken at the agreed frequency.
 To ensure that the ward environments are cleaned and maintained to the highest standards; ensuring that shortfalls are rectified, or escalate as necessary.
 To ensure that all relevant monitoring data and issues are provided to the Directorate’s Governance structures.
 To ensure that all staff are released to attend infection control-related educational sessions and staff with specialist roles, e.g. link practitioners, are released to undertake their duties.
Health and Safety at Work



Post holder must:
 Provide a proactive, high quality front-line reception service to the ward. Use their customer service skills to help resolve queries and to achieve a high standard of customer satisfaction.
 Operate security entry system to the ward as required.
 Demonstrate sensitivity, tact and diplomacy where appropriate, for example when acting as a first point of contact to distressed or anxious relatives.
 Deliver a proactive and high quality customer service to a wide range of client groups, including (but not limited to) patients, relatives, carers, nurses, ward managers, matrons, patient pathway co-ordinators, therapists, clinicians, other healthcare professionals, staff from other departments.
 Suggest to the urgent care ward administration supervisor & other ward stakeholders ward manager any changes to local working practices that may benefit customer care and/or improve the administrative and reception service on the ward/unit.
 Deal with telephone enquiries (such as informing patients of follow up appointments) or if of clinical nature refer to the relevant person, whilst ensuring that accuracy, clarity, confidentiality professionalism and courtesy are prioritised at all times.
 Send every patient’s discharge letter to their GP within two working day of their discharge from the ward in order to facilitate continuity of care once the patient is back in the community.
 Represent the trust in a professional manner at all times.
 Informing nurse in charge of any patients admitted with a pending outpatient appointment during current inpatient admission so that action can be taken.
Data quality / patient information
 Update the trust’s computerised patient information system by:a. Recording in real time all ward admissions, discharges, transfers and deaths, in order to achieve and maintain a “live” bed board.
b. Recording with accuracy all sources of admission, methods of discharge and specialty/consultant details.
c. Recording with accuracy patients estimated discharge date liaising with the nurse in charge when the EDD (Estimated Discharge Date) is not clear, reporting to urgent care ward administration supervisor if there are queries and gaps in data collection.d. Ensuring that the patient demographic data is recorded on the computerised patient information system for every patient admitted to the ward/unit & that this is accurate and up to date
i. Name, Address, Date of Birth, Gender, Contact Telephone Numbers, Religion, Ethnic category, GP details, Overseas status, Next of Kind Information & valid NHS number
 Speak to patients or their relatives, whilst exercising due judgement and sensitivity, to investigate and clarify incomplete or inaccurate information and then update the computerised system as appropriate. Where queries or gaps in data persist, report these to the ward administration supervisor.
 Recording in real time whenever a patient’s care has been transferred to a different clinician/specialty, paying close attention to accuracy and detail when doing so and recording ‘shared care’ where applicable.
 Ensuring that any consultant and/or specialty information relating to the patients admission is amended appropriately.
 Recording attendances to ad hoc ward based outpatient clinics as required.
 Recording any instances where patients do not have an NHS number and reporting that data to the Overseas visitors team.
 Assist the trust in the achievement of clinical coding targets by reporting to senior staff any discharged patient for whom a discharge summary has not been completed.
 Provide (or record on a database/spread sheet where requested) information about specific patient activity on the ward, as requested by members of the multidisciplinary team or other senior staff.
 To be responsible for ensuring that the patient information such as (leaflets, documentation and Information packs) are stock on the wards/unit & relevant to the service.
Forward planning
 Liaise with nurse in charge following the ward round and identify administration task’s to facilitate patient flow within the ward/unit.
 Forward-plan to ensure the availability of patients’ medical records prior to their routine admission. Ensure that on arrival all patients have an up to date EDRM front sheet and case note track the medical records to their new location using the computerised patient information system.
 Forward-plan with the nurse in charge the booking of transport services for patients who are due for discharge, or who require day-treatment in another location or require hospital transport for a future outpatient appointment. Ensure before ordering & booking transport that has been signed off by a qualified nurse to ensure that the patients meet the trust’s eligibility criteria for patient transport services and that the provision of the service has been authorised by a senior member of staff.
 Where necessary (e.g. due to missing original medical records), undertake appropriate forward planning to avert the prospective cancellation of a patient’s procedure. This may involve liasing with external health professionals in order to request photocopies of relevant correspondence, to enable the creation of temporary medical records.
 Within the urgent care division assist the ward administration supervisor by providing cross cover throughout the other wards & units when there is emergency & planned absence within the division or were needed to maintain and provide an adequate service.
Responsibility for the local management of medical records
 Prepare, control and manage patients’ medical records so that they are available and maintained in good order throughout the admission, inpatient stay and discharge.
 File patient documentation in a timely and accurate manner, including (but not limited to) history sheets, consent forms, operation records, photocopied discharge letters, investigation results and nursing and therapy documentation.
 Case note track using the computerised system all movement of patients’ medical records to and from the ward. Ensure that all members of the ward’s multidisciplinary team are made aware of the importance of case note tracking.
 Take appropriate remedial action in the event of duplicate sets of medical records and/or duplicate hospital numbers being located.
 Replace patients’ medical records folders where appropriate; create a new original folder where one did not previously exist.
 Take the medical records of deceased patients to the bereavement services office as soon as possible in order to help facilitate the prompt issuing of death certificates.
 Take photocopies of medical records for transfer of patients to another hospital as required make sure that you lease with medical & nursing staff t ensure you are copying the correct documentation.
 Ensure all documentation contains the correct barcode information so it can be stored correctly on the EDRM data warehouse. In the event that barcodes are missing or incomplete ensure that the correct stickers are used on individual documents.




This advert closes on Thursday 20 Mar 2025