Adminstrative Assistant

Job description

Job responsibilities

Duties and Responsibilities

Communication & Working Relationships

The postholder will be typing/dealing with information that can be of a sensitive and at times, distressing nature, i.e. concerning death, life threatening and debilitating conditions. The postholder will be downloading graphic photographs of stomas/ fistulae. The post will involve speaking, either by telephone or face-to-face, to patients and relatives, many of whom will be concerned, distressed or upset.

Typing of outpatient letters, general correspondence, statements and reports dictated by nurse specialists by use of audio equipment or EPRO. Checking the hospital database system to ensure follow-up appointments are in place, if not it is the postholders responsibility to ensure booking of appointments and that notification is sent to the patients.

Daily assistance to maintain specialised databases. Involves input, updating and retrieval of statistics (e.g. recording demand, caseload statistics, and attendances). Providing data as required. On request of CNSs to pull data for audit and research purposes as required.

Preparing appliance/ supply orders for patients and, after authorisation by the specialist nurse, phoning or emailing the orders to the medical company. Contacting the patients delivery company (if being used) to ensure they have received this information and that the details are fully understood so that correct and full deliveries are sent to patients promptly.

Responsible for typing and sending a letter to the patients GP with surgery performed and appliance needs so that the surgery is able to prepare ongoing prescriptions

Dealing with enquires by telephone, letter correspondence, email and face to face discussion. To communicate complex and sensitive information effectively with patients and their carers and MDT.

Communicate with medical, nursing and other healthcare professionals, General practitioners, Health Visitors, including administration and clerical staff, both internal and external to the trust, so as to assist with the administrative matters associated with delivery of a co-ordinated, well-structured, multidisciplinary service to stoma care patients.

Assist in ensuring good working relationships with various external groups including various PCT staff, palliative care services, volunteer bureaus, patient support groups, such as Ileostomy Association, Colostomy Association, Urostomy Association, and stoma appliance manufacturers;

Coordinating care with outside agencies and other hospital / community based teams. This can be for example referral of patients to alternative specialists, liaising with care agencies for stoma training and planning Annual clinical reviews with GP's. Frequency varies but required weekly at least.

Planning & Organisation

Plan and organise own workload accordingly but also adhere to the working structure of the department as necessary;

The postholder is required to maintain concentration throughout constant interruptions from staff, telephone calls, facsimile, deliveries and emails, many of which require immediate attention and prioritisation throughout the day.

Maintaining nurse specialists diary will include booking patient appointments into appropriate diaries, organising team meetings, Rep appointments and general meetings. Ensuring appointments effectively booked, documented and communicated to team by verbal or written command, planning workloads and meeting agreed deadlines.

To maintain telephone diary and record of all incoming telephone calls and adhoc department attendances, triaging as necessary and escalating for immediate action if required. Documenting action taken on Patient database

The stoma nurses are frequently out of the office visiting inpatients on the wards or outpatients in clinics which means the postholder will be working on their own initiative for long periods of time. Using initiative and to make certain decisions at these times, i.e. The urgency of a patients call and take appropriate action to seek nurse or log a full message for the nurses to contact the patient on their return to the office.

The postholder will be expected to action certain calls in the nurses absence from the office, i.e stock requests. In such cases, the postholder will verify the details of the supplies, document action taken and refer to a stoma nurse if any queries or concerns before dispatching.

Using the hospital outpatient booking system (Maxims) to maintain the nurse specialists follow-up clinics, booking appointments, printing and sending out appointment letters and recording outcomes of the appointments for hospital record statistics.

Monitor clinic activity and ensure outreach clinics ie Minehead & Bridgwater are full to capacity. Proactively identifying appropriate patients to fill cancellation slots.

To attend and minute take for all department meetings whether local or regional. To distribute agendas and minutes pre and post meetings. Local meeting occurs 6 weekly, regional -6 monthly and sponsorship meeting Quarterly.

Collate information and enter on databases/spreadsheets used within the stoma care nurses to support the team i.e. annual clinical reviews. Provide reports as required, ie appraisal/mandatory training spreadsheet. Set up spreadsheets as required to record and monitor information

Add new patients referred for outpatient appointments, home visits and telephone calls to in house stoma care patient database- Respond Consult.

Entering patient information onto the Department database. To ensure the information for each patient is accurate and kept up-to-date as this database is used for departmental audit purposes as well as for patient care.

Support CNSs with planning and booking appropriate venues for patient open days ensuring visual aids are provided for speakers as required

Assist CNSs with booking hotel accommodation, travel arrangements and registration for study days and conferences. Conferences occur twice yearly in Uk, European or worldwide.

Assist in the planning, development and general running of patient open days; this may include booking venue, refreshments, organising resources, preparing and sending invitations, information to patients and representatives. Monitoring replies and finalising numbers and costs with the venue prior to the event.

Assist the Nurse specialists in the compilation of the departmental monthly statistics and enter te statistics onto the excel spreadsheet. These statistics are used for the departmentals annual report.

Maintain excel spreadsheets of patient information to ensure timely review when appropriate at intervals as per patient pathway. Checking when due and ensuring highlighted to nursing team when needed.

Check the departmental medical and stationary supplies are at the correct levels and order as necessary. Unpack and maintain the stock in a tidy easily accessible manner.

Prepare materials for teaching sessions, i.e., using PowerPoint to produce slideshows for teaching sessions, preparing handouts and putting together information packs.

Sort and prioritise mail (hard copy or electronic), forwarding to departmental or divisional staff as appropriate.

Assisting CNSs with designing & producing patient literature, policies, protocols & service improvements

Responsibility for Finance, Equipment & Other Resources

Ordering and Receipting of supplies via Integra system.

Ordering of catering for events and checking the costs.

Booking Venues and liaising reference payment and invoicing.

Order supplies for the stoma care nursing team. Monitor supply levels and reorder as required.

Paying in of donation cheques and issuing receipts regarding charitable account.

Ensure the safety of the stoma care nursing department and equipment within, by following trust procedures for safety of equipment and other resources. Reporting faults as required

Shared responsibility for the security of the stoma care team office, stock room and clinic room. Locking doors, closing windows & switching off lights and equipment.

To report any faults, damage or malfunction observed by the lead stoma nurse or any other member of the team including myself to an appropriate person such as estates

General Duties

Tailoring appliances to suit individual patients, which involves cutting stoma pouches to the current template size to ensure a correct fit of the appliance for the patient. Accuracy is required.

Supporting patients and professionals during specific treatment and investigations i.e. fetching supplies or instruments to allow the stoma nurses to continue treatment with a patient.

Photocopy documents/ paperwork and laminating as required. Keep an organised and tidy office environment and clinical area.

On daily basis sort incoming referrals via letter or email, exercising knowledge and expertise to prioritise into categories of urgency and sensitivity excalating to CNSs where actions required

Maintain accurate records and patient notes, and use computer systems for records and audit purposes;

Compiling pre op and discharge literature packs from various resources and leaflets

Undertake audits and figure finsing as requested by the team from database or records.

Ability to manage own workload and time accordingly and in line with department structure;

Management and disposal of sensitive information in line with the Trusts policy

Weekly topping up of ward emergency supply boxes across the trust including Montacute, ITU and A&E to name a few.

Maintaining stock list of Department stoma supplies and ensuring levels maintained.

Unpacking deliveries of stock, notes and leaflets.

Undertake reasonable additional duties relevant to the post

Person Specification

Skills

Essential

• 4 GCSE's A-C grade or equivalent qualifications
• Working knowledge of Microsfot office suite- ie word processing, file management, excel and powerpoint
• Evidence of a Good Standard of literacy/english language skills

Desirable

• Touch typist
• working knowledge of in house hospital systems. Ie MAXIMS, outlook, EPRO

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Musgrove park Hospital

Parkfield Drive

Taunton

TA1 5DA

Employer's website

https://www.somersetft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)