Medical Secretary

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust; Tees Valley; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 25,000; Part time

Job summary

A regional NHS Trust is looking for a part-time Medical Secretary to join their Dermatology team at Darlington Memorial Hospital. The successful candidate will provide essential administrative support, with responsibilities including managing appointments, handling correspondence, and ensuring patient information is accurately maintained. Applicants should have experience in a secretarial role, be proficient in Microsoft Office, and be able to work with minimal supervision. This role offers flexible working arrangements following a training period.

Qualifications

• Experience of a secretarial/administrative role providing general duties in a challenging environment.
• Understanding of medical terminology.
• Keyboarding/typing qualification equivalent to RSA 3/OCR Advanced.

Responsibilities

• Provide secretarial support to the clinical team.
• Arrange appointments and respond to telephone inquiries.
• Manage electronic diaries and organize meetings.

Skills

Experience in a secretarial role

Experience in Microsoft Word

Organizational skills

Excellent communication skills

Education

NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration

Tools

Microsoft Publisher

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Overview

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust – Medical Secretary role in Dermatology, part-time (22.5 hours). Closing date: 05 November 2025. Location: Darlington Memorial Hospital with working days determined at interview; offering agile and flexible working following a period of training.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a highly motivated, calm and methodical team player to become a Medical Secretary and provide essential administration within the Department of Dermatology, which is part of the Surgical Directorate. The role involves supporting Consultants and Nurse Specialists with administrative duties.

The Department of Dermatology is friendly, supportive, busy but welcoming.

Main duties of the job

• Full range of secretarial duties to the Dermatology Team
• First point of contact to the patients
• Track and trace investigations to meet 18 week pathway requirements

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 as 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.

Over-reliance on AI-generated content is discouraged and may diminish the applicant\'s chances of success.

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 of experience working within the NHS as a 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

IN ADDITION TO BAND 2 SECRETARIAL SUPPORT OFFICER

• Provide a full range of confidential secretarial/administrative support to clinical staff with minimal supervision
• Undertake typing and distribution of clinical and other patient-related and general correspondence, dictated by Consultants and supporting clinical staff, to achieve Trust standards of accuracy and timeliness
• Be the first point of contact for staff, patients and others within and outside the organisation; respond to telephone enquiries, arrange appointments, provide non-clinical advice and onward referral as required
• Receive and respond to internal and external correspondence in accordance with Trust/departmental standards
• Book investigations and follow-up appointments; ensure test results are presented to medical staff as required
• Maintain accurate patient and GP details in Trust systems as required
• Ensure patient information is bar-coded for scanning into the electronic clinical document management system (ECDMS)
• Manage electronic diaries and support arrangement of on-call rotas
• Organise meetings (venues, agendas, papers, minutes) as required
• Operate efficient administrative systems and processes for all office tasks
• Maintain accurate and timely data entry to databases to meet service requirements
• Prioritise own workload to meet patient and Consultant needs and deadlines
• Support new and/or less experienced staff, as directed by line manager/head of service
• Provide cover during absence of colleagues

Person Specification

Experience

• Experience of a secretarial/administrative role providing general secretarial/administrative duties in a challenging and changing environment
• Experience in using Microsoft Word
• Experience in setting up and maintaining office filing systems
• Experience in maintaining and setting up databases
• Experience in planning and organising meetings and taking minutes

Qualifications

• Good standard of general education
• Keyboarding/typing qualification equivalent to RSA 3/OCR Advanced text/word processing or equivalent proven typing skills
• Educated to at least NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration (or working towards / equivalent experience)
• Understanding of medical terminology
• Experience of Bespoke/Therapeutic clinic management
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets

Special Requirements

• Ability to travel independently across the County to fulfil the requirements of the post

Special Skills & Knowledge

• Microsoft Publisher
• Knowledge of Data Protection and Caldicott Principles and maintaining strict confidentiality
• Ability to use email and maintain/update paper and electronic diaries
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to organise and prioritise workload to meet deadlines
• Ability to use own initiative and work with minimal supervision
• Good interpersonal skills
• Application Form & Interview

Employer name

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust