Medical Secretary

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals; Rishton; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals is seeking a highly organised and proactive individual to lead the day-to-day management and coordination of the Histopathology Admin and Clerical Team, providing high-quality secretarial and administrative support to consultants, clinicians and multidisciplinary teams.

The post holder will act as a central point of communication for stakeholders, ensuring a professional, confidential and patient-focused service, and will deputise for the Deputy Service Manager when

Qualifications

• GCSE level or equivalent educational attainment.
• Typing speed of 60 wpm or equivalent experience.
• Experience of working as a PA/Medical Secretary in a medical/hospital environment.
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology and digital transcription.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate the day-to-day activities of the Histopathology Admin and Clerical Team, ensuring a high-quality, efficient service.
• Act as a key point of contact for clinicians, consultants, laboratory staff, patients, external organisations, and other stakeholders.
• Provide comprehensive secretarial and administrative support, including diary management, correspondence, report preparation, meeting coordination, and minute taking.
• Support the effective management, training, appraisal, and development of administrative and secretarial staff.
• Manage staff rotas, annual leave, sickness absence, HealthRoster records, and service coverage to maintain operational continuity.
• Investigate and respond to enquiries, incidents, and complaints, escalating issues where appropriate.
• Assist with recruitment, induction, audits, and continuous service improvement initiatives.
• Deputise for the Deputy Service Manager when required, supporting the smooth running of the Histopathology Office and wider Pathology administrative services.

Skills

Leadership

Team management

Communication

Organisation

Diary management

Medical secretarial experience

Education

GCSE level or equivalent

OCR/RSA qualification or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

PowerPoint

Email

Digital transcription equipment

Job description

Job overview

We are seeking a highly organised and proactive individual to lead the day-to-day management and coordination of the Histopathology Admin and Clerical Team as part of a wider Pathology administrative support service. This key role is responsible for delivering high-quality secretarial and administrative support to Consultant Histopathologists, junior medical staff, and multidisciplinary teams, ensuring the smooth and efficient operation of clinical services. The post holder will act as a central point of communication for a diverse range of stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, GPs, patients, and members of the public, maintaining a professional, responsive, and patient-focused service at all times. In addition, the successful candidate will provide leadership and operational support across Histopathology Administration and Blood Science Secretaries, deputising for the Deputy Service Manager when required. This is an excellent opportunity for someone with strong organisational, leadership, and communication skills who thrives in a busy environment and is committed to delivering high standards of service, confidentiality, and professionalism.

Main duties of the job

You’ll lead a busy administrative team providing high-quality support to Histopathology and wider Pathology services. The role involves managing staff, coordinating workflows, overseeing rotas and service cover, supporting consultants and clinicians, handling complex enquiries, and driving continuous improvement to ensure an efficient, professional, and patient-focused service.

Working for our organisation

We have 10,000 fantastic people working hard to deliver quality services to our patients. Whatever your role, you help look after 370,000 people in our local area & give specialist care to 1.5 million people across Lancashire & Cumbria.

Working with us gives you the knowledge and sense of pride that every activity you do genuinely does make a difference to support our patients & staff, ensuring we keep thriving & delivering outstanding healthcare right across our local towns.

You’ll make an impact, be challenged to think differently, be bold & help innovate to keep improving things. Everything we do centres around patient care which means your role is pivotal and something really to be proud of.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate the day-to-day activities of the Histopathology Admin and Clerical Team, ensuring a high-quality, efficient service.
• Act as a key point of contact for clinicians, consultants, laboratory staff, patients, external organisations, and other stakeholders.
• Provide comprehensive secretarial and administrative support, including diary management, correspondence, report preparation, meeting coordination, and minute taking.
• Support the effective management, training, appraisal, and development of administrative and secretarial staff.
• Manage staff rotas, annual leave, sickness absence, HealthRoster records, and service coverage to maintain operational continuity.
• Investigate and respond to enquiries, incidents, and complaints, escalating issues where appropriate.
• Assist with recruitment, induction, audits, and continuous service improvement initiatives.
• Deputise for the Deputy Service Manager when required, supporting the smooth running of the Histopathology Office and wider Pathology administrative services.

Person specification

Qualifications & Education

Essential criteria

• Good standard of general education to GCSE level or equivalent.
• Typing speed of 60 wpm or equivalent experience
• Experience of working as a PA/Medical Secretary in a medical/hospital environment.

Desirable criteria

• OCR/RSA qualification or equivalent.

Knowledge & Experience

Essential criteria

• Efficient in the use of Microsoft Word for Windows.
• Demonstrable working knowledge of Microsoft packages including Word, Excel, Power Point, email and internet.
• Advanced/specialised knowledge of medical terminology.
• Experience of using digital transcription equipment and audio typing.

Desirable criteria

• Previous hospital or NHS experience.
• Experience of staff management.
• Previous Pathology administration experience