Support Secretary
Job overview
We are seeking an experienced, efficient, and competent and self- motivated team player to join our surgical admin team 30 hours per week. The support secretary will play a pivotal role in ensuring a smooth transition of medical and administrative work and support the secretarial, scheduling team, clinical team and patients.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will need to have a good general knowledge and skills. Audio typing is desirable for the role.
This is busy role so you must have the ability to prioritise your workload to effectively complete tasks and communicate with both staff and patients at all levels. The post holder must be able to work well under pressure.
For further information please contact
Abi Albes – Support Manager on [email protected] or Kerrisha Edwards on [email protected]
Working for our organisation
The Christie is one of Europe’s leading cancer centres, treating over 60,000 patients a year. We are based in Manchester and serve a population of 3.2 million across Greater Manchester & Cheshire, but as a national specialist around 15% patients are referred to us from other parts of the country.
We provide radiotherapy through one of the largest radiotherapy departments in the world; chemotherapy on site and through 14 other hospitals; highly specialist surgery for complex and rare cancer; and a wide range of support and diagnostic services.We are also an international leader in research, with world first breakthroughs for over 100 years.
We run one of the largest early clinical trial units in Europe with over 300 trials every year. Cancer research in Manchester, most of which is undertaken on the Christie site, has been officially ranked the best in the UK.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES- Provide a full support secretary service for consultant(s) teams, to ensure new referrals are triaged in a timely manner, that appointments are made within agreed timescales to meet targets and that information is readily available to support the patient pathway.
- Delegate duties to appropriate team members to ensure workflow is maintained.
- Liaise with MDT Co-coordinators to ensure patients are reviewed in a timely manner to meet clinical needs. Ensure all relevant information is available for multi-disciplinary meetings for your team. Co-ordinate case notes and reports where necessary.
- Ensure investigations are managed in accordance with the results acknowledgement procedure ensuring close liaison with medical staff to ensure clinical results are reviewed and actioned.
- Contribute to the compliance of all patient pathway targets, liaising with patient trackers as appropriate.
- Organise and schedule meetings and maintain an up to date diary for appointments, meetings, interviews and travel arrangements.
- Liaise with staff at all levels both internally and externally, answering written and verbal enquiries when necessary, taking action on all matters which can be dealt with without further reference.
- Answer written and verbal enquiries from patients/relatives, referring enquiries to consultant(s) only when necessary.
- Deal with stressful phone calls in a professional manner which can be emotional and of a sensitive nature from relatives/patients.
- Organise admissions and accurate inputting of patient data onto the Theatre computer system (Medway) as appropriate.
- Contribute to the appropriate management of the waiting list.
- Liaise with internal and external departments to arrange clinical investigations and procedures.
- Type clinical correspondence and annotations, ensuring compliance with turnaround time targets.
- Liaise with patients involved in trials undertaken by the team, co-ordinating all necessary information between patients, hospital and organising bodies.
- Ensure accurate input of patient details when entering data onto information databases and Patient Administration System (Medway) including routine use of the case note tracking system.
- Oversee receipt of new patient referrals, to ensure these are triaged and appointed within appropriate timescales and ensure appointment or admission is arranged as necessary.
- Liaise with medical staff with regards to annual leave, to ensure clinics are reduced, suspended or cancelled as necessary in order that clinics are managed effectively and appropriately staffed.
- Liaise with secretarial colleagues when booking annual leave to ensure this is in accordance with Annual Leave Procedure and does not compromise the secretarial service.
- Contribute to the training of new members of staff within a given area as required.
- Provide information required to support the investigation of litigation cases.
- Provide statistical information to the Information Department as required.
- Ensure case notes are kept up to date and that all investigations and other material (outside notes and films) are available for clinic appointments/admissions.
- Work with Clinicians, Managers and Administration staff to review working practices, identify new improved ways of working and find solutions to problems.
- Work with Divisional Managers to improve quality and range of services, with resources being managed according to agreed policies and priorities.
- Processing incoming correspondence and distributing to appropriate areas, including charitable donations.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria- Secondary-level education GCSE Maths and English at C-grade or above, or equivalent
- RSA/OCR typing/text transcription Stage III or equivalent experience
- Evidence of additional relevant qualifications
- AMSPAR Full Diploma or equivalent qualifications
- European Computer Driving Licence or equivalent
Experience
Essential criteria- Previous medical secretarial experience
- Experience of hospital administration system (PAS or equivalent)
- Experience of working with IT office packages
- Previous medical secretarial experience in a hospital environment
Skills
Essential criteria- Audio / copy typing
- Word-processing – ability to produce accurate, well presented work
- Organisational abilities to work to tight deadlines
- Excellent communication skills
- Medical Shorthand
Knowledge
Essential criteria- Sound knowledge of medical terminology
Values
Essential criteria- Ability to demonstrate the organisational values and behaviours
Other
Essential criteria- Ability to work under pressure
- Ability to work as part of a team
- Able to use own initiative
- Reliability & confidentiality
- Ability to work flexibly
The closing date for this post may be extended if there are insufficient applicants or brought forward if there is a high volume of applicants.
We want to ensure that everyone who works at the Christie or uses our services is welcomed, valued and treated with dignity and respect. The Christie values diversity and is committed to ensuring equal opportunities for all and fair representation across the organisation at all levels.In support of these commitments, we particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority people and people with disabilities for this post. Appointment will be only on merit.
We are committed to creating a balanced and diverse workforce. As such we welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. Together we will foster inclusion and tackle inequity and health inequalities in cancer care.
As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy
All positions within the Christie are subject to the receipt of satisfactory written references, medical clearance and evidence of your Right to Work in the UK. Some roles will require a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check. Please note if you are successfully appointed to a post with this Trust, you will be required to pay for your own DBS Disclosure.
By applying for this post you are agreeing to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there.
If you have not heard from us within four weeks of the closing date, I regret that on this occasion your application will have been unsuccessful.
The Inter-Authority Transfer (IAT) process is a critical and beneficial component of ESR and will form part of the recruitment process. In the event that you are successful following interview your previous NHS employment data, if applicable will be transferred from your current / most recent employer.
Overseas candidates wishing to apply for this position and who would require immigration sponsorship, may wish to self-assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for the post on the UKVI website.
You should be aware the Trust operates a No Smoking Policy and therefore employees are not permitted to smoke at work.