Support Secretary - Acute Paediatrics

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Preston; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a highly organized Support Medical Secretary to support the Acute Paediatrics team and Diabetes and Endocrine Service. You will liaise with consultants, junior medical staff, and external partners to maintain timely correspondence and efficient pathways.

The role requires independent working, confidentiality, and the ability to manage competing priorities while upholding professional standards. Closing date is 22 November 2026.

Qualifications

• Good Standard of education Minimum GCSE English & Mathematics Grade 4 and above.
• Typing speed of 50 wpm
• NVQ 3 Administration or equivalent experience
• ECDL or equivalent experience
• Audio typing experience

Responsibilities

• Provide full secretarial and administrative support to consultants and junior medical staff.
• Prepare clinic letters, diagnostic summaries and reports using digital dictation systems such as Tpro.
• Track patients' progress on the Diabetes and Endocrine pathway with internal and external partners to chase information.
• Manage consultant diaries, arrange appointments and meetings, prepare agendas and take accurate minutes when required.
• Maintain efficient administrative systems including filing and data entry onto IT systems.
• Ensure patient information is handled securely and confidentially per Information Governance policies.
• Support colleagues during periods of absence to ensure continuity of the administrative service.

Skills

Typing speed 50 wpm

Audio typing

Office 365

Work autonomously

Minute taking

Education

GCSE English & Mathematics

NVQ 3 Administration

ECDL

Tools

Tpro

Flex

Evolve

Job description

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Support Secretary - Acute Paediatrics

The closing date is 22 November 2026

We are looking for an organised, motivated and compassionate Support Medical Secretary to join our Acute Paediatrics team. This role is central to supporting the delivery of our Diabetes and Endocrine Service.

Working closely with consultants, junior medical staff, administrative teams, and external agencies, you will provide high-quality secretarial and administrative support. 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 their 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.

**Previous applicants need not apply**

Main duties of the job

Act as the first point of contact for all day-to-day patient related 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, reports and other clinical correspondence.

Track patient progress on their Diabetes and Endocrine pathway, liaising with internal and external partners to chase outstanding information, escalated 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 administrative service.

About us

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.

Job responsibilities

The Support Medical Secretary plays a key role in ensuring that the patients pathway 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. 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 patients progression through their pathway, liaising with families, schools, GPs and other agencies to gather and chase required information. You will identify and escalated 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.

Person Specification

Qualfications

• Good Standard of education Minimum GCSE English & Mathematics Grade 4 and above
• Typing speed of 50 wpm
• NVQ 3 Administration or equivalent experience
• ECDL or equivalent experience
• Audio typing experience

Knowledge and Experience

• Efficient in the use of Office 365 (Word, Excel, Outlook etc)
• Able to manage own workload and work autonomsly as part of a team.
• Demonstrate a commitment to continuing personal and professional development
• Experienced and competent minute taking
• Knowledge of medical terminology
• Previous experience in a healthcare office environment
• Ability to work under pressure and completing priorities
• Use of Trust IT packages ie Flex, Evolve, Tpro
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology

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

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

£25,760 to £27,476 a yearPer annum, pro rata