Medical Secretary

Kettering General Hospital; Kettering; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

An established healthcare provider is seeking a dedicated Medical Secretary to join their Trauma and Orthopaedic team. This crucial role involves delivering high-quality administrative support, managing patient caseloads, and liaising with various stakeholders to ensure efficient operations. The ideal candidate will demonstrate strong communication skills, a proactive approach to workload management, and a commitment to maintaining confidentiality. Join a forward-thinking organization that values compassion, respect, and integrity, and be part of a team committed to providing excellent patient care in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• GCSE or equivalent required, with RSA III and medical terminology preferred.
• Experience as a medical secretary and proficiency in MS Office is essential.

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive secretarial support to consultants and clinicians.
• Manage patient caseload, scheduling, and booking for elective theatre lists.
• Handle telephone inquiries and resolve issues for patients and medical staff.

Skills

Medical Secretary experience

Good written and verbal communication

Knowledge of MS Office package

Diary management

Ability to deal with complaints

Knowledge of a range of secretarial procedures

Shorthand

Education

GCSE level education or equivalent

RSA III equivalent

Medical terminology

Tools

Various computer software

Job description

Search the Kettering General Hospital NHS website

The Trauma and Orthopaedic Medical Secretary team are seeking a full-time band 4 Medical Secretary to provide high quality, comprehensive and confidential secretarial and administrative support to the Consultant & wider clinical team.

You will work independently in an ever changing administrative environment. You will manage numerous workloads with priorities changing daily on a sliding scale.

You will be confident in communicating with patients, internal and external stakeholders and across a breadth of seniority levels.

This role involves managing a patient caseload for your clinical team along with managing, scheduling and booking an elective theatre list.

Main duties of the job

• The post-holder will have day to day responsibility for providing a comprehensive, efficient and confidential secretarial service to a team of consultants and clinicians (including the clinical director).
• Key responsibilities include constant liaison with consultant, medical staff, patients, other administration teams, General Practitioners, external bodies, ward staff and theatre staff.
• It is expected that staff will be able to demonstrate a significant level of initiative in organising their workload and in taking decisions and action within clearly defined limits.
• You will receive and take relevant action on telephone calls and other enquiries from key contacts, dealing with internal and external sources to resolve any problems, queries, or complaints, making appointments, and arranging visits and meetings where appropriate.

Working for our organisation

Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest employers in the area and we are on an exciting journey. Our mission is to provide safe, compassionate, and clinically excellent patient care, by being an outstanding employer for our people. We have entered into a Group Model with neighbouring Northampton General Hospital and have become University Hospitals of Northamptonshire.

Our Excellence Values:

Compassion

Respect

Integrity

Courageous

Accountable

We want to recruit the best people to deliver our services across the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire and help to unleash everyone's full potential.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Booking of follow up outpatient appointments, including cancellations and reschedules.
• To assist in the compilation of any patient, clinic or admission lists, liaising with waiting list /appointment staff where necessary, giving concise instructions regarding preparation and administration of waiting list issues and procedures and appointment requests, cancellations and rescheduling.
• To provide clerical support for the coordination of interventional procedure admissions.
• To deal with telephone enquiries from key contacts including GP’s, liaise with internal and external sources to resolve any problems, queries or complaints, which may be from distressed patients/relatives and may include dealing with delicate situations, using own judgement.
• Deal with patients, relatives, medical representatives and other professionals that attend the office to resolve any problems, queries, complaints or requests for appointments.
• Ensure confidentiality at all times.
• Manage own workload and work independently within service need.
• Maintain diaries, assist in scheduling the consultant’s workload, and liaise with other relevant parties concerning the planning and re-scheduling of work as necessary.
• Compile and review office protocols, modifying working practices where necessary, ensuring that protocols are up to date and contain all relevant procedures within individual offices to support any medical secretarial cover, clerical staff and new staff who may be required to support the office.
• Open post and prioritise for consultant team, dealing with any matters, within remit not requiring their attention.
• Ensure all known abnormal or urgent results are brought to the attention of the consultant, or an appropriate member of the team; ensuring urgent action is taken as appropriate.
• Ensure systems are in place to ensure that accurate copies of correspondence, pathology and other investigative reports are accurately filed in medical records case notes, following laid down guidelines.
• Ensure word processing of all documents relevant to consultant’s work, clinical and non-clinical, including the transcription on Bighand, prioritising workload effectively.
• Ensure that correspondence is despatched in line with the Medical Secretarial Benchmarks and in the interests of patient care.
• Ensure a general administrative service is provided for the Plastic Surgery team including photocopying, filing and distribution.
• Ensure prompt dispatch of case notes from the office.
• Take minutes and arrange meetings.
• To use the computerised Integrated Clinical Information System regarding identification of patient, in-patient, out-patient and waiting list data.
• Process information through established Trust systems and procedures.
• Participate in audits as required.
• Provide support with training any new staff where required, demonstrating duties to new starters.
• Ensure up to date personal awareness and knowledge of Trust wide issues and directives, applying the knowledge in the workplace, including attending appropriate directorate briefings and meetings.

Person specification

Education, Training & Qualifications

• GCSE level education or equivalent
• RSA III equivalent
• Medical terminology
• Shorthand

Knowledge & Experience

• Use of various computer software
• Medical Secretary experience
• General office experience / admin systems
• Diary management
• Experience of health related organisations

Skills

• Knowledge of a range of secretarial procedures
• Good written and verbal communication
• Ability to deal with complaints
• Able to pass on sensitive information to patient appropriately
• Knowledge of MS Office package, including email

Applications will be transferred to TRAC system, by completing an application you are giving authorisation for the transfer of your data.

Correspondence regarding your application will be sent to you via a TRAC system account.

We are an equal opportunities employer, which aims to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons from all backgrounds.

We welcome applications from members of our black and minority ethnic (BME) communities, especially in relation to senior posts within KGH.

Applicants who have a disability and meet the essential criteria for the job will be interviewed if you indicate you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme. If you require a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process please make the recruitment services team aware as soon as possible.

Appointments will be made on merit.

In submitting an application form, you authorise Kettering General Hospital (KGH) NHS Foundation Trust to confirm any previous NHS service details via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process. Including factual reference, occupational health clearance and statutory and mandatory training record.

If you need to have a Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check, as a requirement of the role, you will be required to repay the cost of obtaining a DBS check (£49.50) and this amount will be reclaimed from your first salary. From 1st February 2019 all new starters to the Trust are required to join the DBS update service as per Trust DBS Re-checking Policy which has an annual cost of £16. New employees who do not join the update service will be required to pay £49.50 for a new DBS check in 3 years time.

Please note that new starters with KGH are subject to a six month probationary period.

Please ensure that the information you provide on your application form is correct, accurate and that nothing has been omitted. Any information that is stated in your application form in relation to qualifications/training courses/work/education experience/references must be able to be evidenced. Failure to do so may result in your offer being withdrawn.

"Safeguarding is everyone's business. KGH considers Safeguarding a priority amongst its citizen's and a key value for all employed to the service."

Employer certification / accreditation badges

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. Please complete and submit your application in good time to avoid disappointment.