Occupations and Terms of Reference › Receptionist
Universal terms of reference · POS-146 · version 1.0 · status: draft · next review 2027-10-27
Receptionist
To welcome patients and visitors, so that they are greeted kindly, checked in correctly and directed to the right place.
Each part of this page links to the related trainings, competencies and policies. The links are the same for every facility, so an organisation can see at a glance what a role requires and what it is trained in.
Job description
Job summary. You are the first point of contact. You greet patients and visitors, check them in, answer enquiries and direct people to the right place.
Reports to: Patient services manager.
Leads or supervises: No direct reports.
What you do on a typical day
- Greet and check in patients and visitors.
- Answer phone and desk enquiries.
- Direct people to services.
- Flag urgent needs to clinical staff at once.
- Keep the desk tidy and the queue moving.
Working conditions and demands
- Busy, noisy and sometimes stressful.
- Must notice distress or emergencies quickly.
- Handles confidential information.
What good looks like
- Patients feel welcome.
- Urgent needs are flagged at once.
- Queues are managed.
Place in the organogram
Reporting line, from the top: see the organogram on the Occupations page. The lines above and below this role are listed in section 3.
1. Golden rules
These rules apply in every setting.
- Patients are treated with dignity, respect and privacy at every step.
- Accurate information is given to patients and families, in a language they understand.
- Confidential information is protected and used only for care, legal and agreed purposes.
- Safety comes first: errors are reported, reviewed and learned from without blame.
- Medicines, records and appointments are handled to the standard, every time.
- Anyone can raise a concern without fear of reprisal.
- Waiting and flow are managed fairly, with patients kept informed.
- Work is done to written procedures, and deviations are reported.
2. Identification
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Position code | POS-146 |
| ISCO-08 | 4226 (skill level 4) |
| ESCO | to map |
| Department | Patient administration |
| Facility types | Hospital, Ambulatory, Transport, Medevac, Fitness, Aesthetic |
3. Reporting line and working relationships
Reports to: POS-144. Supervises: .
| Works with | Nature of the relationship |
|---|---|
| Patient services manager | Reception standards. |
| Clinical teams | Patient arrivals and urgent needs. |
| Security team | Visitor and incident support. |
4. Key accountabilities
| Domain | Accountability | Evidence of delivery | Checked | Linked competencies | Linked trainings | Linked policies | Standards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Check-in | Checks patients in promptly and accurately. | Check-in times within target | Daily | C-01 | T-08 | POL-EQUAL | 2 |
| Escalation | Flags urgent needs to clinical staff at once. | Escalations logged and passed on at once | Daily | C-02 | T-07 | POL-INC | 2 |
| Confidentiality | Protects patient information at the desk. | No breaches in spot checks | Monthly | C-01 | T-08 | POL-DATA | 2 |
5. Decision rights
| The post holder decides | Consults or escalates |
|---|---|
| Routing of visitors within the layout | Any patient in distress or danger (clinical team and security) |
| Order of visitors within the queue | Patients who need urgent care (clinical team) |
6. Qualifications and experience
| ID | Qualification | Mandatory | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q-01 | Secondary education certificate | No | Lifetime |
| ID | Experience | Minimum years | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|
| E-01 | Reception or customer service experience | 0 | No |
7. Training requirements
Recommended common practice. Each facility adapts the list to its national law. Essential items apply in every setting; recommended items apply where resources allow.
| ID | Training | Tier | When | Validity | Linked policies | Linked competencies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-01 | Facility induction | essential | at_entry | Once | POL-WHISTLE · POL-EQUAL · POL-DATA | – |
| T-02 | Safeguarding adults | essential | periodic | Every 3 year(s) | POL-SAFEG | – |
| T-03 | Safeguarding children | essential | periodic | Every 3 year(s) | POL-SAFEG | – |
| T-04 | Data protection and confidentiality | essential | annual | Every 1 year(s) | POL-DATA | – |
| T-05 | Incident reporting and open disclosure | essential | periodic | Every 2 year(s) | POL-INC | – |
| T-06 | Governance, accountability and assurance | recommended | periodic | Every 3 year(s) | – | – |
| T-07 | Emergency and major incident command | essential | annual | Every 1 year(s) | POL-INC | C-02 |
| T-08 | Speaking up, inclusion and equality leadership | essential | periodic | Every 2 year(s) | POL-WHISTLE · POL-EQUAL | C-01 |
8. Health, fitness and language
| ID | Requirement | Frequency | Tier | Minimum in low-resource settings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H-03 | Fitness-to-work assessment at entry and after serious illness or injury | Every 12 months | recommended | Fitness check at entry |
| Language | Level | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|
| Official language of the country of practice | professional | Yes |
| English | working | Yes |
9. Competencies by level
| ID | Competency | Foundation | Practitioner | Expert | Assessed by | Revalidate | Linked trainings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C-01 | Greeting and check-in | Checks in simply | Manages busy desks | Designs reception standards | Reception audit | Every 12 months | T-08 |
| C-02 | Spotting urgent needs | Recognises urgent signs | Escalates urgent needs | Designs escalation | Escalation review | Every 12 months | T-07 |
10. Performance evaluation
- Probation: 6 months, with a sign-off review (recommended value).
- Appraisal: every 12 months against the competencies and indicators below.
| ID | Indicator | Target | Data source | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PI-01 | Urgent needs escalated at once | 100% | escalation log | Daily |
| PI-02 | Check-in within target time | 90% or more | queue data | Daily |
| PI-03 | Confidentiality spot checks | 100% | spot check | Monthly |
11. Career ladder and promotion
| Level | Role | Minimum experience to move on | Qualifications | Competency minimums | Trainings required | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executive | Receptionist | 0 years (recommended) | Q-01 | C-01 foundation, C-02 foundation | T-07 · T-08 | Executive appointment and performance review |
12. Policies the post holder follows
Each policy is a standard template that the facility adopts and adapts. Templates are maintained centrally, so every facility works from the same version.
POL-SAFEG · Safeguarding adults and children
Purpose: Protect patients from abuse, neglect and harm, and make sure every concern is recognised and acted on.
Scope: All staff, volunteers and contractors.
Key rules:
Scope: All staff, volunteers and contractors.
Key rules:
- Recognise signs of abuse and neglect and record them factually.
- Report every concern to the designated safeguarding lead the same shift.
- Do not investigate alone.
- Share information only as the safeguarding procedure allows.
POL-DATA · Data protection and confidentiality
Purpose: Keep patient and staff information private, secure and used only for care and legal purposes.
Scope: All staff who access records or systems.
Key rules:
Scope: All staff who access records or systems.
Key rules:
- Access only the records needed for your work.
- Keep records secure; do not leave screens or paper unattended.
- Do not share information without a lawful basis.
- Report any breach to the data protection officer within 24 hours.
Linked trainings: T-10 · Review every 12 months · Template 0.1 (draft)
POL-WHISTLE · Speaking up (whistleblowing)
Purpose: Let staff raise patient safety or conduct concerns without fear of reprisal.
Scope: All staff.
Key rules:
Scope: All staff.
Key rules:
- Raise a concern with your line manager or the named speaking-up officer.
- If that route fails, escalate to the board or the national regulator.
- Retaliation against anyone who speaks up is a disciplinary offence.
- Concerns are recorded, investigated and the outcome given to the person raising them.
Linked trainings: T-01 · Review every 12 months · Template 0.1 (draft)
POL-EQUAL · Equality, diversity and inclusion
Purpose: Give every patient and colleague fair access, respectful treatment and reasonable adjustments.
Scope: All staff and patients.
Key rules:
Scope: All staff and patients.
Key rules:
- Treat every person with dignity regardless of background.
- Make reasonable adjustments, including interpreters, for language and disability.
- Report discrimination through the speaking-up route.
- Monitor access and outcomes by group.
Linked trainings: T-01 · Review every 24 months · Template 0.1 (draft)
POL-INC · Incident reporting and open disclosure
Purpose: Report and learn from incidents and near misses, and tell patients honestly when things go wrong.
Scope: All staff.
Key rules:
Scope: All staff.
Key rules:
- Report every incident and near miss the same shift.
- Give the patient and family an honest account and an apology where appropriate (open disclosure).
- Take immediate action to protect others.
- Learn: contribute to the review and follow the agreed actions.
13. Standards that name this role
14. Record history
| Date | Change | Approved by |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-27 | Draft record, batch 1 of the position build | Awaiting approval |