Job summary
Working full time: 37.5 hours per week
You will contribute and commit to promoting a positive team-based attitude, striving for the highest standards of service in order to lead the Secretarial Team and deliver excellent Secretarial Support to the Department and Management Team. The post holder will be accountable to the Assistant Service Manager.
You will be responsible for dealing with all correspondence, telephone and personal enquiries relating to the Department, requiring you to take accurate, detailed messages. You will communicate these effectively with the appropriate level of urgency to other team members and take appropriate action when needed e.g. when taking urgent messages, analyse the situation and surroundings.
Main duties of the job
- You will ensure that all referrals and test results are received by the appropriate consultant/practitioner, with referral letters being date stamped and then logged within 48 hours of receipt by the Trust.
- You will be proactive in remaining proficient in the collection and processing of direct dictation or audiotape transcription, ensuring all correspondence is checked by the author before distribution and that all correspondence is signed off from Medisec without delay.
- You will deal with incoming mail and distribute for action as appropriate, ensuring a comprehensive filing system of general information is maintained.
- You will be responsible in maintaining a good understanding of the standard clerical procedures associated with admissions/ appointments, liaising with these teams as necessary and ensuring all urgent and soon appointments are dealt with appropriately.
About us
The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provides services to West Cheshire and to Welsh patients covered by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership. Its services are provided from three locations:
- The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 438 general and acute beds
- Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 56 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility
- Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population.
The Trust employs over 6258 staff (headcount) which includes temporary bank staff and provides acute emergency and elective services, primary care direct access services and obstetric services to a population of approximately 407,000. This includes 357,000 residents in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire which has a population of approximately 50,000.
The Trust is a busy district general hospital and in 2022/2023, there were more than 503,342 patient attendances (inpatient, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery. This is an increase of nearly 10,000 compared to the previous year when there were 494,387 patient attendances.
Job description
Job responsibilities
See Job Description for further details.
Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values.
Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £27.50(standard) or £55.50(enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first three months of employment.
You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £16per year applies.
New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.
Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.
Good luck with your application.
Job description
Job responsibilities
See Job Description for further details.
Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values.
Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £27.50(standard) or £55.50(enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first three months of employment.
You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £16per year applies.
New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.
Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.
Good luck with your application.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- NVQ 3 or equivalent
- GCSE standard (English) or equivalent
Desirable
- RSA Typing III
- Audio/ Short hand typing qualification
- AMSPAR Medical Secretarial Diploma or equivalent
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Touch typist
- Recent and relevant secretarial experience
- Knowledge of full range of secretarial duties
- Knowledge of Microsoft Office Packages
Desirable
- Experience as a medical secretary in a healthcare setting
- Experience of first line management/supervision
- Knowledge/ experience of specific patient administration systems
- Knowledge of Medical Terminology
- Knowledge of NHS or other health/social care settings
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- NVQ 3 or equivalent
- GCSE standard (English) or equivalent
Desirable
- RSA Typing III
- Audio/ Short hand typing qualification
- AMSPAR Medical Secretarial Diploma or equivalent
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Touch typist
- Recent and relevant secretarial experience
- Knowledge of full range of secretarial duties
- Knowledge of Microsoft Office Packages
Desirable
- Experience as a medical secretary in a healthcare setting
- Experience of first line management/supervision
- Knowledge/ experience of specific patient administration systems
- Knowledge of Medical Terminology
- Knowledge of NHS or other health/social care settings
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.
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).
Additional information
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.
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).
