We are UHB: Anthony Matthews, Outpatients Reception Manager

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust runs Good Hope, Heartlands, Queen Elizabeth and Solihull hospitals.

I joined UHB over 20 years ago, pretty much straight out of college. I started through a temp agency in the Medical Records Team at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB), destroying records. I then moved on to a night shift position within Medical Records.

I worked on nights for about 18 months then transferred to days, and worked my way up in the team, becoming supervisor and then assistant manager. At the time, the team managed the receptionists in the outpatient department. Once the new hospital building was built and we were ready to move in to it, the Medical Records Team moved off-site, and I went on to manage the receptions of the outpatient clinics in the Heritage Building, before moving to the outpatients’ area in the new hospital. I was one of the leads that worked on helping prepare for that complete relocation, which was a big piece of work.

Eventually, I moved into this role as Outpatient Reception Manager. The Trust is a paper-appropriate organisation, meaning we only use paper where needed, which meant the use of medical records was not needed as much in outpatients. So, since the merger of UHB and Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, medical records no longer manage the reception areas.

In my role I manage a team of receptionists working in the outpatient areas on the QEHB site and in some of our satellite sites. As a manager, it is my responsibility to ensure there is enough cover at the times of clinics and accommodating last minute changes within the outpatient area. I manage a team for 40 staff, including three supervisors. On a day-to-day basis I deal with queries from staff and patients, liaise with group support managers and ensure the team are informed about clinics, as well as attending meetings as a representative of the admin and clerical teams in outpatients.

Working in a public-facing role means no two days are the same. A lot of the time, I come in to work with a plan, but don’t get much of that planned work done, because other work or issues happen and I have to adapt. As receptionists, my team is often the first point of contact for most patients coming into the outpatient setting, so the experience they have with us can set the tone for the rest of their journey through our hospital.

As a Trust, we see over two million patients per year in outpatients alone – so that’s a lot of people we interact with. We want the best for these patients, so we try to ensure their flow around the hospital is as stress-free as possible and that their experience with the Trust after leaving an appointment continues to be a good one as well, especially in regards to any follow up appointments that need scheduling. It is important to remember that when a lot of patients come into hospital they may be anxious, or have had a difficult journeys getting to us, and we don’t want to add to any of those negative feelings; if anything we want to make them feel more positive before going into their appointment.

I think the public, and maybe even other colleagues, don’t have a full understanding of the demands on a receptionist, which can be very challenging at times. We do have a lot of different skills to do what we do. Not only do we need excellent customer service skills, but also good communication and IT skills as well. We work really well as a team of receptionists and also work collaboratively with all our clinical and non-clinical colleagues in the outpatient area, who all know we are on hand to support in many ways.

I enjoy my job because it is busy, and each day is different. I enjoy the challenges that come with working in this role and the interactions I get to have with all types of staff groups and members of the public.

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