Medical Secretary

Livewell Southwest

This job is now closed

Job summary

37.5 hours per week

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a highly motivated and enthusiastic individual to join the Community Mental Health Service based at the Cumberland Centre.

The Community Mental Health Service works with service users who have a range of mental health difficulties. We are a multi-disciplinary team of Consultant Psychiatrists, Psychiatric Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Psychologists, Support Workers and other key professionals.

Your role will be to support the mental health consultants with duties including audio typing of clinic dictations, arranging and re-scheduling of appointments, maintaining accurate and up to date patient records, arranging meetings, minute taking and report monitoring. As such, we require someone with the skills to take on this demanding secretarial work. You will have proficient keyboard skills demonstrating accuracy in typing. Experience of audio typing or a willingness to learn this skill is essential.

Although you will primarily be supporting the team based at the Cumberland Centre, there will be a requirement to cover the team at Avon House, Mount Gould whenever needed on occasions.

The post requires excellent communication and organisational skills, good time management, and the ability to prioritise own workload, working under your own initiative. You will need a positive attitude towards people experiencing mental health difficulties and have excellent customer care skills.

Main duties of the job

Your role will be to provide a comprehensive, effective, and timely secretarial support to the CMHS Cumberland Consultants and the MDT. There may be occasions where you will be required to cover the Cumberland team either remotely from your office base or in person.

You will actively organise own workload in an efficient and productive manner. You will liaise with all colleagues within the multidisciplinary team, and with internal departments and external agencies to ensure the continuity of patient treatment.

Your role is to support the doctors work in the team and a flexible approach is required. Duties will include audio typing, copy typing letters, updating SystmOne, managing the annual leave for the doctors, recording absences, managing diaries, booking CPA Reviews, answering telephones, liaising and coordinating meetings, minute taking and supporting audit work within the team. You will need excellent organisational skills, good communication skills, a flexible approach, good time management and the ability to prioritise work and manage stress well.

The job holder will need to be flexible to carry out any other duties as may be reasonably required by their line manager.

Please note that this role may not be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route, please refer to the Direct Gov website for more information with regards to eligibility

About us

Livewell Southwest is an independent, award-winning social enterprise providing integrated health & social care services for people across Plymouth, South Hams & West Devon, as well as some specialist services for people living in parts of Devon & Cornwall. With teams in community hospitals, GP practices, sports centres, health & wellbeing hubs.

As an organisation with a strong social conscience, we always value being kind, respectful, inclusive, ambitious, responsible and collaborative. Transforming services to make them sustainable, ensuring that we value, support & empower each other.

We are committed to involving the people we care for, families & carers in everything that we do, working towards co-production where we can. Helping us to deliver the right care for people, in the right place & at the right time. By putting people at the centre of what we do, we ensure to support people to lead, healthy independent lives & be the very best at helping people to live well.

Valuing our employees making an investment in their development a priority. We offer:

Protected CPD time for registered staff

Various development pathways and ongoing regular training packages for all staff

Leadership & mentoring programmes

Access & funding for training including Care Certificate, Assistant Practitioners Course & Scholarship Into Nurse Training

A Robust Preceptorship

A bespoke induction programme

Existing members of the NHS Pension Scheme can continue their membership when they join the organisation.

Date posted

25 July 2024

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£22,816 to £24,336 a year pa, pro-rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Part-time, Job share, Flexible working

Reference number

B9832-2024-AC-1735-3

Job locations

Cumberland Centre

Damerel Close

Plymouth

PL1 4JZ

Job description

Job responsibilities

The post holder will participate in interview panels for specified jobs.

Assist in the training of newly appointed secretarial/administrative staff and supporting them during their assimilation.

Assist in maintenance of stock control and security of stock

Observe a personal duty of care when using equipment and resources

Maintaining a safe environment in accordance with Health and Safety Policies

The post holder will have the ability to plan and prioritise their own workload on a day-to-day basis.

To maintain the electronic diaries for CMHS Cumberland doctors, organise appointments and the allocation of their time to reflect priorities and demands of their workloads.

To organise meetings including Case Conferences, meetings, Risk Management meetings, Care Planning meetings and provide all administrative duties associated with these meetings, including sending invitations, distribution of agenda, associated paperwork, take and transcribe minutes and follow up action points.

To organise appointments as appropriate, liaising with patients, patient family members and other services.

Liaise with MDT to arrange assessments etc as directed by the Consultant. Provide administration support including recording details on SystmOne, invoicing and monitoring payments received.

Administrative support for Consultants appraisal including MAG.

Arrange medical student placements and feedback sessions as appropriate.

Arrange teaching sessions etc for Consultant as appropriate.

The post holder will have knowledge of medical terminology.

The post holder will have the knowledge and experience to deal with difficult enquiries and situations.

Collate data for Out of Area patients and produce statistical reports to provide data for locality manager.

The post holder will maintain accurate, timely electronic records and ensure that they are kept safely in accordance with Livewell Southwest polices, including the Data Protection Act (1998) and the Livewell Southwest Confidentiality Policy.

To work collaboratively with other secretaries/administration staff for both Avon House and Cumberland mental health service, including taking telephone calls, supporting colleagues during periods of high demand ensuring the team runs smoothly.

To receive incoming mail, telephone calls and initiate action as required

Assist with Medical staff regarding annual leave etc liaising with Medical staffing team.

Liaise with senior medics regarding on-call swaps and leave cover

Accurate audio transcription of various documents including patient letters, assessments, discharge summaries and psychiatric reports in preparation for Tribunal Hearings, ensuring deadlines are met.

Attend weekly ward round MDT with the Consultants and multi-disciplinary team, taking notes and following up action plans as appropriate.

To maintain sensitive and confidential information and filing systems.

To maintain, at all times, the highest level of confidentiality in respect of information concerning the Livewell Southwest or any of its staff or patients.

The post holder will be able to provide non-clinical advice and information with regards to appointments and visitors to the unit.

The post holder will undertake surveys/audits as required including staff surveys.

The post holder will liaise with patients, other professionals and agencies to organise various meetings including Care Planning, Aftercare, Risk Management and Discharge Planning. Due to the urgency of some of these meetings are arranged at short-notice, requiring re-organisation of diaries to ensure service user needs are met.

The post holder must demonstrate a positive attitude to patients, treating patients and their families with dignity and respect.

The post holder will be required to have an excellent knowledge of risk factors and be able to make judgements about client and staff safety and raise concerns with senior staff

The post holder will ensure compliance with contractual and related quality standards, including acknowledgement of referrals and production of written correspondence with referrers.

The post holder will comply with all appropriate National, Livewell Southwest and local polices and protocols. These include Health and Safety, Fire Procedures and Confidentiality.

To know how to report accidents and incidents and to do so promptly.

The post holder will behave in a manner that does not bring the Team or Livewell Southwest into disrepute.

The post holder will ensure that professional boundaries are always adhered to.

The post holder will actively participate in line management supervision with a senior member of the Team.

The post holder will actively participate in the Livewell Southwest appraisal system.

The post holder will participate in team meetings.

The post holder will carry out other duties commensurate with the position as required.

The post holder will be responsible for updating Knowledge and Skills, including Livewell Southwest mandatory training.

The post holder will identify new ways of working and make changes to own work, when agreed, to improve service.

The post holder will liaise with GPs, Solicitors, Police, Social Workers, ward staff, other teams, multi-agency professionals, probation officers, patients and relatives, management, medical staff in other specialities and professional staff in other departments.

The post holder will provide and receive confidential, complex and sensitive information, orally, in writing or electronically, within the boundaries of confidentiality. At times the information can be distressing.

The post holder will be expected to answer calls from service users, gain information and re-direct the call to the required health professional.

To provide a communication link when the Consultant or associated Doctors are out of the office and pass all urgent and important issues on to the correct person.

Competent advanced keyboard skills including audio typing.

There is a frequent requirement for concentration required for dealing with various complicated medical documents and correspondence with frequent interruptions.

There is a frequent requirement for concentration required when typing reports, letters etc of complicated nature with frequent interruptions.

There is a frequent requirement for sitting in a restricted position, maintaining correct posture, when sitting at desks; for example when (audio) typing or taking detailed minutes of meetings.

The post holder will carry any deliveries in a safe manner, in accordance with the organisations manual handling policy.