ROLE DESCRIPTION
Role Title:
Classification Code:
LHN/ HN/ SAAS/ DHA:
Hospital/ Service/ Cluster
Division:
Department/Section / Unit/ Ward:
Role reports to:
Role Created/ Reviewed Date:
Dental Administrative Assistant
AS02
WCH
Women’s & Children’s Hospital- Acute Services
Surgical Services
Dental Department
Administrative Coordinator, Surgical Services
March 2015
ROLE CONTEXT
Primary Objective(s) of role:
The Administrative Assistant is accountable to the Medical unit head of Dental and the Administrative
Coordinator, Surgical Services Division for the provision of a comprehensive confidential administrative
service to the Dental Department. Tasks include coordinating theatre lists and outpatient clinics for
consultants, registrars and liaising with patients and their careers. In addition the role will include
administrative support to the Head, Department of Paediatric Dentistry, and other professional staffing
members as directed by the Head, Department of Paediatric Dentistry. The incumbent works as part of a
multi-disciplinary team which contributes to the service of excellence provided by WCHN facility users
including staff, patients and students.
Key Relationships/ Interactions:
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Reports to the Medical unit head of Dental and the Administrative Coordinator, Surgical Services
Division
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Works collaboratively with The Paediatric Dental Department
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Liaises with Consultants, Senior Registrars and Registrars for day-to-day tasks
Develops effective working relationships with divisional administrative, medical and nursing staff to
ensure that patient needs are met
Communicates with patients to organise theatre bookings and clinic appointments
Liaises with staff from Paediatric Admissions, Paediatric Wards, Medical Records, Medical Imaging
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Challenges associated with Role:
Major challenges currently associated with the role include:
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Maintaining a standard of high quality work practices that promote positive health outcomes in patient
care
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Delegations:
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N/A
Resilience:
SA Health employees persevere to achieve goals, stay calm under pressure and are open to feedback.
Performance Development
The incumbent will be required to participate in the organisation’s Performance Review & Development
Program which will include a regular review of the incumbent’s performance against the responsibilities and
key result areas associated with their position and a requirement to demonstrate appropriate behaviours
which reflect a commitment to SA Health values and strategic directions.
General Requirements:
Managers and staff are required to work in accordance with the Code of Ethics for South Australian Public
Sector, Policies and Procedures and legislative requirements including but not limited too:
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Work Health and Safety (WHS).
Equal Employment Opportunities (including prevention of bullying, harassment and intimidation).
Keeping Them Safe Legislation (inclusive of Mandatory Notifier).
Disability Discrimination.
Code of Fair Information Practice.
Relevant Awards, Enterprise Agreements, Public Sector Act 2009, Health Care Act 2008,
and the SA Health (Health Care Act) Human Resources Manual.
Relevant Australian Standards.
Duty to maintain confidentiality.
Smoke Free Workplace.
To value and respect the needs and contributions of SA Health Aboriginal staff and clients, and commit
to the development of Aboriginal cultural competence across all SA Health practice and service
delivery.
Applying the principles of the South Australian Government’s Risk Management Policy to work as
appropriate.
Special Conditions:
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Appointment is subject to a satisfactory Background Screening and National Criminal History Check
obtained through the Screening and Licensing Unit, Department for Communities and Social Inclusion
to be renewed every 3 years thereafter from date of issue.
Depending on work requirements the incumbent may be transferred to other locations across SA Health
to perform work appropriate to classification, skills and capabilities either on a permanent or temporary
basis subject to relevant provisions of the Public Sector Act 2009 for Public Sector employees or the
SA Health (Health Care Act) Human Resources Manual for Health Care Act employees.
The incumbent may be required to participate in Counter Disaster activities including attendance, as
required, at training programs and exercises to develop the necessary skills required to participate in
responses in the event of a disaster and/or major incident.
Incumbent may be required to work additional hours if requested.
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Key Result Area and Responsibilities
Key Result Areas
Major Responsibilities
Effectively respond to
enquiries within the scope of
the position.
 Receive and consider enquiries from a range of customers and refer on
or deal with as appropriate.
Processing, managing and
maintaining all private and
public referrals including
bulk-billing and cash receipts
of any gap payments
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Provide expert assistance in
Clinical Word Processing,
information systems and data
management systems
 Provide a timely and accurate clinical word processing service and audio
typing service.
 Managing the booking system for all Paediatric Dentistry patients
 Follow up of all patient non-attendance and rescheduling of
appointments and tests
Provide an efficient
computerised booking
service to the department,
consumers and other
referring agencies.
 Patient Bookings are facilitated and recorded accurately and in a timely
manner.
 Appointment times for patients are appropriately negotiated with relevant
departments of the hospital, and are accurate.
 Clinics are not over booked.
 Accurate record management.
 Assist clinics to ensure clinic lists are accurate and patient case notes
are available.
 Extract appropriate information from the referrer, ensuring urgent
appointments are given priority and appointment referrals are made to
the correct clinics.
 Ensure cancellations or transfers of clinics are attended to promptly if
clinicians are unavailable to attend.
 Organise Interpreters through the Interpreting Service.
 Provide comprehensive database recordings of clinical activity
 Provide appropriate and timely follow-up on services provided by the
department to referring clinicians and referring organisations
Maintain office, stationery
and supplies and equipment.
 Maintain adequate supply of office materials and equipment by
reviewing stock control and purchasing procedures.
Records Management.
 Liaising with the Medical Records Department
 Correspondence is coordinated and documented appropriately.
 Collection, maintenance, tracking and returning of case notes
Support the departments
ongoing clinical, research
and teaching activities
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Receive and process referrals
Ensure Medicare cheques are processed in a timely manner
Record all patient referrals on the departments Database system
Provide accurate and timely administrative support.
 Contributes to the accurate and timely preparation of clinical databases
to provide the Head, Department of Paediatric Dentistry reports outlining
clinical performance. This may include the preparation of clinical activity
reviews on a monthly basis, detailing number of referrals, referral
source, attendance rates, waiting list activity and treatment outcomes,
thereby providing appropriate information to contribute to the continued
development of the department and efficient utilisation of staffing. In
addition, this will include the organisation of meeting both within the
department, within the division, within the WCHN, as well as with
external organisations.
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Provide ongoing
administrative support to the
Head, Department of
Paediatric Dentistry
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 Provide ongoing accurate and timely administrative support to the Head,
Department of Paediatric Dentistry, including, but not restricted to word
processing, appointment scheduling, preparation of administrative
reports, outpatient’s clinical and inpatient clinical activity
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Knowledge, Skills and Experience
ESSENTIAL MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
Personal Abilities/Aptitudes/Skills:
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Effective interpersonal and customer service skills
Demonstrated initiative and good organisational skills, ability to set priorities, work under pressure and
undertake some problem solving with limited assistance
Ability to work autonomously and as part of a multi-disciplinary team
Ability to adapt to change in a small team environment
Proven ability to handle conflict situations in a calm and impartial manner
Ability to work with minimum supervision applying initiative and/or judgement to ensure timely completion
of tasks and/or activities as directed.
Experience
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Experience in providing high level administrative/secretarial support
Coping with and prioritising high workloads and meeting set deadlines.
Demonstrated high level competency in word processing, medical audio typing, excel, power point, email and scheduler
Knowledge
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Understanding patient rights and responsibilities and confidentiality
Knowledge of the principles and practice of OHSW, Equal Opportunity, the Public Sector Act 2009 Code
of Ethics and diversity appropriate to the requirements of the position.
DESIRABLE CHARACTERISTICS
Educational/Vocational Qualifications
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Relevant business related studies
Experience
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Previous experience in dental practice
Experience in administrative/secretarial role in a health care related environment
Experience in Hospital base management information systems (eg HOMER, ORMIS, OACIS)
Experience with the management of clinical rosters for on-call
Knowledge
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Sound knowledge and understanding of customer service principles in a multicultural organization
Knowledge of the inter-relationships of hospital departments
Knowledge of Medical Terminology
Knowledge of Medicare Benefits Schedule
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Organisational Context
Organisational Overview:
Our mission at SA Health is to lead and deliver a comprehensive and sustainable health system that aims to
ensure healthier, longer and better lives for all South Australians. We will achieve our objectives by
strengthening primary health care, enhancing hospital care, reforming mental health care and improving the
health of Aboriginal people.
SA Health is committed to a health system that produces positive health outcomes by focusing on health
promotion, illness prevention and early intervention. We will work with other government agencies and the
community to address the environmental, socioeconomic, biological and behavioural determinants of health,
and to achieve equitable health outcomes for all South Australians
Our Legal Entities:
SA Health is the brand name for the health portfolio of services and agencies responsible to the Minister for
Health and Ageing and the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse.
The legal entities include but are not limited to Department for Health and Ageing, Central Adelaide Local
Health Network, Northern Adelaide Local Health Network, Southern Adelaide Local Health Network, Women’s
and Children’s Health Network, Country Health SA Local Health Network and SA Ambulance Service.
SA Health Challenges:
The health system is facing the challenges of an ageing population, increased incidence of chronic disease,
workforce shortages, and ageing infrastructure. The SA Health Care Plan has been developed to meet these
challenges and ensure South Australian’s have access to the best available health care in hospitals, health
care centres and through GPs and other providers.
Health Network/ Division/ Department:
The Women’s and Children’s Health Network (WCHN) was established to promote, maintain and restore the
health of women, children and young people in South Australia. The Service plans, develops and coordinates
health services as part of an integrated health system.
The Women’s and Children’s Health Network efficiently conducts and manages, within its identified resources,
health services for children, young people and women, including:
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Specialist hospital services
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Primary health care and population health programs
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Integrated community care services
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Services to address the health and well-being of particular populations, including Aboriginal Health
Programs
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Education and training programs
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Research.
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Values
SA Health Values
The values of SA Health are used to indicate the type of conduct required by our employees and the conduct
that our customers can expect from our health service:
 We are committed to the values of integrity, respect and accountability.
 We value care, excellence, innovation, creativity, leadership and equity in health care provision and
health outcomes.
 We demonstrate our values in our interactions with others in SA Health, the community, and those for
whom we care.
Code of Ethics
The Code of Ethics for the South Australian Public Sector provides an ethical framework for the public sector
and applies to all public service employees:
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Democratic Values - Helping the government, under the law to serve the people of South Australia.
Service, Respect and Courtesy - Serving the people of South Australia.
Honesty and Integrity- Acting at all times in such a way as to uphold the public trust.
Accountability- Holding ourselves accountable for everything we do.
Professional Conduct Standards- Exhibiting the highest standards of professional conduct.
The Code recognises that some public sector employees are also bound by codes of conduct relevant to their
profession.
Approvals
Role Description Approval
I acknowledge that the role I currently occupy has the delegated authority to authorise this document.
Name:
Role Title:
Signature:
Date:
Role Acceptance
Incumbent Acceptance
I have read and understand the responsibilities associated with role, the role and organisational context and
the values of SA Health as described within this document.
Name:
Signature:
Date:
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