Ward Clerk - Critical Care

Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Dorchester; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 26,000; Full time

Job summary

Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Ward Clerk for the busy Critical Care Unit. You will be the first point of contact, handling reception duties, coordinating admissions, and supporting clinical teams with efficient administrative processes.

The role requires excellent communication, strong organisational skills, and reliability in a fast-paced environment. You will ensure accurate patient records, maintain confidentiality, and contribute to a welcoming, patient-centred

Qualifications

• Educated to GCSE level or equivalent.
• Level 3 NVQ in Administration.
• Experience in a clerical role within healthcare is desired.
• Proven ability to manage confidential information and use computer systems.

Responsibilities

• Work as an integral member of the ward team providing a clerical and administrative service.
• Manage patient records accurately and ensure timely data entry.
• Support multidisciplinary teams and deliver excellent customer service.
• Be the welcoming point of contact for patients, relatives and visitors.
• Prioritise workloads and adapt to changing priorities in a busy environment.

Skills

Excellent communication

Organised

Confidential handling

Customer service

Computer systems

Teamwork

Education

GCSE level or equivalent

NVQ Level 3 in Administration

Tools

PAS system

Booked admissions/database system

Job description

Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Ward Clerk - Critical Care

The closing date is 22 November 2026

Be a friendly face at the heart of our Critical Care Unit

At Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, we know that exceptional patient care depends on great people behind the scenes as well as at the bedside. We are looking for a highly organised, welcoming, and proactive Ward Clerk to join our busy Critical Care Unit and play a vital role in supporting patients, families, and clinical teams.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys variety, thrives in a fast-paced environment, and takes pride in delivering outstanding customer service.

As the first point of contact for many patients, relatives, and visitors, you'll help create a positive experience from the moment they arrive. Working closely with our nursing and multidisciplinary teams, you'll ensure the smooth running of the ward's administrative processes and support the delivery of safe, effective patient care.

We're seeking someone who is:

• Friendly, approachable, and passionate about helping others.
• Highly organised with excellent attention to detail.
• Able to remain calm and professional in a busy and sometimes emotionally challenging environment.
• Confident using computer systems and handling confidential information.
• A strong communicator who can build positive relationships with patients, relatives, and colleagues.
• Able to prioritise workloads and adapt quickly when priorities change.

Main duties of the job

As a Ward Clerk within our Critical Care Unit, you will play a vital role in supporting the smooth day-to-day running of the ward and helping to ensure an exceptional experience for patients and their families.

This role offers the opportunity to make a real difference every day by helping to create a positive experience for patients and supporting front-line clinical teams to deliver outstanding care.

About us

At DCHFT, we pride ourselves on the care we provide for our patients, and on the culture, we are creating for our staff. We work hard to create a fair, inclusive environment for our staff.

Our Mission is to provide outstanding care for people in ways which matter to them, and our vision is Dorset County Hospital, working with our health and social care partners, will be at the heart of improving the well-being of our communities.

We are a Trust that celebrates diversity, and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We welcome applications from people in all under-represented groups.

We understand that AI can be a useful tool when completing your application. However, we are seeing an increasing over-reliance of AI tools, which can negatively affect your application as it reduces a candidate's individuality, and makes it difficult for us to gain a clear and authentic understanding of your experience, skills, and in turn your suitability for the role.

All submissions must be truthful and if you do use AI, it should only be used to enhance your application and not create your supporting statement in its entirety. Your supporting statement should be in your own words and must accurately reflect your personal experience and achievements. Where we have concerns that AI has been used to generate content that misrepresents your experience and suitability for the role, we may withdraw your application.

Job responsibilities

Right to Work in the UK: This post is not eligible for Skilled Worker visa sponsorship. Applicants must have an existing right to work in the UK at the time of application. Unfortunately, Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is unable to provide sponsorship for this role under current UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) regulations.

• Work as an integral member of the ward team, providing an efficient, responsive, and professional clerical and administrative service in line with Trust policies, procedures, and standards.
• Be responsible for the accurate and effective management of patient records, ensuring information is maintained, tracked, and stored in accordance with Trust policies and Information Governance requirements.
• Ensure all data is entered accurately and within required timescales, contributing to the achievement of both local and national performance targets.
• Support the wider multidisciplinary team in delivering a high-quality service using excellent administrative, communication and interpersonal skills.
• Act as a welcoming, courteous, and professional point of contact for patients, relatives, visitors, and members of the public, always delivering exceptional customer service.
• Demonstrate flexibility and adaptability within a dynamic and fast-paced environment, responding effectively to changing priorities, urgent requests, and the timely retrieval of patient records.

Person Specification

Education, qualifications, and training

• Educated to GCSE level or equivalent
• level 3 NVQ in Administration

Experience

• Previous experience within a clerical capacity in Health care setting

skills, abilities and knowledge

• experience of working with computer systems
• evidence of ability to communicate with all levels of staff and members of the general public
• evidence of ability to respond to quickly changing priorities and organising and prioritising own workload to meet deadlines
• Clerical experience within the last 3 years
• evidence of ability to work on own initiative but also part of a team
• evidence of ability to share knowledge and skills with new members of the team and provide support on a daily basis
• An understanding of the meaning of confidentiality and the requirement for this to be maintained
• knowledge of PAS system, booked admissions or other database system

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

Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust