Inpatient Medical Secretary

Cornwall Partnership; Bodmin; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 27,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

CPD time for staff development

Career development plans

DBS checks

Cycle to work scheme

Job summary

Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an Inpatient Ward Medical Secretary to provide efficient secretarial support to the Consultant Psychiatrist and the mental health team on Garner Ward in Bodmin.

The role requires excellent organisation, communication and minute taking, with 37.5 hours per week, a 6-month fixed-term contract ending 31 March 2027, and opportunities for CPD and professional development within an NHS environment.

Qualifications

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to manage own workload and work independently.
• Ability to liaise with the public and professionals.
• Minute taking.

Responsibilities

• Answering calls to the service and arranging appointments.
• Audio typing letters, scanning and uploading documents.
• Photocopying, minute taking, ordering stationery and general admin.
• Health rosters and other administrative tasks as required.

Skills

Excellent communication

Manage own workload

Liaise with public

Minute taking

Education

NVQ 3 Business Administration

RSA/OCR III Word-Processing

Job description

Main area Administration Grade Band 3 Contract 6 months (Fixed Term or Secondment Opportunity until 31st March 2027) Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 201-26-896

Site Bodmin Hospital Town Bodmin Salary £25,760 - £27,476 Per Annum Salary period Yearly Closing 14/10/2026 23:59

Thank you for your interest in joining us at Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

We pride ourselves in striving to be an employer of choice.

Strategic Themes

Great Care

• Care based on what matters to people.
• Care provided at home or close to home.
• Improvement through learning, research and innovation.
• Prevention and alternatives to hospital.

Great Organisation

• Buildings that support health and wellbeing.
• Technology enabled care.
• Care teams are supported by responsive corporate services.
• Safe, efficient, effective and productive.

Great People

• A place people love to work and feel valued.
• Living our values with staff (all voices count).
• Attract, grow and develop talent.
• Leaders with compassion, who continuously learn and listen.

Great Partner

• Encourage and enable effective partnerships.
• Joined-up community services.
• Work with others to maximise workforce opportunities.
• Reduce our impact on the environment.

At the NHS, we are reminded every day of how important life is. 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 whether that’s job share, part time or another flexible pattern. In addition, although the role advertised may have a ‘home’ office base indicated, we remain committed to supporting flexibility around workplace locations. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.

Job overview

Would you like to do a job that makes a difference every day, using your skills and experience, to support the teams that help with their mental health in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly?

Would you like to live in Cornwall or are you lucky enough to already live here? Cornwall is a county of outstanding natural beauty with its endless rugged coastlines, beautiful countryside, and unbeatable beaches. Attracting millions of visitors each year, this could be your chance to move here permanently and make a difference to the children and young people in our community.

An opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic, adaptable and well-motivated Inpatient Ward Medical Secretary to provide a competent and efficient secretarial service to the Consultant Psychiatrist and their medical team within Mental Health Inpatient Ward on Garner Ward

The successful candidate will be well organised and able to prioritise tasks. They will be proactive in solving problems and queries and you will see these through to completion. The post holder will need to be calm and patient, with an excellent telephone manner, communication, interpersonal and organisational skills to deal with sometimes complex and difficult issues over the phone.

Main duties of the job

You will be supporting a multidisciplinary team and will be involved with answering calls to the service, arranging appointments, audio typing letters, scanning, and uploading documentation onto appropriate systems, photocopying, minute taking, ordering stationery, health rosters, and some general administrative work as required.

This role will be challenging and varied, but ultimately a rewarding role that will provide an opportunity, for the right person, to become a key member of the team. A high degree of flexibility is required to meet the day-to-day challenges of the service whilst respecting the dignity, privacy, and confidentiality of each individual patient.

The post holder should demonstrate a caring and sensitive approach to their work along with a good sense of humour.

This role is a full-time position, working 37.5hrs per week Monday - Friday 9am-5pm.

Please note that this is a 6 month fixed term contract ending 31st March 2027 with the potential to be extended.

Working for our organisation

We’re an NHS community and mental health provider Trust based in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. We deliver community and hospital-based care to improve people’s physical and mental health. We also provide specialist support to people with dementia or a learning disability.

We are a people organisation and people matter to us. As part of the team, you’ll help support the health and wellbeing of the people who live and visit this beautiful part of the UK.

Over 5,000 people make up the Trust. This includes doctors, nurses, therapists, plus admin and support staff.

We work in people’s homes, in community clinics and bases. Some staff work from one of our 10 community hospitals. Our aspiration is to have great people, provide great care, be a great place to work and a great partner.

Approximately 568,000 people live here. A third of people who live in Cornwall are supported by acute hospital services in Devon. As a result, we also work closely with our partners in Devon. In the summer, and during other holidays lots of people choose to visit the area. This increase the numbers of people who use out services.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To view a detailed job description and person specification including the main responsibilities of this role please see ‘supporting documents’.

Person specification

Education / Qualifications and Relevant Experience

• NVQ 3 Business Administration or equivalent knowledge or experience
• Previous experience of working in an office environment
• RSA/OCR III Word-Processing or equivalent qualification or experience

Skills and Aptitude

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to manage own workload and work independently
• Ability to liaise with the public and professionals

Knowledge and abilities

• Minute taking

At Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust we are proud to prioritise the development of our people. To support this, the following opportunities are available:

• Career conversations and individual development plans for succession planning and talent management
• Protected CPD time for registered staff
• Access to a dedicated central development fund supporting CPD for all staff
• Leadership and Management development programmes
• Coaching and mentoring opportunities
• A full clinical induction programme for operational skills
• Access to a care certificate programme for our band 1-4 clinical staff
• A bespoke and robust preceptorship programme to support newly qualified staff

Being part of a successful NHS Foundation Trust brings a portfolio of rewards and benefits for our staff. These include:

• Suite of health and wellbeing initiatives to support our colleagues physical and mental health
• Free access to individual HARP portfolios to support revalidation for nursing staff
• Free DBS checks where required
• Discounts available from retailers, UK hotels and main attractions
• Salary sacrifice car scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• The Trust reimburses all application costs for staff eligible to apply for EU settlement status.

Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust welcomes and values individuals with lived experience of mental or physical ill health joining our workforce. We aspire to have a culture that develops, promotes and supports lived experience roles - throughout the organisation.

If you are successful, you agree to Occupational Health accessing your health records from your current or previous employer to check the status of your inoculations and screening tests. Appointments are subject to full three year satisfactory references therefore please ensure you include correct contact details for your nominated referees including email addresses.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

The Health Jobs UK website has jobs from numerous employers, within health and care across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust provides acute medical, surgical and specialist services to a population of around 500,000 which can increase significantly during the busy holiday periods.