Support Secretary Dermatology

NHS; Merthyr Tydfil; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare provider in Wales is seeking a Support Secretary for the Dermatology Department. The position involves providing comprehensive secretarial support to the consultants and their teams, ensuring efficient communication, and maintaining patient records. Applicants should have prior experience in a medical secretary role and be familiar with medical terminology. Excellent typing and interpersonal skills are essential. The role is on-site in Merthyr Tydfil, offering an important contribution to healthcare services.

Qualifications

• Experience as an assistant medical secretary or similar role.
• Ability to work using own initiative and as part of a team.
• Experience working with multi-disciplined colleagues in a busy environment.

Responsibilities

• Provide confidential secretarial service to the consultant and team.
• Routine typing/audio typing of clinical correspondence.
• Manage consultants' diaries and clinical activity.
• Liaise with patients, GPs, and health boards.

Skills

Good interpersonal skills

Organizational skills

Typing skills

Knowledge of medical terminology

Education

RSA III in word processing or equivalent/NVQ

Excellent standard of education

Tools

Health Board's WPAS system

Job description

Support Secretary Dermatology

The closing date is 11 November 2025

To contribute to the provision of health care to the people of the Merthyr, Cynon and Rhymney, Rhondda Cynon Taff and Bridgend valleys by providing confidential and comprehensive secretarial service to the consultant and associated team within the consultant's speciality.

Following appropriate systems, procedures, policies and processes, ensuring efficient and accurate typing skills are performed and that timely communication is carried out to allow the patients to experience a smooth journey at all times.

Assist the consultants' secretaries within the Dermatology Department by providing direct support within the consultants' medical teams.

Routine typing/audio typing of clinical correspondence.

Managing Consultants' diaries, prioritising results, organising clinical activity.

Liaising with patients, GP's and outside Health Boards to provide treatment and care.

English and/or Welsh speakers are equally welcome to apply.

Main duties of the job

Communicate with Clinicians, patients, nurses, managers, administrative staff, relatives, GPs', Pharmaceutical Representatives and other Health Boards. Good interpersonal skills at all levels, which may involve complex or sensitive information.

Play a supportive role within the running of the Dermatology medical team. With experience, anticipate problems on any urgent issues recognise within the Dermatology Department and take necessary action to solve these problems using their own initiative.

Receive, open and post all departmental mail. Carry out any necessary tasks generated by such mail, e.g. draw to the attention of Consultant, telephone the writer, etc send any faxes, adhering at all times to both the Data Protection Act and Health Board policies in accordance with confidentiality.

Deal sensitively with patients/relatives/members of the public presenting in the department or on the telephone with a query or complaint. You should have the ability to defuse informal complaints and know the procedure of forwarding the complainant in the right direction. Depending on the enquiry, reassure patients, seek advice and always record the time, date and nature of the call.

Liaise effectively with other internal departments e.g. Wards, Medical Records and Radiology. Where necessary deal with enquiries arising from clinics.

About us

Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board is part of the NHS Wales family. Our Health Board provides primary, secondary and community health and wellbeing services to around 450,000 people living in three County Boroughs: Bridgend Merthyr Tydfil, and Rhondda Cynon Taf.

We live by our core values:

• We listen, learn and improve
• We treat everyone with respect
• We all work together as one team

We are a proud local employer; around 80% of our 15000 workforce live within our region, making our staff not only our lifeblood of our organisation but of the diverse communities that we serve.

Job responsibilities

The purpose of this post should remain constant but the duties and responsibilities may vary over time within the overall role of the post.

Arrange clinic appointments outside normal Medical Record System, liaise with patients.

Retrieve, receive and return case notes (to allow this to be managed efficiently the use of WPAS is paramount).

Ensure that investigation results are signed by doctors before filing. Monitor patients notes to ensure all investigation results are received.

Assist the consultants secretaries within the Dermatology department by providing direct support within the consultants dermatology teams.

Identifying, allocating date and contacting patients. Up-dating patient information system and collecting patient case notes.

Take abnormal investigation results over the telephone from Path Lab name of secretary taking said results is requested and recorded: process investigation results; in the event of abnormal results it would be necessary to inform the Consultant or senior member of the medical team. Carry out any instructions given in regard to same (e.g. arrange admission, B/F OPD appt).

Using advanced keyboard skills and medical terminology, type and process the following:

• Clinical letters/follow up letters
• Medical/legal/complaint reports
• To patients GP following outpatient clinic, to other NHS Departments, Health Board management and outside Agencies follow-up on verbal instructions given on tape, ensure a copy of the letter is filed in the patients notes, ensure notes are tracked and returned to main file.
• Provide general non-clinical advice to patients/relatives/carers.

Follow Health Board/statutory policies and procedures in the safe storage of information, i.e. Caldicott confidential patient information.

Follow Health Board policies and procedures in the use of Information Technology security.

Assist with implementation of secretarial/ administrative policies for own area.

To ensure maintenance of adequate levels of stocks of stationery, participating in Departmental procedures for ordering.

Cover during the absence of colleagues; in the event of other medical secretaries being absent, it is important that the secretary keeps abreast with other colleagues methods and process of working so an efficient and effective service will be maintained during this time.

Person Specification

Qualifications and/or Knowledge

• RSA III in word processing or equivalent/NVQ Excellent standard of education
• Knowledge of Health Board's WPAS system and tracker/Radis
• Knowledge of medical terminology

Experience

• Previous experience as an assistant medical secretary or similar role
• Working using own initiative and as part of a team
• Working with multi-disciplined colleagues in a busy environment

Values

• Adaptable and flexible to the needs of the service
• Organised

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.

Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board