Clinical Support Officer

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust; Chester-le-Street; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS trust in Chester-le-Street is seeking a dedicated Clinical Support Officer to join their community therapy teams. This pivotal role involves providing essential administrative support to assist clinicians in delivering high-quality patient care. The ideal candidate will have prior administrative experience, excellent communication and organizational skills, and a commitment to quality customer service. Join this dynamic team and make a difference in patient care.

Qualifications

• Experience in an administrative role providing general duties in a challenging environment.
• Ability to resolve routine queries and work with minimal supervision.
• Commitment to delivering quality customer care.

Responsibilities

• Sort and prepare incoming and outgoing mail.
• Coordinate meetings and book venues for appointments.
• Supervise a team of administrators and allocate work.

Skills

Administrative support

Excellent communication skills

Interpersonal skills

Organizational skills

Computer skills (Word, Excel)

Education

Good standard of general education (3 GCSEs at Grade C or above)

NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration

Job description

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

Clinical Support Officer

The closing date is 28 November 2025

We are seeking a dedicated clinical support officer to join our busy community therapy teams. In this essential role, you will provide vital administrative support that helps clinicians focus on delivering exceptional patient care. You will be responsible for day‑to‑day supervision for a team of administrators within your team. If you thrive in a fast‑paced environment, have excellent communication skills and enjoy supporting dynamic teams, this could be the perfect opportunity for you.

Interviews will be held via TEAMS on 9th December.

Main duties of the job

Main duties of the role will involve coordinating an admin team to support community therapy services within the community health services care group. The postholder will demonstrate excellent communication and organisational skills. You and your team will be responsible for processing referrals in and out of the service and providing comprehensive admin support to a wide range of clinical teams within the hospital and wider community teams. You will work closely with senior administrators to ensure cover is maintained across the therapy teams county‑wide.

About us

If you are being interviewed you must accept an interview slot in the system to continue, even if you have arranged with the manager.

You must be able to produce ALL certificates stated essential in the person specification or you will not be able to complete pre‑employment checks.

We provide hospital services from two acute sites – Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham. We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester‑Le‑Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community based settings and providing care in patients' homes.

We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under‑represented.

Full Job Descriptions can be found in the adverts supporting documents.

For the most up‑to‑date information on visa requirements and eligibility, please check online to determine whether you can apply.

From April 9th 2025 – Healthcare assistants – You must have a minimum of two years experience working within the NHS as an HCA for the Trust to consider sponsorship (we will only consider sponsorship if you meet this criteria and have a current visa expiring within 3 months).

Job responsibilities

• Sort incoming mail and prepare outgoing mail for posting
• Make appointments and give non‑clinical advice as directed, taking necessary action for the call to be handled as quickly and efficiently as possible
• Support the efficient organisation of home visits, arranging appointments and ensuring clinical notes are ready, to ensure the smooth and effective provision of patient services
• Liaise regularly with secondary care staff, laboratories and GP surgeries to obtain patient test results and where necessary receive and maintain database of pathology lab reports ensuring they are correctly assigned to patients and chase up any outstanding reports not received
• Maintain an up‑to‑date filing and archive file system, disposing of archived patient records according to Trust Policy
• Receive and handle information regarding referrals to the service and deal with them within Trust or departmental timescales
• Transmit electronic mail, photocopy documents and circulate information within Trust or departmental timescales
• Enter data onto necessary databases according to service requirements
• Use database/spread sheets to collect and formulate data on a weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis
• Order and maintain adequate levels of stationery and supplies, using CARDEA where possible
• Maintain electronic diaries, coordinate meetings and book venues
• Maintain and update patient caseload on a daily basis, ensuring visits, discharges, and patient information is accurately recorded
• Where necessary, support monitoring of service targets/performance standards and alert the Manager to possible breaches
• Provide on‑site supervision for a team of administrators, allocating work and ensuring all referrals are processed in a timely manner
• Supervise work‑experience students and apprentices requiring experience of office work
• May be required to undertake the role of Information Asset Administrator or Information Asset Owner to provide support for the control and administration of information assets within the area/department (details available on the Health Informatics web page)
• May be required to undertake the role of Registration Authority Agent/Sponsor which includes supporting the NHS Care Records Service applications using smartcards and appropriate access files

Person Specification

Experience

• Experience of an administrative role providing general provision of administrative duties in a challenging and constantly changing environment
• Demonstrate experience of using Microsoft Word
• Experience in setting up and maintaining office filing systems
• Experience in planning and organising meetings and taking notes
• Experience of providing administrative support to a team
• Commit to delivering the actions in the Trust's Behaviours Framework
• Working together for patients
• Respect and Dignity
• Commitment to quality of care
• Compassion
• Improving lives
• Experience of working within an NHS Environment

Special Skills & Knowledge

• Committed to quality customer care/delivering excellent customer service
• Ability to communicate accurately verbally and in writing with a wide range of people
• Effective interpersonal skills
• Able to use own initiative to resolve routine queries, in line with departmental procedures
• Able to work with minimal supervision following set procedures
• Knowledge of computer packages, e.g. Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint
• Ability to analyse and present data using Excel and Access packages
• Ability to use email and maintain and update paper and electronic diaries
• Knowledge of Data Protection and Caldicott Principles and understanding of the need to maintain strict confidentiality
• Ability to use discretion and maintain confidentiality
• Ability to prioritise workload. Able to work to deadlines
• Flexible approach to work and adaptable to change
• Ability to work as a member of a team
• Knowledge of NHS Practices/Procedures
• Clinical/Service knowledge
• Knowledge of system (mention) 1
• Knowledge of medical terminology
• System 1 experience

Special Requirements

• Ability to travel independently across the County to fulfil the requirements of the post
• Present a professional image at all times

Qualifications

• Good standard of general education minimum of 3 GCSEs or equivalent at Grade C or above including English
• NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration (or working towards) or equivalent knowledge/experience

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

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust