Clerical Assistant

Newcastle Hospitals; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 23,000; Full time

Job summary

The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Clerical Assistant to provide high-quality administrative support to the Ophthalmology service. You will manage outpatient appointments, clinic communications and patient records, while delivering a courteous and professional service to patients and care teams.

You will work as part of a supportive team, handling calls from patients and professionals and ensuring a smooth patient pathway.

Qualifications

• Good standard of English, grammar, punctuation and spelling at GCSE or equivalent level.

Responsibilities

• Provide a comprehensive clerical and administrative service within Ophthalmology, supporting clinical teams and helping to ensure patients move effectively through their care pathway.
• Arrange and manage outpatient appointments, process clinic outcomes and correspondence, and maintain accurate electronic patient records.
• Support referrals, request lists and waiting lists; provide telephone support and take accurate messages, escalating queries as required.
• Work flexibly across Ophthalmology subspecialties to maintain an efficient administrative service and support high-quality patient care.

Skills

Good communication

Organisational skills

IT skills

Attention to detail

Microsoft Office proficiency

Education

GCSE English

Tools

Microsoft Word

Outlook

Excel

Job description

Go back The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Clerical Assistant

The closing date is 16 November 2026

Are you an organised, reliable and motivated individual with excellent communication skills? Do you enjoy working as part of a busy team and making a difference to patient care?

We are looking to recruit an enthusiastic Clerical Assistant to provide high-quality administrative support to our ophthalmology Service. This is an excellent opportunity to join a friendly and supportive team, playing a vital role in ensuring patients, carers, service users and healthcare professionals receive an efficient and professional service.

• Interview Date 30 November 2026

NO AGENCIES PLEASE

Main duties of the job

You will provide a comprehensive clerical and administrative service within Ophthalmology, supporting clinical teams and helping to ensure patients move effectively through their care pathway.

Duties will include arranging and managing outpatient appointments, processing clinic outcomes and correspondence, maintaining accurate electronic patient records, and supporting referrals, request lists and waiting lists. You will also provide telephone support, responding to calls from patients, carers and healthcare professionals, dealing with enquiries appropriately, taking accurate messages and escalating queries where required. You will work closely with medical, nursing and administrative colleagues to provide an efficient and patient-focused service.

You will use a range of Trust IT systems to maintain patient information and will be expected to identify and upscale any concerns or discrepancies that could affect the patient's pathway. The postholder will work flexibly across Ophthalmology subspecialties to help maintain an effective administrative service and support the delivery of high-quality patient care.

About us

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.

With around 2 million contacts with patients every year, we deliver care from:

• Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)
• Freeman Hospital
• Newcastle Dental Hospital
• Newcastle Fertility Centre
• Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria
• Northern Genetics Service

These include a range of flagship services which deliver cutting-edge care (supported by state-of-the-art diagnostic services in both radiology and pathology) and are a catalyst for innovation to support pioneering clinical practice in the NHS.

We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.

Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under 'Documents to download' or 'Supporting documents'.

For further information on The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please visit: Careers | Newcastle Hospitals | NHS | Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Job responsibilities

Ophthalmology is a busy and diverse service providing care to patients across a wide range of eye conditions and specialist pathways. Our administrative teams play an important role in supporting patients throughout their journey and work closely with medical, nursing and other healthcare professionals to provide an efficient and patient-focused service.

You will join a supportive Ophthalmology team and work across a range of subspecialties and patient pathways. The role offers the opportunity to develop your administrative knowledge and experience within a large and varied clinical service, while making a positive contribution to the care and experience of our patients.

We recognise the importance of a positive working environment and encourage teamwork, good communication and continuous development. You will be supported to develop the knowledge and skills required for your role and to contribute to improvements in the way our administrative services are delivered.

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to support working arrangements that meet the needs of our patients, the Ophthalmology service and our staff. We encourage you to speak to us about potential flexible working arrangements. Where these can be accommodated safely and effectively within the needs of the service, we will do our best to support them.

Person Specification

Qualifications & Education

• Good standard of English, grammar, punctuation and spelling at GCSE or equivalent level.

Knowledge & Experience

• A high level of accuracy, presentation of information and attention to detail gained over time.
• Good working knowledge and ability to use Microsoft Office packages (e.g. Word, Outlook Excel)
• Previous experience working within the NHS
• Knowledge of the eRecord System.

Skills & Abilities

• Good communication and interpersonal skills
• Effective organisation and time management skills
• IT skills including ability to use Microsoft

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such 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.

Employer name

The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust