Medical Secretary

Job overview

Medical Secretary – B4 level with flexible hours/days to be discussed at interview. A good knowledge of medical terminology, excellent typing, interpersonal, and audio typing skills are essential.

Applicants should be well‑organised, able to plan their own workload, and meet deadlines. Previous applicants need not apply.

Responsibilities

• Support the day‑to‑day organisation, planning and management responsibilities of the Consultants and their teams, including annual leave, diary management, meetings, travel and other appointments.
• Act as the first point of contact for patients, GPs, external organisations and members of the public, triaging calls appropriately and dealing sympathetically with distress or anger.
• Answer telephone queries and provide non‑clinical advice regarding patient care, appointments and admissions to patients, Trust staff, referring GPs and Consultants.
• Communicate with patients/parents regarding personal and highly sensitive information.
• Type urgent clinical and non‑clinical correspondence and reports, including transcription and management of audio sources (e.g., digital dictation).
• Compose routine and non‑routine letters and produce typed clinical correspondence.
• Attend, take and transcribe minutes for meetings as required, implementing any follow‑up action points.
• Access the Computerised Patient Administration System (CareFlow) for patient details, updating records and registering patients.
• Maintain and update specialty‑specific databases and retrieve radiology and pathology results.
• Take action regarding patients who fail to attend in accordance with the Trust policy and consultant instructions.
• Ensure timely dispatch of relevant information to GPs, other medical staff and external organisations.
• Evaluate and reprioritise own workload according to competing demands from patients, medical staff and others.
• Prioritise work to ensure medical staff receive necessary information for appropriate clinical action.
• Liaise with Cancer Services for patients discussed at Multidisciplinary Team Meetings.
• In collaboration with support medical secretaries and clerical officers, allocate and complete administrative duties in a timely manner.
• Ensure investigation results are shown to relevant clinicians promptly and arrange any necessary follow‑up actions.
• Achieve waiting time performance targets where applicable.
• Type theatre lists and distribute as required.
• Co‑operate in the introduction of new technology where applicable.
• Prevent complaints from service users, resolve informal complaints and support the formal complaints process.
• Handle cash/cheques in accordance with the Trust’s standing financial instructions.
• Provide full secretarial support for teaching/meetings, including preparing PowerPoint presentations.
• Maintain a database of clinical activity to assist in clinical audit.
• Guide support medical secretaries and clerical officers, ensuring efficient service and fair workload distribution.
• Exercise initiative to allocate work to support staff and maintain control of supplies.
• Deputise for others and provide cross‑cover during absences.
• Assist in the orientation of new or temporary staff by demonstrating duties.
• Work independently, plan and prioritise workload following Trust policies, and suggest improvements where necessary.

Qualifications

• NVQ Level 3 or equivalent in an administrative discipline.
• RSA II/III Typing or Word Processing or equivalent experience.
• European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL).
• British Society of Medical Secretaries Diploma or Advanced AMSPAR Diploma, or equivalent experience.

Knowledge & Experience

• Previous secretarial experience.
• Previous medical secretary experience.
• Knowledge of medical terminology.
• Demonstrable problem‑solving skills.
• Previous NHS experience.

Skills

• Audio and touch typing with a high level of accuracy.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Organisational skills.
• Able to use own initiative.
• Ability to work under pressure and prioritise workload.
• Ability to maintain concentration with frequent interruptions.
• Knowledge of the Microsoft Office software suite.

Other

• Frequent requirement for sitting in a restricted position at a desk for a substantial proportion of the working day.
• Requirement for periods of frequent concentration with occasional interruptions.
• Ability to deal with distressed patients or bereaved relatives, and to type up documents of a distressing nature.
• Requirement to use VDU equipment more or less continuously throughout the day.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Following the recent update on UK immigration policy for those on a Health and Care Visa or Skilled Worker Visa, please check your eligibility before applying for this post as the Trust may be unable to provide sponsorship.

eVisa Update

For successful candidates on selected work and study visa routes, who have completed and paid for their applications, a visa vignette will no longer be provided. Instead, an eVisa will be issued and accessed by creating a UKVI account.

Before travelling to the UK, applicants should understand how to generate an eVisa share code.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

Appendix to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975, a DBS check may be required. Applicants may be asked to pay for their DBS check; costs are deducted from salary following appointment. Enrolment for the DBS Update Service is encouraged.

Flexible Working

The Trust actively supports flexible working patterns throughout the organisation. All employees have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment, with no limit on the number of requests.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity and respect for all individuals. Applications are welcomed from all backgrounds and those from under‑represented groups. We are a Disability Confident Leader, offering an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria. We also offer interviews to all armed forces veterans who meet the minimum criteria. No equality information is shared with the recruiting manager or other decision‑makers.

Eligibility and Verification

Applicants must ensure that their application, including personal statements and behavioural examples, are truthful and factually accurate. The Trust will not accept applications found to be AI‑generated or containing plagiarism. All applications will be checked for AI detection.

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