Support Secretary, General Surgery

UHCW; Coventry; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust in Coventry is seeking a dedicated Support Secretary to join the General Surgery team. You will ensure smooth day-to-day admin, manage outpatient bookings, and maintain high-quality data across Trust systems.

A patient-focused approach and strong organisational skills are essential for effective service delivery. The role supports consultants and clinical teams, offers a busy environment with opportunities for professional development, and

Qualifications

• Experience in an administrative role within a busy office environment.
• Knowledge of patient administration systems and data quality.
• Understanding of RTT standards and NHS waiting list processes.

Responsibilities

• Manage the booking, rebooking and cancellation of outpatient appointments and procedures.
• Monitor clinic utilisation and support effective appointment capacity.
• Act as a first point of contact for patient, clinician and staff enquiries.
• Process referrals and ensure patients are scheduled appropriately on Trust systems.
• Undertake data quality validation and ensure patient records and waiting lists are accurate.
• Provide administrative support to consultants, nursing and management teams.

Skills

Excellent organisational skills

Prioritisation

Communication

Appointment management

Education

ECDL or NVQ3 in Administration

Tools

Outlook

Word

Excel

Job description

Main area General Surgery Grade NHS AfC: Band 3 Contract Fixed term: 12 months (Secondment will be considered for internal candidates – If you are successful after interview, you must obtain approval from your current line manager to accept the offer.) Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 218-AC-B3-8316590

Site University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire Town Coventry Salary £25,760 - £27,476 per annum pro rota Salary period Yearly Closing 08/10/2026 23:59 Interview date 21/10/2026

Job overview

An opportunity has arisen to join the General Surgery team as a Support Secretary to provide comprehensive administrative support to the General Surgery service, ensuring the efficient day-to-day running of the department. The post holder will support the management of outpatient and procedure booking processes, maintain high standards of data quality across Trust systems, respond to patient, clinician and staff queries, and undertake a range of administrative tasks to support effective service delivery. The post holder will work closely with clinical, operational and administrative teams to ensure patient pathways are managed efficiently, appointment capacity is optimised, and departmental performance standards are maintained.

Please be advised that sponsorship is not eligible for this post.

Secondment will be considered for internal candidates – If you are successful after interview, you must obtain approval from your current line manager to accept the offer.

Main duties of the job

• Manage the booking, rebooking and cancellation of outpatient appointments and procedures.
• Monitor clinic utilisation and support effective use of appointment capacity.
• Act as a first point of contact for patient, clinician and staff enquiries.
• Process referrals and ensure patients are scheduled appropriately on Trust systems.
• Undertake data quality validation exercises and correct inaccuracies and ensuring patient records, referrals, clinic outcomes and waiting list information are complete, accurate and up to date.
• Support validation and tracking of patient pathways including RTT compliance.
• Coordinate special arrangements for patients including interpreters and transport.
• Undertake filing, scanning, photocopying and electronic document management.
• Produce routine reports and performance information.
• Provide administrative support to consultants, nursing and management teams.
• Provide cross-cover across the General Surgery administration team.
• Support the completion of PTL and waiting list actions as directed by operational managers and medical secretaries.
• Support management of cancelled clinics, appointment recovery activity and utilisation of available clinic capacity
• Assist with backlog reduction and service improvement initiatives within the General Surgery service
• Support implementation of operational action plans and service developments as required

Working for our organisation

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, rated as good by the Care Quality Commission, is one of the largest teaching Trusts in the UK.

We are extremely proud of our employees across our hospital sites, with high quality patient care at the heart of everything we do.

Boasting some of the most modern facilities in Western Europe, the Trust is renowned for being at the forefront of research and innovation as part of its blossoming reputation as a worldwide leader in healthcare.

By joining our exciting journey, you will form part of a passionate, talented team and will be able to access a wide range of learning and development opportunities. There has never been a better time to join our team.

The Trust is committed to building an organisation that makes full use of the talents, skills, experience, and different perspectives available in our diverse society. We want everyone to feel they are respected, valued, can achieve their potential and receive the most appropriate and relevant care. We will create an environment where the equality and human rights principles of fairness, respect, equality, dignity and autonomy are promoted and are part of the organisation's core values.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Support Secretary provides a comprehensive administrative and secretarial service, supporting consultants and clinical teams to deliver high-quality patient care. The role involves managing appointments, handling patient and clinician enquiries, maintaining accurate patient records, processing correspondence, and ensuring administrative processes are completed efficiently and within required timescales. The post holder will work closely with multidisciplinary teams, provide excellent customer service, and contribute to the effective delivery of outpatient and clinical services while demonstrating UHCW values and behaviours.

For further details please see the attached job description.

Person specification

Qualifications

• ECDL or Equivalent experience NVQ3 in Administration or equivalent Key skills level 2 in literacy or equivalent
• Knowledge of patient administration systems

Experience

• Experience working in an administrative role within a busy office environment. Experience managing competing priorities and meeting deadlines. Experience dealing with customer, patient or stakeholder enquiries.

Knowledge

• Good understanding of office administration procedures. Good working knowledge of Outlook, Word and Excel. Understanding of the importance of data quality and confidentiality.
• Awareness of RTT standards and patient pathway management. Awareness of NHS waiting list processes. Awareness of NHS performance targets and access standards.

Skills

• Excellent organisational and prioritisation skills. Excellent attention to detail and accuracy. Ability to investigate and resolve routine data quality issues. Ability to communicate effectively with patients, clinicians and colleagues. Ability to manage appointment bookings accurately and efficiently. Ability to analyse information and take appropriate action. Ability to work independently and use initiative. Ability to work under pressure whilst maintaining accuracy.

Commitment to Trust Values and Behaviours

• Must be able to demonstrate behaviours consistent with the Trust’s values. (As detailed in UHCW’s Values in Action document below) Applicants applying for job roles with managerial responsibility will be required to demonstrate evidence of promoting equal opportunities through work experience

To ensure that we provide world-class patient care, UHCW recruits people that can demonstrate the Trust’s Values and Behaviours in their everyday life. Therefore, if you are invited to interview, you will be undertaking a Values Based Interview/Assessment, which explores not only what you do but how and why you do it.
Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trust’s Values and Behaviours which can be accessed on the right side of this page under the job description.
The Supporting Information Section in your application should therefore reflect your understanding of the Trust’s Values and associated Behaviours. You will be expected to provide us with examples from work experience and/or personal life which demonstrate these values through your behaviour.

The Trust is committed to Equal Opportunities within the workplace. All vacancies will be considered for Job Share unless otherwise stated. All applicants who have a disability and who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be interviewed. Where a post has an overwhelming response, this Trust may use random selection in order to reduce numbers to interview, any disabled applicants will automatically be guaranteed an interview and will be exempt from this process.

In submitting an application form, you authorise University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust to confirm from your previous or current NHS employer and other prior employers; previous NHS service details and personal data held about you, including Occupational Health data (inoculations and screening tests). This data will be transferred using NHS Electronic Staff Record and third-party systems via an automated process and only used for the purposes of obtaining and maintaining accurate employment records, should you be appointed to the post.

UHCW NHS Trust, by virtue of its Green Plan, is committed to ensuring that the way we provide services minimises the impact on the environment and the future health of the public e.g. zero waste to landfill, reducing our carbon footprint and increasing our recycling and reuse percentages.

If you are successful at interview you will receive a conditional offer of employment and we’ll ask you for information so that we can carry out pre-employment checks. You must successfully complete all pre-employment checks to progress to a final unconditional offer.

We must confirm the identity of our staff and their right to work in the United Kingdom. We will ask you to submit proof of your identity and right to work documents via a secure digital platform approved by the Home Office, named TrustID. Alternatively, you may be asked to attend our office with original documents.

Depending on you level of exposure with patients you may be required to undertake a Standard or Enhanced DBS. The cost of this check will be charged to you and will be deducted from your salary over the first 3 months of employment at the current rate.

All correspondence will be sent by email; please check your account regularly including your Junk/SPAM folders

Employer certification / accreditation badges

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.