Medical Secretary

Job responsibilities

Your role will be to provide a comprehensive, effective, and timely secretarial support to the SORT Consultants and the MDT.

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 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.

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

Able to plan and prioritise their own workload on a day-to-day basis.

Maintain the electronic diaries for SORT doctors, organise appointments and the allocation of their time to reflect priorities and demands of their workloads.

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.

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.

Work collaboratively with other secretaries/administration staff within the community mental health service, including taking telephone calls, supporting colleagues during periods of high demand ensuring the team runs smoothly.

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.

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.

Demonstrate a positive attitude to patients, treating patients and their families with dignity and respect.

Have an excellent knowledge of risk factors and be able to make judgements about client and staff safety and raise concerns with senior staff

Ensure compliance with contractual and related quality standards, including acknowledgement of referrals and production of written correspondence with referrers.

Comply with all appropriate National, Livewell Southwest and local polices and protocols. These include Health and Safety, Fire Procedures and Confidentiality.

Know how to report accidents and incidents and to do so promptly.

Behave in a manner that does not bring the Team or Livewell Southwest into disrepute.

Ensure that professional boundaries are always adhered to.

Actively participate in line management supervision with a senior member of the Team.

Actively participate in the Livewell Southwest appraisal system.

Participate in team meetings.

Carry out other duties commensurate with the position as required.

Responsible for updating Knowledge and Skills, including Livewell Southwest mandatory training.

Identify new ways of working and make changes to own work, when agreed, to improve service.

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.

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.

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.

Knowledge

Essential

• Knowledge of secretarial and administrative procedures and systems.
• Excellent communication skills dealing with patients, visitors and staff in an efficient and courteous manner over the telephone and in person
• Ability to work on own initiative and with minimal supervision
• Ability to develop good working relationships with colleagues at all levels

Desirable

• Knowledge of Mental Health Services and wider NHS
• Adult Safeguarding
• Child Protection
• Knowledge of SystmOne
• Knowledge of specialist medical terms

Specific Skills

Essential

• Ability to use Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint
• Keyboard skills: minimum typing speed of 60 wpm
• Excellent spelling, grammar and layout.
• Sensitivity to confidential information
• Excellent organisation skills, with a demonstrable ability to manage and prioritise workload and work methodically, efficiently and accurately to meet tight deadlines

Qualifications

Essential

• Educated to Vocational Level 3 (NVQ3) in a relevant subject or equivalent previous knowledge & experience
• Maths & English GCSE Grades 4 and above or equivalent
• Relevant Audio typing/secretarial qualification or experience (or willingness and ability to learn this)

Desirable

• Medical Secretary/PA Diploma
• AMSPAR Level 2 Medical Terminology

Experience

Essential

• Experience of secretarial/Personal Assistant role (or willingness to gain this)
• Diary Management
• Handling various telephone
• enquiries
• Receiving visitors
• Experience of arranging
• meetings
• Experience of using and
• maintaining filing systems
• Experience of taking and transcribing formal minutes

Desirable

• Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team
• Understanding/experience of supporting people with Mental Health issues

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).