Overseas Visitors Officer

at  London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust

The post holder is responsible for delivering a customer focused overseas patients department across the Trust and also a service for NHS chargeable patient processes at Ealing Hospital and Central Middlesex Hospital.
They will be expected to interview, assess and identify whether an overseas’ patient claim for free NHS treatment is valid based on the latest guidance, and comprehensively manage the case and support finance colleagues to ensure where appropriate funds are recovered in
a timely manner either from the patient, insurance company or via a reciprocal agreement.

The role will require a high degree of empathy in dealing with extremely sensitive issues, in particular explaining where funding is not available to non-emergency procedures. There will often be language barriers.

• Responsible for entering all new referrals patient’s details on a spreadsheet and to ensure that all overseas patients receive a letter/telephone call with the intention of establishing their entitlement to free NHS care prior to attending hospital.
• Interview, assess and identify overseas visitors on behalf of the Trust in order to substantiate the validity of a patients claim for entitlement to free NHS treatment by following the DoH guidelines.
• Record all activity in line with departmental procedures, including maintaining excellent records of overseas patients interview conversation/copy documents and maintain a file for future reference and to support debt recovery.
• Advise patients who are not eligible for payment options in a sensitive manner; including where the Trust is able to provide emergency care only - this will involve being aware of their personal and medical history.
• Quote/collect prices for the procedure and submit funds/invoices to the accounts receivable team to be raised in a timely manner, along with all other necessary paperwork. This will involve taking payments or directing them to the cashiers office.

London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust (LNWH) cares for the people of Brent, Ealing, Harrow and beyond.
Our team of more than 8,200 clinical and support staff serve a diverse population of almost one million people.

WE RUN MAJOR ACUTE SERVICES AT:

• Northwick Park Hospital: home to one of the busiest emergency departments (A&E) in the country. The hospital provides a full range of services including the country’s top-rated hyper-acute stroke unit and one of only three hyper-acute rehabilitation units in the UK
• St Mark’s Hospital: an internationally renowned specialist centre for bowel disease
• Ealing Hospital: a busy district general hospital providing a range of clinical services, as well as 24/7 emergency department and urgent care centre, and specialist care at Meadow House Hospice
• Central Middlesex Hospital: our planned care site, hosting a range of surgical and outpatient services and collocated with an urgent care centre.
  We are a university teaching NHS trust, in recognition of the important role we play in training clinicians of the future and bringing the benefits of research to the public.
  To view the main responsibility, please see the attached the Job Description and Person Specification

• Responsible for entering all new referrals patient’s details on a spreadsheet and to ensure that all overseas patients receive a letter/telephone call with the intention of establishing their entitlement to free NHS care prior to attending hospital.
• Interview, assess and identify overseas visitors on behalf of the Trust in order to substantiate the validity of a patients claim for entitlement to free NHS treatment by following the DoH guidelines.
• Record all activity in line with departmental procedures, including maintaining excellent records of overseas patients interview conversation/copy documents and maintain a file for future reference and to support debt recovery.
• Advise patients who are not eligible for payment options in a sensitive manner; including where the Trust is able to provide emergency care only - this will involve being aware of their personal and medical history.
• Quote/collect prices for the procedure and submit funds/invoices to the accounts receivable team to be raised in a timely manner, along with all other necessary paperwork. This will involve taking payments or directing them to the cashiers office