Call Centre Support

Background

The NTPF is a corporate body with functions and responsibilities as set out under Statutory Instrument 179 - National Treatment Purchase Fund (Establishment) Order, 2004 and the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act (2009).

Its key functions are:

• Arranging for the provision of hospital treatment to classes of persons determined by the Minister.
• Collecting, collating and validating information on persons waiting for public hospital treatment.
• Agreeing pricing arrangements with private & voluntary nursing homes under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme.
• Furnishing advice to the Minister for Health on related issues.
• Performing any other function assigned by the Minister for Health, since July 2012 this includes responsibility for the publication of outpatient waiting lists.

In carrying out its functions, the NTPF works closely with the Department of Health, the HSE, acute public hospitals and private nursing homes across the health system.

The Department

The Commissioning Team’s function is to assist patients on public waiting lists to access healthcare faster through specific funding pathways.

The Role

The call centre is a critical component of our service delivery, serving as the NTPF’s only direct point of contact with patients. This direct communication enables us to explain treatment options clearly and in an accessible way, while also facilitating the seamless transfer of patients from public hospitals to alternative treatment facilities. By assuming this responsibility, we alleviate a significant administrative burden from public hospitals, allowing them to focus on core healthcare delivery. Additionally, the call centre fosters trust and confidence among patients, as they know they can reach out to the NTPF directly for queries or support, reinforcing our commitment to their care journey.

As well as contacting patients who reject outpatient offers, the team work with public hospitals to target patients with second/third offers, consultations closer to their local area and give patients more information about the process and gather information regarding the reasons why patients reject offers.

Future plans include assisting hospitals with tasks such as updating patient records in their systems and providing on-site support where needed. The vision is for this team to evolve into an "onsite action team" capable of identifying issues within hospitals or groups of hospitals and intervening promptly at the direction of the Director of Commissioning to resolve them. While the current focus is on managing calls and expediting patient appointments, the long-term goal is to create a team with a broad remit to ensure rapid and seamless patient access to services by supporting public hospitals at every stage of the process.

The key responsibilities are as follows:

• Contact patients by phone to arrange hospital appointments.
• Arrange call backs when necessary.
• Updating NTPF databases to reflect patient status.
• Track patients progress throughout their journey in private hospitals
• Meet weekly call targets.
• Participate in several days training.
• To maintain confidentiality in relation to patient data.
• Compliance with operational policies and procedures.
• Handle all telephone and email inquiries in a friendly and helpful manner.
• Any other duties deemed necessary by the Commissioning Administrator and/or Commissioning Officer.

Note: There is a requirement to work fully onsite for the first 4 weeks of employment to undergo essential training and ICT infrastructure set up.

Note: The functions and responsibilities assigned to this position are based on the current requirements of the NTPF. These requirements may change in line with changes in the roles, objectives or business requirements of the organisation up to and including transfer to other business units.