Ophthalmology Medical Secretary

The post holder is required to: communicate tactfully and politely with patients/carers and staff in the exchange of verbal and written information; communicate with external Trusts and other departments within the Trust; deal with telephone and face-to-face enquiries efficiently and with understanding, taking action as appropriate; plan and organise own time/work; adjust clinic times as necessary; ensure notes are ready for clinics and arrange secure transfer between hospital sites as necessary; take minutes at meetings as requested; arrange meetings, for example, audit meetings, service meetings, training days; type back from dictation, audio or otherwise, all letters and information and take action as necessary within agreed procedures; provide information and advice to patients/carers about admissions and appointments; follow all relevant Trust policies and adhere to department guidelines/standard operating procedures at all times; comment on local policies and procedures where they relate to secretarial or clerical issues; maintain stationery stocks; demonstrate secretarial duties to new starters; maintain and develop patient information, clerical, secretarial and record keeping systems, both paper based and electronic, in line with established Trust systems, liaising with other departments, including Medical Records and Trust Headquarters, where necessary; participate in surveys, gather information and assist with audits as required through the collection of data; provide cover across the division as required; in line with standard operating procedures, deal with incoming mail, make appointments, update the Patient Tracking List (PTL), accept telephone calls for the consultants and other members of the multi-disciplinary team and maintain diaries, taking action as necessary; chase EDS and VTE; deal with theatre queries; add patients to booked admissions; cancer tracking; / wait times; draft letters for consultants, specialty doctors and Nurse Specialists; work with the multi-disciplinary team to maintain and support departmental/divisional practice and procedures and ensure that activity targets are achieved; ensure that all tasks are organised and produced to expected standards and within reasonable timescales in response to service demands; use VDU equipment to word process and input data for a substantial proportion of the shift; concentrate for transcribing tapes and typing complicated medical documents; type letters of a distressing nature.