Senior Clinical Coding Specialist

South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust; Sunderland; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent NHS Trust is seeking a Senior Clinical Coding Specialist to work in a supportive environment, responsible for coding patient admissions and supervising the coding team. The ideal candidate should hold the National Clinical Coding Qualification and have a strong background in clinical coding. This position offers a remote and on-site working option while contributing to the accurate coding of patient data and the development of junior staff. Strong analytical and communication skills are essential to succeed in this role.

Benefits

Flexible Working Policy

Access to high quality education and training

Support for career progression

Qualifications

• Completion of a Clinical Coding Standards Course.
• Experience working within a Clinical Coding department in the UK.
• Recent completion of a Clinical Coding Standards Refresher Course.

Responsibilities

• Code all patient admissions from electronic patient records.
• Supervise the clinical coding team operationally.
• Conduct regular coding audits for accuracy.

Skills

Knowledge of ICD-10 classifications

Analytical skills

Excellent communication skills

Organizational skills

Problem-solving skills

Education

National Clinical Coding Qualification

GCSE (A‑C) 4‑9 or equivalent

Tools

NHS data systems (PAS systems)

Medicode

Job description

South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust

Senior Clinical Coding Specialist

The closing date is 19 January 2026

South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust have an excellent opportunity for accomplished Accredited Clinical Coders, working remotely or onsite, to fulfil important senior roles in our friendly and supportive Clinical Coding team. We are looking for people who have a high level of commitment, excellent communication skills and demonstrate expertise within the role as a Senior Accredited Clinical Coder. The post holder will demonstrate supportive leadership skills and the ability to help develop and mentor less experienced Clinical Coders. This position requires you to hold the National Clinical Coding Qualification. The postholder must have gained their experience working within a Clinical Coding department within either an NHS or private hospital within the UK.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will have the responsibility for coding all speciality-based patient admissions by abstracting clinical data from electronic patient records and must be proficient when translating this into diagnostic (ICD-10) and procedure (OPCS4) classification codes. Remote working is an option. Applicants must demonstrate good organisational skills and be able to work well under pressure to adhere to Trust governance, deadlines and prioritise their own workload to achieve this. Excellent knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy and physiology is essential, as well as excellent analytical and problem‑solving skills and must be able to demonstrate competency in the use of ICD-10 and OPCS4 classifications. The post holder must have completed a National Clinical Coding Refresher Course within the past two years.

About us

Please add your telephone number to your application form so we can contact you quickly if required.

One Team One Trust – There are many reasons to work at our Trust. From our commitment to putting people first to our accessible services and award‑winning teams. We have a passion for research, innovation and tackling inequalities. We are committed to respect, fairness and civility and promote a compassionate, caring and positive culture / working environment.

We welcome all applications irrespective of peoples race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and in particular those from under‑represented groups. Looking after our workforce health and wellbeing is a priority for us. We also provide access to high quality education, training, career progression and support. Flexible working is supported via our Flexible Working Policy.

The Trust employs around 8,746 people and provides a range of hospital services to a local community of around 430,000 residents. We also provide a range of more specialised services outside this area. We offer our staff outstanding benefits – Fitness Centre (SRH), libraries at both hospital sites, chaplaincy support and access to a Care Co‑ordinator to help staff with childcare arrangements.If you use AI, and it poses a risk to the integrity of your individual recruitment process, we may withdraw your application at any stage of the process.

Job responsibilities

PLEASE REFER TO THE ATTACHED JOB DESCRIPTION FOR FULL DUTIES OF THE ROLE

The accuracy of clinical coding activity is vitally important for secondary care Trusts, not only to secure the correct income but also to inform decision‑making regarding the future of clinical services. Coded activity is also used by secondary users within the NHS, Government and external bodies, who produce statistics such as standardised mortality rates, set budget baselines and monitor clinical outcomes and key quality indicators.

Post holders will have attained the National Clinical Coding Qualification and be an Accredited Clinical Coder.

Main purpose of the role includes:

• To be an expert clinical coder dealing with highly complex clinical cases and queries and resolving issues with senior clinical staff such as consultants.
• To be responsible for the daily operational supervision of the clinical coding team, in accordance with Trust and departmental policies. Monitoring of agreed key performance and quality indicators will form a major part of this role.
• The post holder will form part of the Clinical Coding management team and support the Clinical Coding Service in the overall management of the department.
• The post‑holder will work closely with lead clinicians within all areas, to ensure that complex specialty level data is timely, standardised and robust to support performance.
• In conjunction with the Clinical Coding Management Team, the post holder will also act as a mentor to clinical coding team, validate their work, and offer sound advice and support them throughout their training period. The post holder will also be required to provide advice to experienced Clinical Coders, often to resolve complex or difficult coding queries in accordance with Trust and departmental policies.
• To undertake regular coding audits and reviews to assess coding accuracy, depth and quality.
• To accurately code all in‑patient episodes applying national classification rules and conventions using source material such as Electronic Patient record and case notes.
• To ensure the completion of all consultant episodes within the agreed timescales and to follow up any uncoded episodes promptly.
• To code all episodes with sufficient depth ensuring that the extracted data accurately reflects the complexity of the patients diagnosis, co‑morbidity and any procedures or interventions carried out during an episode of care.
• To liaise on a regular basis with senior medical staff and managers on matters relating to clinical coding and provide information for HRG costing, mortality indices and Sepsis, GIRFT, Model Hospital analysis.
• To be the first point of contact in routinely providing expert advice and resolving complex coding enquires, and engaging with senior clinicians.
• To use and interrogate clinical information systems to assess coding accuracy and quality.
• To attend directorate or specialty meetings to feedback coding queries and instruct staff about how to improve coding standards.
• To contribute to the production of clinical coding reports (performance monitoring) for senior clinical and managerial staff.
• To organise, instruct and supervise staff workload on a day‑to‑day and weekly basis, including staff rotas and coding schedules.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Completed a Clinical Coding Standards Course.
• Attended a Clinical Coding Standards Refresher Course within the last 3 years.
• Attendance at specialty Clinical Coding workshops / Forums.
• GCSE (A‑C) 4‑9 or equivalent.
• Demonstrate evidence of on‑going personal development.
• ECDL.
• AMSPAR.

Skills and Knowledge

• Knowledge of national & local performance/quality standards.
• Knowledge of DSPT standards.
• In‑depth knowledge and skills relating to clinical coding including ICD‑10 and OPCS‑4 national guidelines and standards.
• In‑depth knowledge of clinical terminology and a comprehensive understanding of anatomy and physiology.
• Detailed knowledge of NHS data systems (PAS systems) (applicants with coding experience).
• Knowledge and experience of encoding software e.g. Medicode.
• In‑depth knowledge of histology and radiology reports to ensure accuracy of coded information.
• An understanding of Healthcare Resource groups (HRGs) and Payment by Results (PbR).
• Understanding of Clinical Effectiveness, General Data Protection Regulation, ensuring patient and colleague confidentiality at all times, Caldicott Guidelines, Freedom of Information Act.
• Ability to ensure updates to coding rules and conventions are applied as published by NHS ENGLAND and Clinical Classification Service.
• Ability to ensure NICE guidelines are adhered to.
• To use judgement based on training and knowledge to apply National Standards correctly.
• Ability to assist with delivery of training needs to a variety of audiences, including clinical coding and medical staff.
• Ability to support the development of bespoke training packages to meet individual coder requirements.
• Ability to partake in internal and external clinical coding audits.
• Ability to support the development/mentoring trainee clinical‑coding staff.
• Up to date IT and keyboard skills and Microsoft teams applications.
• Excellent organisational skills.
• Complex Workload Management.

Physical Skills

• Advanced keyboard skills for inputting patient information into computer.

Experience

• Previous NHS Experience.
• Experience in coding across a wide range of specialties.
• Extensive experience of PAS/hospital systems.

Employer name

South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust