As we launch this year’s PMA Awards, we chat to Andrena Newton – Senior Receptionist at Peterloo Medical Centre in Manchester. Andrena picked up the award for PMA Reception Manager of the Year last year.
How do you start your day?
Morning isn’t my favourite time of day at all, with the alarm set for 6.45 every day (maybe with a snooze press once or twice) its then a race to wake the children up (one for work, one for college. The youngest leaves with me and I drop off at school en route). I dart into the shower and prepare to leave the house at 8am. I live a short motorway journey away from the surgery so it can be a little stressful if traffic is backed up, but I start work at 8.30.
No two days are the same. But what does a typical day look like for you?
My first job is to check the Front Desk receptionist is ok and deal with any queries left for me. I then set up the T-Card board at the Front Desk to allocate jobs for the receptionists who will be working there throughout the day. Then I head to the main Reception Office where I set up the main T-Card board to allocate jobs to each staff member, then head to my own desk where I start checking all my emails to ensure there are no updates I need to pass on by the start of the day.
I am there to ensure the day to day running of the reception department is smooth and efficient. I train all new staff using our reception training programme, I deal with any staff queries, and I am also the first point of contact for any patient concerns or complaints. I also keep the reception protocols updated, and I create the weekly staff rotas. I am also now taking a greater responsibility working under my Practice Manager to assist with achieving QOF, IIF and Core Plus Targets.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
I have always enjoyed my job since joining the practice in 2014, I will always try my very best for patients and help to the best of my ability and I often like to think that I do go above and beyond. Since my progression to Reception Manager, I don’t have as much contact with patients now but really enjoy being there in the background to help when needed. I always thought I’d never want to progress from being a receptionist as I did enjoy what I did but now that I have, I really enjoy doing the additional tasks that I’ve taken on, and it has inspired me to want to progress further to an Assistant Practice Manager role, and potentially a Practice Manager role.
My favourite part about work is the amazing team I work with from the Managers, GPs, Nurses, and our full Admin Team. It’s a cliché to say we are a family, but we actually are a family. We are all there for each other to support and advice, we spend time socially together and there isn’t a day I come to work, without a smile on my face and laughter with my colleagues.
What do you think is the biggest challenge currently facing primary care?
The toughest challenge faced by Primary Care now is lack of resources to meet the demand from patients and expectations from patients about what our service can offer. There is often a reluctance from patients to be signposted to alternative services because it is not what they have known as the historical ‘family doctor’ model. Primary Care has changed significantly, and this has been accelerated by the pandemic, particularly when it comes to digital healthcare. But I think patients are gradually coming around and some are embracing the ease in which they can submit a digital enquiry or the realisation that they can be seen and treated sooner if they are signposted directly to other services e.g. First Contact Practitioners.
How do you relax and recharge
I do sometimes forget I need to recharge as I’m a very sociable person and always have plenty planned for my evenings and weekends, either with my hubby and children or enjoying a night out with the ladies. My weekends are always football packed with my middle child playing at a semi-professional level of football on Saturdays and Sundays. I’m also a huge Manchester City fan and try to attend every home game possible. The best way I have found to relax and recharge after all of that is in our hot tub with a glass of bubbly in my hand at the end of a long working day!
