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Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post holder will ensure that Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust) implements the Department of Health (DH) charging regulations to maximise the income due to it and to safeguard NHS resources for patients who are eligible for NHS treatment. 

The post holder will contribute to ensuring the Trust is compliant with legislation and associated performance metrics.

The post holder is responsible for providing an effective customer-focused overseas patient visitor function across all sites of the Trust. 

The post holder will:

Contribute to the development of effective systems and processes across the Trust. 

Provide support to all staff throughout the Trust through training, providing advice and guidance, and liaising with clinical staff to aid decision making.

Interview patients and undertake tasks associated with cost recovery. 

Undertake the reporting to external bodies as required by the regulations and Trust policy/procedures.

Identify overseas visitors who attend the Trust to access healthcare and assess their chargeable status via the various trigger mechanisms and discussions with staff throughout the Trust.

Interview potential chargeable patients or the patient’s representative, taking details to enable further investigation if necessary to establish chargeable status.

Document interviews and communications with patients to ensure that colleagues have complete and precise information regarding the patients’ chargeable status and circumstances.

Seek the patient’s pathway of care and prepare an estimate of the cost of treatment to discuss with the patient and treating clinician. 

Take payment from the patient prior to treatment and liaise with clinical and admin staff to advise whether or not payment has been made.

Advise and support staff in adhering to the legislation and charging regulations.

Determine which NHS commissioner is responsible for commissioning healthcare services, ensuring that prior approval is sought, raising invoices to the responsible commissioner for devolved patients from Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Produce, maintain, and update accurately the patient administration system and data held in connection with potentially chargeable patients, adhering to national and Trust standards of information governance.

Prepare data for submission to external agencies such as but not limited to the DH, Home Office (HO), National Health Service Improvement (NHSI) and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). Adhere to timescales for monthly/quarterly/annual submissions.

Communicate with patients or their representative in person, by telephone, e-mail, or letter to obtain evidence of exemption from charges within agreed timescales or obtain payment, negotiating a payment plan, if necessary, as per procedure. Advise the patient or representative of the consequences of non-compliance to the request for documentary evidence or payment.Inform and update clinicians and senior managers where income has not been recovered from the patient. 

Recognise fraudulent documents and advise the Overseas Visitor Manager of such. Liaise with the DH and HO to assist in investigations.

 Act in an advisory capacity for General Practitioners (GP) regarding queries about specific patients and their eligibility secondary care treatment.

 Contribute to review and development of systems, process, and procedures to support Trust adherence to national legislation and policy.

 Contribute to the delivery of staff training on a one-to-one or group basis, either in classroom setting or by attendance at departmental meetings.

 Deputise in the absence of the Overseas Visitor Manager.

 Undertake duties and responsibilities not listed but commensurate with grade.

 Supervise junior staff or for example apprentices as required

The post holder will be expected to communicate with staff at all levels throughout the Trust, including managers, clinician and admin staff and develop and maintain good working relationships.

he post holder will be expected to communicate with patients and/or their representative and representatives from the DH, NHSI, HO, GPs, DWP and healthcare providers.

The jobholder should respect patient confidentiality at all times and not divulge patient information unless sanctioned by the requirements of the role.