Progress Clerk

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust; North East; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

A public healthcare provider is seeking a Progress Clerk in the North East UK to improve patient flow and efficiency in the Emergency Department. The role includes managing administrative tasks, liaising with medical staff, and ensuring timely discharges. The ideal candidate will possess strong communication skills, GCSEs in Maths and English, and an NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration. This position offers a salary of £24,937 to £26,598 per annum pro rata.

Qualifications

• Must have GCSEs in Maths and English or key skills level 2.
• Experience working independently or as part of a team.
• Excellent communication skills are essential.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate administrative tasks to improve patient flow.
• Facilitate efficient transfers from the department.
• Monitor and maintain patient flow and data accuracy.

Skills

Excellent Communication and Liaison skills

Good IT skills

Ability to work under pressure

Excellent planning and organisational skills

Flexible approach to work

Education

GCSEs Grade A-C in Maths and English

NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration

Job description

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

Progress Clerk

The closing date is 06 January 2026

An opportunity has arisen within the Emergency Department University Hospital of North Durham as a Progress Clerk. This is a clerical role and you would be expected to work as part of the team under the direction of the Emergency Department Nurse Coordinator and Medical Coordinator, to ensure the smooth flow of patients through the department. The post holder will be expected to maintain confidentiality and adopt a positive attitude towards staff, patients and relatives at all times. The post is 12 hour shifts Days and Nights.

Main duties of the job

It is expected that by coordinating administrative tasks, liaising with other departments and expediting clinical will contribute to the efficient and effective running of the department resulting in a significant reduction in patient journey times and improving performance against the Emergency Department standard. Working in partnership with the Nurse and Medical Coordinator, the post holder will maintain the computer based system for patient flow and ensure tests are ordered and carried out at appropriate times escalating when standard operating procedures are breached.

The post holder will be instrumental in ensuring the discharge and patient transfer processes are efficient, timely and run smoothly.

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 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.

Job responsibilities

• Answerthe phone and deal with requests for information, whilst maintaining confidentiality.
• Relaying messages to other members of staff.
• Liaise with Coordinators in the Assessment Unit and other acute admitting services to facilitate a safe efficient transfer from the department.
• Ensure bloods are reviewed in a timely fashion, escalating to clinical staff where bloods have not been processed.
• Ensure patients are sent for imaging and expedite when reports are not readily available according to service level agreements, continuously expediting diagnostic delays.
• Work with Medical Coordinator to ensure a decision to admit is made within 2.5 hours of the patient's journey.
• Escalate any delays.
• Where required ensure a patient's discharge is completed in a timely way (non clinical component of discharge).
• Bleep medical staff for specialty opinions as requested and ensures times of request and reviews are documented.
• Liaise with the Discharge Lounge, i.e. if patients can go there to wait for transport.
• Work in partnership with the Ward Coordinators, Discharge Coordinators and Multi-Professional Team to ensure timely discharge or transfer.
• Monitor and maintain patients flow, by ensuring all information regarding patients progress is recorded.
• Ensure EPR is kept updated.
• Chase any outstanding reports to ensure excellent patient experience.
• Responsible for delivering a delegated workload against the needs of patients and service requirements.
• This job description is not meant to be exhaustive. It describes the main duties and responsibilities of the post. It may be subject to change in the light of developing organisational and service needs and wherever possible change will follow consultation with the post holder.

Person Specification

Experience

• Able to work independently or as part of a team.
• Excellent Communication and Liaison skills.
• Able to effectively prioritise and escalation delays in service delivery.

Special Skills & Knowledge

• Good IT skills, literacy and numeracy.
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills.
• Able to effectively prioritise and escalation delays in service delivery.
• Ability to manage and work to necessary quality standards.
• Excellent communication and liaison skills.
• Flexible approach to work and adaptable to change.
• Ability to use discretion and maintain confidentiality.

Qualifications

• GCSEs Grade A-C in Maths and English or key skills level 2 in Maths and English (to be evidenced by a test if relevant qualifications not available).
• NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration (or working towards) or equivalent knowledge.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer name

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

£24,937 to £26,598 a year per annum / pro rata