At Northumbria Primary Care, we understand the importance of providing our practice teams with the support they need to deliver the highest levels of care. To do this, we have a number of centralised services based at our headquarters in Seaton Delaval who can help our practices. One of the teams who provide assistance are our customer care administrators (CCAs). Our CCAs are able to provide remote support to our teams across the region, alleviating pressure when needed and completing admin tasks on the practice’s behalf.
Evie Austin is one of our Customer Care Coordinators. We sat down with her to find out about her background, her ambitions and why she loves her job.
Hi Evie, what’s your background?
I’m currently at Newcastle University studying a business management degree and working at Northumbria Primary Care part time. I’m only 21 so I don’t have an extensive employment history, but I’ve got quite a bit of experience working in customer service. Before university, I worked in my local bakery which was amazing! When I moved to university, I sadly left that behind and started working at department store.
What interested you in the role of a customer care administrator?
I’d gotten a bit tired of working in retail and wanted a change. I hadn’t considered working in primary care, but the idea was suggested to me by a family friend. As I’m still a student, I was looking for a role that was flexible during term-time but also somewhere that I could pick up extra hours when I had more free time.
Whilst my experience is from the world of retail, at it’s core this role is about providing a high level of customer service. I thought it would be a really interesting challenge and something a bit different to most part-time jobs.
What are your day-to-day tasks?
I do all sorts! I mainly provide support to our reception and admin teams remotely from NPC’s base in Seaton Delaval. When a team is under increased pressure, I’ll work with them to reduce their workload and ease the strain on the practice. This can be everything from chasing referrals for patients through to booking appointments.
How do you think your role supports patients?
By reducing the pressure on practice teams, patients are able to access care in a more efficient way. NPC understand the workload that GP practices currently face and employ people like me to support them.
What do you like about your job?
It’s a cliché in primary care, but every day is different. Due to the role being so varied and fast-paced, there’s never a boring moment! Plus, I also really enjoy speaking to patients. It’s really rewarding when you’re able to support someone through what can be quite a worrying and scary time.
What do you like about NPC?
It’s a very flexible and accommodating place to work. It’s also just full of really good people.
Outside of work, what do you enjoy doing?
At the moment, I’m just enjoying the break from university and spending time catching up with my friends. I also love to travel and explore new places. I’m doing the Great North Run in September so there’s also a lot of training going on; wish me luck!
Thanks and good luck Evie!
Are you interested in a career with Northumbria Primary Care? We’re always looking for talented and hard working clinicians to join our teams. Head over to the Working For Us page to find out more!
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