Medical Secretary (Liaison/Basildon MHU) | Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust; Basildon; On-site; GBP 10,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A distinguished healthcare provider in Basildon seeks a Medical Secretary to support the Consultant Psychiatrist and their medical team. This is a fixed-term role requiring excellent secretarial and communication skills, with a strong focus on patient interaction. Key responsibilities include managing the Consultant’s diary, producing clinic documents, and providing administrative support to the team. Benefits include generous holidays and flexible working arrangements, with a closing date for applications on December 15, 2025.

Benefits

27 days holiday plus bank holidays

Excellent pension scheme

Staff discounts

Relocation package

Interest-free season ticket loans

Qualifications

• Previous secretarial experience in a similar role.
• Experience in mental health or NHS setting is desirable.
• Ability to deal sympathetically with patients.

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive administrative and secretarial support to the Consultant and their team.
• Manage the Consultant’s diary and arrange meetings.
• Produce clinic letters, discharge summaries, and other documents as required.
• Establish and maintain good relationships with medical staff.

Skills

Excellent secretarial skills

Communication skills

Audio typing skills

Organization skills

Ability to work under pressure

Job description

A vacancy has arisen for a Medical Secretary to support the Consultant Psychiatrist and their medical team for the Mental Health Liaison Services based at Basildon Hospital. This is a fixed term contract with an end date of 31/05/2026.

Hours of work are Monday to Friday 0900‑1700, however some flexibility to start times will be considered.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated person who is flexible and has excellent secretarial and communication skills. You must have the ability to work unsupervised and under pressure and be able to deal sympathetically with patients and relatives of people with mental health problems.

The Medical Secretaries are an important part of a team and provide a vital link for staff, patients, relatives and outside agencies as required. Your main responsibilities will be to provide comprehensive administrative and secretarial support to the Consultant/s and their team. This role is office based due to the nature of the service in order to provide on hand support to the consultant and team members. Good organisation and adaptability to learning new systems is essential. Audio typing skills and previous secretarial experience in a similar role would be highly beneficial. Previous medical secretarial experience in a mental health or other NHS setting with clinical systems knowledge is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Develop productive working relationships with other members of the team, demonstrating a sound understanding of the aims and business activities of the Trust.
• Work flexibly to provide efficient, high quality secretarial, administrative and support services to the Consultant and their medical colleagues and maintain office cover.
• Produce documents such as clinic letters, discharge summaries, clinician’s reports, general correspondence, minutes, presentations using audio, shorthand or copy typing skills as required.
• Ensure that discharge summaries and other time‑sensitive information are typed within the designated time limits.
• Manage and prioritise own workload appropriately, frequently under pressure, without supervision.
• React quickly to urgent situations to coordinate an excellent service to patients, carers, health professionals and other professional bodies.
• Establish and maintain good relationships with other medical/professional staff (including external doctors).
• Pass on information received from patients/carers regarding health condition, medication, problems to the Consultant in an accurate and timely manner.
• Relay advice of a clinical nature to patients, carers, GPs and members of the clinical team, acting on the instructions of the Consultant accurately and comprehensively.
• Maintain the Consultant’s diary, arrange meetings on their behalf, handle room bookings, prepare and circulate agendas and related papers as required, and act as a point of contact for coordinating necessary details.
• Participate, as required, in the arrangements for training programmes and conferences, ensuring documentation is processed and practical arrangements are in place for events to run smoothly.
• Provide effective support to the Consultant in various specialist activities (e.g. academic, research, arranging conferences, service development, clinical director, SI investigations, dealing with complaints) in line with Trust policies.
• Arrange investigation appointments for patients at the request of the Consultant (e.g. bloods, EEGs, ECGs, X‑rays, MRI scans) and ensure results are brought to the Consultant’s attention.
• Work as part of the clinical support team to ensure delivery of a comprehensive and effective administration service to clinical personnel across the directorate.
• Provide advice and demonstrate own activities or workplace routines to new or less experienced employees within the team.
• Maintain confidentiality within the role with clinical changes to pathways across the EPUT.
• Have a good working knowledge of the electronic patient records system used in the team, and participate in updating records with relevant information in a timely fashion.
• Provide secretarial cover to other Consultant teams as necessary for colleagues on sick/annual leave and work flexibly as a team member to ensure smooth and efficient flow.
• Process applications for annual leave/study leave of doctors within the team, ensuring cover arrangements are known.
• Ensure that post/email/telephone enquiries are promptly sorted, recorded and actioned, filtering efficiently to organise and assist the team workflow.
• Cooperate with others to maintain efficient filing and records, properly indexed and cross‑referenced.
• Access and use NHS and Trust information systems (e.g. retrieve patient care related information).
• Take responsibility for the care and maintenance of office equipment supplied, notify IT of problems.
• Assist with collection and collation of data and statistical information relevant to the Consultant’s scope of work.
• Provide day‑to‑day support and assistance to new and temporary members of staff within the team.
• Assist in the induction of trainee doctors new to the Consultant’s team, providing template letters and activity timetables.
• Maintain a system to ensure doctors during induction are provided with safety alarms, dictaphones, bleeps, and keys.
• Adhere to the principles and processes defined within the equal opportunities provision.
• Report any health & safety issues or fire hazards to the Manager and take immediate action.
• Fully comply with GDPR and related policies.
• Recognise the sensitivity of business undertaken and ensure strict confidentiality.

Benefits

• 27 days holiday, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days after 10 years of service.
• Excellent pension of up to 14.5% of your pensionable pay.
• Staff discounts including Blue Light Card, NHS discount offers, and staff benefits.
• £8K relocation package if you move to Essex to join us.
• Season ticket loans are interest‑free to cover the cost of travelling to and from work via tram, rail, or bus.

Work that wraps around your needs

• Flexible working: available from day one for most roles.
• Job share: Applications for job shares are welcomed.
• Develop productive working relationships with other members of the team and demonstrate a sound understanding of the aims and business activities of the Trust.
• Work flexibly to provide efficient, high quality secretarial, administrative and support services to the Consultant and their medical colleagues as required and maintain office cover.
• Produce documents such as clinic letters and discharge summaries, clinician’s reports, general correspondence, minutes, presentations etc.
• Ensure that discharge summaries and other time‑sensitive information are typed within the designated time limits.
• Manage and prioritise own workload appropriately, frequently under pressure, without supervision.
• React quickly to urgent situations to coordinate an excellent service to patients/carers, health professionals and other professional bodies.
• Excellent communication skills are vital; good relationships must be established and maintained with other medical/professional staff.
• Relay advice of a clinical nature to patients, carers, GPs and members of the clinical team, acting on the instructions of the Consultant.
• Maintain the upkeep of the Consultant’s diary, arrange meetings, handle room bookings, prepare and circulate agendas as required.
• Participate in the arrangements for training programmes / conferences, ensuring documentation is processed and necessary arrangements are in place for events.
• Provide effective support to the Consultant in specialist areas such as academic, research, arranging conferences, service development, clinical director, SI investigations, dealing with complaints.
• Arrange investigation appointments for patients and ensure results are brought to the Consultant’s attention.
• Work as part of the clinical support team to ensure delivery of effective administration service to clinical personnel across the directorate.
• Provide advice and demonstrate own activities or workplace routines to new or less experienced employees.
• Maintain confidentiality within the role and with clinical changes to pathways across the EPUT.
• Have a good working knowledge of the electronic patient records system.
• Assist with the collection and collation of data and information, including statistical information relevant to the consultant’s scope of work.
• Provide day‑to‑day support and assistance to new and temporary members of staff within the team as part of induction.
• Assist in the induction of trainee doctors new to the Consultant’s team.
• Maintain a system for personal safety alarms, dictaphones, bleeps and keys.
• Adhere to equal opportunities provision principles and processes.
• Report health & safety issues or fire hazards to the Manager and take immediate action.
• Fully comply with GDPR and related policies.
• Recognise the sensitivity of business undertaken and maintain strict confidentiality.

This advert closes on Monday 15 Dec 2025.