I have worked in the Emergency Department at CUH for 21 years and have recently received my 20 Years Long Service Award! When I first started there were only four consultants and the A&E and Medical Admissions Unit were separate departments. The departments merged about 12 years ago and now we have 24 Consultants. I work from 7am –2pm Monday to Friday, but there are a number of different shift patterns available in reception including weekends and nights.

The receptionist role is an extremely varied and rewarding one. We rotate our duties within the department so no one day is ever the same.

One of our main duties is record the patients reason for attending , ensuring that the information we hold for them is accurate and correct. Some of this involves checking other national IT systems. If a patient arrives via ambulance, we are responsible for again recording their reason for attending, but also to transfer any electronic ambulance records into the patients hospital notes.

Unlike the majority of other areas in the hospital, we do all of our own scanning and coding. This involves scanning all external patient documents into their hospital patient record as soon as possible so they are available for the clinical staff. This is especially crucial if the patient is to be admitted to hospital.

It is important to be welcoming to all of the patients and relatives attending ED. It can be a stressful  and worrying place for people to come to.  Small things like offering a concessional parking ticket can make all the difference  to a patient and visitors experience.