Medical Secretary

Job overview

Unfortunately this role does not attract sponsorship under current government legislation, therefore if you require a certificate of sponsorship to support a visa application, we will be unable to proceed with your application.

Overview

To provide a comprehensive secretarial service to Consultant Psychiatrists and supporting medical teams. The postholder will be expected to manage their own workload, alongside other medical secretaries, co-ordinating activities to ensure an efficient service is provided in such a way as to make a direct and positive contribution.

It is essential that the post-holder should exercise initiative commensurate with the role of a Medical Secretary.

The post-holder will be flexible and use their own initiative to organise their workload, dependent upon the priorities and requirements at that time. Sensitivity to people with mental health needs is essential within this role.

As this role involves working across a clinical team with a need to have direct contact, it is unsuitable for agile working and must be conducted at the designated base.

Main duties of the job

Main Duties

Provision of a comprehensive secretarial and administrative service to consultants and multidisciplinary medical teams, including clinical diary management, email correspondence, and telephone enquiries. Responsibilities include typing and processing clinical letters, psychiatric reports and non-clinical documentation, recording and distributing meeting minutes, monitoring caseload performance, maintaining accurate records, and supporting the effective coordination of clinical and operational activities.

To carry out general administrative duties for consultants and supporting medical teams to include information gathering and circulating correspondence. Dealing with internal and external mail (paper and electronic), managing this communication by responding to routine matters not requiring the urgent attention of the doctors and ensuring timely dissemination.

Exercise independent judgement and initiative when problems arise by taking appropriate action to resolve the situation or referring to the appropriate person.

Full duties of the role outlined in the Job Description are not exhaustive but are given as an overall picture of the role. Other duties within the general scope of the post may be required from time to time.

The duties of the post and job description can be reviewed through the agreed process.

Working for our organisation

Standards of Business Conduct
The post holder will be required to comply with the organisations standing order and standing financial instructions and at all times, deal honestly with the organisation with colleagues and all those who have dealing with the organisation including patients, relative and suppliers.
· The post holder must ensure that their behaviour and interests inside and outside work do not conflict with their Trust position, duties and/or responsibilities.
· The post holder must comply with and support the development of the performance standards within the service/department to ensure the service is responsive to and meets the needs of its customers.
· The post holder will be required to develop and maintain good working relationships with all patients, service users, staff, contractors and where appropriate, members of the public.
· The Trust aims to maintain the good will and confidence of its own staff, patients, service users, NHS contractors and the general public. To assist in achieving this objective it is essential that at all times, the post holder carries out their duties in a courteous, sympathetic and professional manager.
· All post holders who are members of a professional body must comply with standards of professional practice / conduct. It is the post holders’ responsibilities to ensure they are both familiar with and adhere to these requirements and maintain their professional membership to the relevant body.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

· Provision of a comprehensive secretarial and administrative service to consultants and multidisciplinary medical teams.

· To carry out general administrative duties for consultants and multidisciplinary medical teams to include information gathering and circulating correspondence.

· Dealing with internal and external mail (paper and electronic), managing this communication by responding to routine matters not requiring the urgent attention of consultants and ensuring timely dissemination. Filing, faxing, scanning and photocopying documents.

· To deal with telephone enquiries (often from patients who are distressed) and give advice wherever possible, in a diplomatic and sensitive way, following these through with the appropriate member of staff, in a responsible and tactful manner.

· Responsible for recording referrals, appointments and related information in a timely manner in accordance with the Data Quality Policy and supporting Data Quality Guidelines. To directly collate and input data on the EPR in relation to outpatient activity.

· To take additional referral information or clarify the nature of referrals by telephone and signpost to appropriate agencies, as required.

· Arrange urgent clinic appointments, including booking interpreter services when required, ensuring all relevant departments are notified accordingly.

· Able to work unsupervised and manage own workload, exercising the highest standard of confidentiality using independent judgement and initiative, based on acquired knowledge and experience, demonstrating influence and composure when working under pressure and to strict deadlines.

· Ensure effective liaison between a range of staff, patients, carers and relatives. To arrange community home visits by doctors, communicating with patient’s relatives to arrange personal interviews with doctors and giving appropriate advice wherever possible.

· Ensure the prompt typing of clinical letters, patient discharge summaries, subsequent follow up appointment letters, reports and general correspondence within agreed standards.

· Maintain electronic diaries, incorporating a “bring forward” system, ensuring patient information is update prior to scheduled meetings.

· Timely e-filing of correspondence and investigative reports in the EPR system, which will include sorting investigation results and retrieving relevant health records; occasionally from external Trusts. In cases of urgency, have tenacity to obtain critical information.

· In conjunction with inpatient wards and activities, adhere to clinical coding procedure and follow-up care procedures.

· Proactively receive visitors to clinical departments, when necessary, dealing personally with matters where appropriate and demonstrating diplomacy in dealing with issues of a sensitive nature, re-routing enquiries if necessary.

· Contribute to organisation of changeover of resident doctors (doctors in training) and support medical administrators with the maintenance of the on-call rota for medical staff.

· To support data collection to assist with reporting key performance indicators for the team.

· Monitoring of office equipment including reporting faulty technology; ensuring sufficient supplies of workplace sundries and stationery are available and ordering same via on-line processes.

· Control and maintenance of archived health records in accordance with the Trust’s Records Management Policy and ensuring all are electronically tracked to the correct location within the EPR.

· Organising and maintaining an efficient and effective filing system.

· To actively participate in My Yearly Conv