Support Secretary

Lancashire Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Leyland; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 25,000; Full time

Job summary

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an organised Support Secretary to join the Community Neurodevelopmental Paediatrics team. You will be the first point of contact for patients, parents and professionals, ensuring clear communication and timely clinical correspondence while supporting consultants and junior medical staff.

You will coordinate patient pathways, track progress, manage diaries, prepare agendas and minutes, and maintain secure records across ND pathways.

Qualifications

• Secretarial and administrative experience in a healthcare setting is desirable.
• Strong typing skills and familiarity with medical terminology.
• Excellent communication, professionalism and confidentiality.

Responsibilities

• Be the first point of contact for patients, families and professionals.
• Provide secretarial support to consultants and junior medical staff, including clinic letters and reports.
• Track patient progress and coordinate information with internal and external partners.
• Manage diaries, arrange appointments, prepare agendas and take minutes.
• Maintain filing systems and data entry on IT systems.
• Ensure patient information is handled securely in line with Information Governance.

Job description

We are looking for an organised, motivated and compassionate Support Secretary to join our Community Neurodevelopmental Paediatrics team. This role is central to supporting the delivery of our children including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) pathways and ensuring families experience a smooth, well-coordinated journey through assessment. Working closely with consultants, junior medical staff, administrative teams, and external agencies, you will provide high-quality secretarial and administrative support across all aspects of the Neurodevelopmental Service. You will be the first point of contact for patients, parents and professionals, helping to maintain excellent communication, timely clinical correspondence, and efficient management of the ND pathway. This role requires someone who can work independently, use their initiative, manage competing priorities, and consistently uphold confidentiality and professionalism. You will play an essential part in supporting the team to deliver excellent patient care and meet key performance standards.

• Act as the first point of contact for all day-to-day enquiries, directing queries appropriately and maintaining a helpful and supportive approach.
• Provide comprehensive secretarial and administrative support to consultants and junior medical staff, including audio-typing clinic letters, DSM-5 and EHCP reports and other clinical correspondence.
• Track patient progress along their pathways, liaising with internal and external partners to chase outstanding information, escape delays, and support timely diagnostic decision-making.
• Manage consultant diaries, arrange appointments and meetings, prepare agendas and take accurate minutes when required.
• Maintain efficient administrative systems including filing, bring-forward systems, case-note tracking and data entry onto relevant IT systems.
• Ensure that patient information is handled securely, confidentially and in accordance with Trust Information Governance policies.
• Support colleagues during periods of absence to ensure continuity and smooth running of the Neurodevelopmental administrative service.

At Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, we take pride in caring for our staff as well as our patients. We recognise that working in a busy environment requires help with a healthy work-life balance. We also believe in ensuring that our staff get the chance to reach their full potential when working with us, which is why we open lots of doors for career progression once you join our team. With us, the sky truly is the limit! 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 and give specialist care to 1.5 million people across Lancashire and 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 and staff, ensuring we keep thriving and delivering outstanding healthcare right across our local towns. You will have access to varied development opportunities, learn new skills, meet inspiring people and do things you'd never have done. You will make an impact, be challenged to think differently, be bold and help innovate to keep improving things. Everything we do centres around patient care and enhancing their experience which means your role is pivotal and something really to be proud of. The Support Secretary plays a key role in ensuring that the Neurodevelopmental pathways operates safely, efficiently and with excellent patient experience. You will be responsible for providing a full secretarial service to consultants and junior medical staff, including preparing clinic letters, diagnostic summaries and reports using digital dictation systems such as Tpro/Accurx. This requires strong typing skills, attention to detail and familiarity with medical terminology. You will also prepare paperwork for clinics, manage incoming messages, organise electronic filing, and maintain accurate records to support clinical decision-making. A core part of the role is pathway coordination. You will track each patient's progression through their pathway, liaising with families, schools, GPs and other agencies to gather and chase required information. You will identify and escape delays that could impact diagnostic timeliness or create bottlenecks, helping to ensure the service meets key targets and delivers a smooth patient journey. You will proactively manage consultant diaries, arrange meetings, prepare agendas, book venues and take minutes as required. Strong organisational skills are essential, as you will maintain bring-forward systems, highlight deadlines, prepare daily briefings, and ensure that relevant files, clinic lists and notes are ready in advance. The post requires a high level of communication, professionalism and confidentiality. You will support parents and carers by providing updates, addressing enquiries, and signposting appropriately, ensuring families feel informed and supported. Internally, you will work closely with medical staff, administrative teams, operational managers and external partners to ensure the highest standard of coordination and documentation.

You must be able to work independently, using your initiative to prioritise workload, balance competing tasks and maintain high standards of accuracy. Flexibility is also required, as you may be asked to provide cover for colleagues to maintain continuity across the administrative team.