Clinical Coding Qualified Auditor

Health Jobs UK

Bolton

Hybrid

GBP 32,000 - 42,000

Full time

4 days ago

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Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working pattern

Mentoring and structured support

Job summary

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting a Clinical Coding Qualified Auditor to join our Clinical Coding team. This senior role supports the Trust's annual audit programme, including DSPT evidence, working with the Audit & Data Quality Lead.

The post is hybrid between Bolton Hospital and home, focusing on recoding complex cases, identifying error patterns, and providing actionable insights to improve coding accuracy and data quality.

Qualifications

Advanced knowledge of ICD-10 and OPCS-4 coding standards.
Significant experience as an Accredited Clinical Coder or Auditor.
Experience in conducting clinical coding audits and providing actionable insights.

Responsibilities

Re-code selected inpatient and day-case episodes, including complex cases, against national standards.
Apply audit sampling instructions to contribute to the annual audit plan.
Identify recurring error types and documentation issues, translating findings into improvements.
Liaise with clinicians to clarify documentation and support documentation improvement work.
Produce coding quality reports and contribute to DSPT and external audits.

Skills

ICD-10

OPCS-4

Clinical coding

Auditing

Education

GCSEs (English & Maths)

Tools

DSPT

Job description

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting a Clinical Coding Qualified Auditor to join our Clinical Coding team. This is a senior specialist role supporting the delivery of the Trust's annual clinical coding audit programme, including evidence for the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) Data Security Standard 1, working directly with the Clinical Coding Audit & Data Quality Lead.

The successful candidate will undertake recoding of complex cases across multiple specialties, identify error patterns and documentation issues, and translate audit findings into actionable improvement insights to support coding accuracy, data quality, and safe patient care.

Main duties of the job

Undertake re-coding of selected inpatient and day-case episodes, including complex cases, against ICD-10 and OPCS-4 national standards
Apply agreed audit sampling instructions and methodologies, contributing to the delivery of the annual audit plan
Identify recurring error types, emerging patterns, and documentation issues, providing evidence-based insights from audit findings
Liaise with clinicians to clarify ambiguous documentation and support documentation improvement work
Produce coding quality reports and contribute to evidence for DSPT and external audit activity
Provide technical guidance, peer support, and mentoring to the wider coding team
Support training and induction in coding standards and audit methodology
Maintain accurate, auditable records of coding and audit activity in line with Trust and national requirements

We welcome applications from candidates who hold Approved Clinical Coding Auditor status, or from Accredited Clinical Coders (ACC) with at least three years' post-accreditation experience who are committed to achieving auditor accreditation within an 18-month development period from appointment. Structured support and mentoring will be provided.

The post operates on a hybrid pattern between Bolton Hospital and home.

Working for our organisation

We have a long and proud history of caring for generations of local people and can trace our roots all the way back to 1814 with the first hospital in Bolton - the Bolton Dispensary in the town centre.

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust was formed in 2008 and, in 2011, we became an integrated provider with community health services joining the trust. Covering a catchment area that also incorporates parts of Bury, Wigan and Salford, we deliver hospital and community based services from the Royal Bolton Hospital in Farnworth and from 20 health centres across Bolton, to a catchment population of 310,000+ people.

The Royal Bolton Hospital is a major hub within Greater Manchester for women's and children's services and is the busiest single ambulance-receiving site in Greater Manchester. We're structured in four clinical divisions - Community Services, Families and Diagnostics, Medicine, and Surgery and are led by a Board of Directors. As an NHS Foundation Trust we're accountable to our members and have a Council of Governors to represent the views of patients, public, staff and partners.

Buildings, names and models of care have changed over the centuries, but one thing has remained constant and is prevalent among our 6,718 staff members: the enduring commitment to providing the best health and care for the people of Bolton.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Clinical Coding Qualified Auditor is a Band 6 senior specialist post sitting within Bolton NHS Foundation Trust's Clinical Coding Department, part of the Digital and Transformation Division. The post holder works under the direction of the Clinical Coding Audit & Data Quality Lead, contributing to the delivery of the Trust's clinical coding audit programme and supporting the wider coding function in maintaining accurate, complete, and standards‑compliant coded clinical data.

Audit and Oversight

The post holder undertakes re-coding of selected inpatient and day-case episodes, including complex cases, applying advanced knowledge of ICD-10, OPCS-4, and the National Clinical Coding Standards. They work within agreed audit sampling instructions and methodologies, identifying recurring error types, emerging patterns, and documentation issues across allocated specialties. Findings are translated into actionable insights to support coder development, documentation improvement, and Trust-wide data quality. Contentious or borderline cases are escalated to the Audit & Data Quality Lead in line with agreed procedures.

Clinical Engagement

The post holder liaises with clinicians and specialty teams to clarify ambiguous, incomplete, or inconsistent documentation, presenting audit findings under the supervision of the Audit & Data Quality Lead where required. The post holder contributes coding insights to documentation improvement projects and supports the development of local documentation standards, cultivating constructive working relationships with specialty teams.

Data Quality and Reporting

The post holder produces coding quality reports and summaries for Divisional and Trust use, working with Business Intelligence, Finance, and Data Quality teams as required to resolve coding discrepancies. The role contributes to the preparation of evidence for the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) and external audit activity, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and traceability of audit records.

Training, Development and Mentoring

The post holder provides technical guidance and peer support to the Clinical Coding team, contributing to the induction and ongoing development of new coders. Audit trends and findings are presented in coding team meetings to support continuous professional development. The post holder participates in peer review, coding consistency exercises, and lessons‑learned activities, and supports the identification of training needs from audit outcomes.

Governance and Compliance

All coding and audit activities are undertaken in line with ICD-10/OPCS-4 standards, Trust SOPs, and national coding guidance. The post holder handles patient information in accordance with Information Governance, GDPR, DSPT, and Caldicott principles, and maintains version‑controlled audit documents and evidence sets to support secure retention and accurate record-keeping.

Development Pathway

Candidates may apply having already attained Approved Clinical Coding Auditor status. Where the post is appointed to an Accredited Clinical Coder (ACC) with at least three years' post-accreditation experience, the post holder will be supported to attain Approved Clinical Coding Auditor status within an 18-month development period from appointment, with mentoring and structured support from the senior coding team.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

Approved Clinical Coding Auditor status, or ACC with a commitment to achieve Approved Clinical Coding Auditor status within 18 months of appointment
Evidence of a current Clinical Coding Standards course or refresher within the last three years
5 GCSEs at Grade 4/C or above (or equivalent), including English Language and Maths

Experience

Essential criteria

Significant experience as an Accredited Clinical Coder across a broad range of specialties

Desirable criteria

Proven experience in clinical coding audit, including re-coding of complex cases
Experience of analysing audit findings and presenting recommendations

Skills and Knowledge

Essential criteria

Advanced knowledge of ICD-10 and OPCS-4 coding standards
Ability to code independently across all Trust specialties
Strong understanding of clinical coding and auditing processes

The vision of this Trust is to be recognised by the people of Bolton and beyond as an excellent provider of health and care services and a great place to work. We are striving to attract, recruit and retain high calibre skilled staff which reflect our communities. We are an inclusive employer who trains and develops our staff in a positive learning environment.

We thrive on cultivating cultural architecture, if you have the right skills, attitudes and behaviours, in line with our Trust values, we welcome and appreciate the diversity you bring to our organisation.

Staff benefits - Bolton NHS FT (boltonft.nhs.uk)

Employer certification / accreditation badges

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