Job Description

Senior Call Handler NHS - Patient Triage

Application Deadline: 21 November 2026

Department: Patient Triage

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: London Bridge

Compensation: £30,200 - £32,200 / year

Description

Penrose Health is seeking experienced Senior Call Handlers to join our patient triage function at our London Bridge office. You will be a trusted, authoritative point of contact for thousands of patients across London, and accountable for the quality, safety and outcome of every interaction you handle.

You will lead patient contacts by telephone and email from first contact through to resolution. You will make sound, timely triage decisions, direct patients to the right service or clinician, and keep care pathways running safely and efficiently. You will also own the follow-up work that sits behind each contact, including medication queries, appointment coordination and the integrity of patient records. You will work in close partnership with our Contact Centre and Clinical teams, resolving issues independently and escalating only where it is clinically or operationally warranted.

This is a role for an experienced professional who exercises sound judgement under pressure, takes full ownership of outcomes, and operates with minimal supervision.

Key Responsibilities

• Taking full ownership of every patient query from first contact through to resolution, accountable for the outcome and driving it to a satisfactory conclusion
• Working autonomously, managing your own workload and priorities and making confident decisions without day-to-day direction
• Resolving complex, ambiguous or non-standard queries independently, and judging for yourself when escalation is genuinely required
• Mentoring and supporting junior call handlers, offering guidance, advice and practical support to help them develop their skills and confidence
• Exercising clinical-safety judgement to triage a high volume of patient contacts, determining the right service, clinician and level of urgency for each
• Serving as the authoritative first point of contact, providing reassurance and clear direction, including to patients who are distressed or in complex circumstances
• Safeguarding the accuracy and integrity of patient records on clinical systems (e.g. EMIS), to a high standard of documentation and governance
• Acting as a key link between the Contact Centre and clinical teams, coordinating care pathways and anticipating issues before they escalate
• Upholding NHS data protection and confidentiality standards, handling sensitive information with discretion
• Applying and continually developing your knowledge of NHS services, care pathways and medical terminology to sharpen triage accuracy
• Contributing to service quality and performance across the Contact Centre, sharing good practice and helping to raise standards.

What you'll bring

• Proven experience in a call handling, contact centre, healthcare administration or comparable patient- or customer-facing role
• A track record of managing your own workload and making sound decisions with minimal oversight
• The confidence to take charge of a problem, determine the right course of action and see it through to resolution
• Exceptional communication skills and the ability to build trust quickly with people from all walks of life
• Poise and professionalism under sustained pressure
• Strong IT skills and the ability to master new systems quickly
• Rigorous attention to detail and strong organisational skills
• A sound understanding of confidentiality, patient trust and clinical safety
• A professional, receptive approach to feedback and a commitment to continued development

Working hours

We have full time and part time hours available during the week Mon - Fri.

The working hours are 8:00am - 4:00pm or 11:00am - 7:00pm.

Full time employees are expected to work both shifts on a rota basis.