Personal Medical Secretary
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Job overview
36 Hours per week
Monday – Friday
Due to the recent theatre expansion, we are looking to expand the Personal Medical Secretary teams within the Burns & Plastics department.
Clinical Support Services are looking to appoint Personal Medical Secretaries to provide a comprehensive service with the minimum of supervision within the Burns & Plastics department.
The successful applicant will be able to organise their own workload and co-ordinate workload activities with other Personal Medical Secretaries in the team. The successful candidates will be of a pleasant disposition, have excellent interpersonal skills and a friendly telephone manner.
Interview date: TBC
Main duties of the job
To provide a comprehensive service to the Consultant and Speciality Team including nurse clinicians.
Keep diary up to date, arrange appointments, and arrange travel and accommodation.
Operate an effective bring forward system and filing system.
Type dictation from audio transcription of clinical correspondence and documentation, ensuring all letter and workflow processes are adhered to and Standard Operating Procedures are followed
Type discharge summaries as appropriate
Check against clinical letters to ensure appropriate follow up arrangements/investigations are in place. Rectify if not.
To manage and maintain 18 week pathways including Tertiary Referrals to external Trusts and ensure these are completed on the PAS system.
Keep track of referrals to ensure patients are reviewed promptly.
Check that follow up appointments are arranged in conjunction with RTT patient pathway.
Working for our organisation
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.
We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.
Our services:
Acute Care
Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.
Primary Care
Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.
Community Services
Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation, freeing up space for more unwell patients.We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.
Specialist Regional Services
We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.
Achievements:
- Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
- Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
- National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
KEY DUTIES
To provide a comprehensive secretarial service to the Consultant, Doctors and Speciality Team including nurse clinicians.
Manage all departmental rotas and on-call rotas ensuring that annual/study leave and sickness do not compromise the smooth running and the department. Liaise with Medical Staffing to arrange locum cover. If emergency need is requested by members of clinical team ensure this is covered accordingly liaising closely with Clinical Director or dedicated clinical person for rota management
Preparation of departmental induction and teaching programme for junior doctors/students taking an active part in departmental induction.
Monitoring of the use of annual and study leave for all doctors ensuring that the correct level of cover is provided at all times. This would also include the arrangement of cover during examinations and junior doctor rotation.
Monitoring of the use of annual and study leave for all doctors ensuring that the correct level of cover is provided at all times. This would also include the arrangement of cover during examinations and junior doctor rotation.
Keep diary up to date, arrange appointments, and arrange travel and accommodation.
Operate an effective bring forward system and filing system.
Type dictation from audio transcription of clinical correspondence and documentation, ensuring all letter and workflow processes are adhered to and Standard Operating Procedures are followed.
Type discharge summaries as appropriate.
Check against clinical letters to ensure appropriate follow up arrangements/investigations are in place. Rectify if not.
To manage and maintain 18 week pathways including Tertiary Referrals to external Trusts and ensure these are completed on the PAS system. Keep track of referrals to ensure patient is reviewed promptly. Check that follow up appointments are arranged in conjunction with Referral To Treat (RTT) patient pathway.
Support Consultant in non-clinical activities/Clinical Director role by preparing presentation documents using relevant packages and arranging meetings, circulate agenda/supporting papers as appropriate, and taking minutes at meetings.
Ensure appropriate personnel are informed of consultant annual/study leave. Amend clinic/theatre lists/forms appropriately. Keep Consultants informed of junior doctor leave could have an effect on the service.
Arrange planned patient admission to Hospital liaising with the appropriate ward and admissions department.
Ensure Consultants are up to date with mandatory training/appraisals and ensure information is updated on ESR system.
Ensure sickness/absence and annual leave of clinical staff is reported on ESR system.
Assist with the investigation and compilation of responses to complaints, helping to ensure this is done within the optimum deadlines set by the Trust.
Work from initiative using own judgment, acquired knowledge and tact to deal with queries and resolve situations or referring to appropriate person.
Deal with enquiries either on the telephone or face to face from patients, consultants, junior doctors and colleagues in an appropriate manner.
Ensure all correspondence relating to patient care is acted upon in a timely manner and that investigations are signed by Consultants or team and are dealt with in accordance with Trust policy.
Cross reference invoices against investigations completed at external sites. Prepare any claims for reimbursement for consultant activities.
Accurate check of demographics using the Patient Administration System (PAS), including registration screen to check patient details are correct.
Maintain effective track on inpatient referrals to ensue patient is reviewed promptly.
Receive new referral letters and ensure they are dated and triaged in a timely manner. Liaise with appointments and patients to book appointments accordingly. Check monthly breach lists.
Receive cash/cheque donations to Trust; provide receipt/letter of confirmation.
Assist with audit/research data collection as required.
Obtain information requested by Administration Services Manager as and when required.
Be able to work as part of a team, promote effective flows in the department to cover leave to ensure office runs smoothly.
Train new and junior members of the team within own work area as required by Administration Services Co-ordinator.
General office duties including dealing with incoming and outgoing mail, e-mail, fax, photocopying. Participate in housekeeping of the office environment.
Attend appropriate training and education sessions at the request of manager
Work with co-ordinators to review working practices, ways of working and find solutions to problems.
Implement policies and procedures for own areas.
Order stationery for own areas when required.
To work in a flexible manner in accordance with the Trust Policy.
Any other duties required by Line Manager
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria- GCSE Standard or equivalent
- RSA 3/OCR– Typing / Word Processing or equivalent experience
- RSA 3 – Medical Audio Typing or equivalent experience
- Secretarial Diploma
- ECDL or equivalent qualification/experience
- Shorthand / Speed Writing
Knowledge & Experience
Essential criteria- Minute Taking
- Microsoft Office Experience
- Ability to work as part of a team
- Previous Medical Secretary Experience
- Medical Audio Typing
- Significant experience in a similar role or equivalent knowledge
- Knowledge of Medical Terminology
Skills
Essential criteria- Excellent IT Skills
- Excellent organisational skills
- Excellent communication skills
- Excellent Word Processing and Keyboard skills
- Ability to organise workload effectively and prioritise
- Use of all Microsoft Office software, Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint
- Ability to use initiative to solve problems
- Highly developed interpersonal skills
- Ability to use own initiative and work independently
- Ability to maintain control of stressful situations
Other
Essential criteria- Ability and willingness to undergo further training for the post
Thank you for considering an application to work for Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust. MWL is an exciting and forward-thinking NHS Trust who are one of the best places to work for in England.
Given sometimes we receive a high volume of applications to work for us, please be aware, that we may close a vacancy earlier than stated should a sufficient number of applications be received from which a shortlist can be confirmed. Therefore, you are advised to apply at your earliest convenience.
The Trust may contact you during the recruitment process for your feedback on your experience. We always aim for continuous improvement in our practice.
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
We actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity, and respect for all individuals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and value the unique skills, perspective and experience you bring. We are grounded in the belief that diversity enhances our collective strength, fostering innovation and excellence within our workforce.We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.
As a Disability Confident Leader, we commit to offering an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.
If you are having difficulty completing an online application, or require any disability reasonable adjustments, to the application process, please contact [email protected]
We also commit to offering an interview to all armed forces veterans who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.
The Trust operates anonymous shortlisting where no personal information about you, including your name or personal details are shared with the recruiting manager. No equality information is shared at any time during the recruitment process with the recruiting manager or other people involved in the decision-making process.
The equality monitoring information you provide is used in the following situations: to review our recruitment practices; where a job is limited to a specific person to verify their eligibility to apply; and to offer disability reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years.Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Following the recent update on UK immigration policy for those on a Health and Care Visa or Skilled Worker Visa, please click here to check your eligibility before applying for this post as we may be unable to provide sponsorship.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
If this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Please note if applicable, applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment.
If you have not already done so, you are therefore encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service to which a small annual fee of £13 per year applies.
Flexible Working
We actively support flexible working patterns throughout MWL. Changes made to the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook mean that:
- All employees have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment.
- There is no limit on the number of requests they can make.
- Employees have the right to make requests, have them considered, regardless of the reason.
At Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, we will consider requests for flexible working. We would also encourage you to also discuss flexible working options at interview stage.
Working for Team MWL
Staff recognition is especially important to us; as well as performance reviews and appraisals, we recognise staff through Employee of the month. Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts.Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.
The Trust is a non-smoking across all our sites. Failure to follow this rule could lead to disciplinary action. For more information, see the Smoke Free NHS website
You must ensure that your application, including personal statements and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.
The Trust will not accept applications which are found to be AI generated.
Additional Information
Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trusts Values and Behaviours which are We are KIND, We are OPEN, We are INCLUSIVE, which can be found here.
An applicant guide to help and support you with your application and what to expect during your recruitment journey can be accessed in the supporting documents.
Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team MWL very soon.