Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Support Secretary

The closing date is 17 August 2025

Job summary

Are you organised, compassionate, and ready to be part of a supportive team at the heart of hospital operations? We are looking for Support Secretaries to join our dynamic administration teams.

In this vital role, you'll provide high-quality secretarial and administrative support to our clinical and administrative teams. You'll help ensure smooth communication between healthcare professionals, patients, and external organisations, playing a key role in the patient journey.

You'll work in a varied and rewarding environment, where professionalism, flexibility, confidentiality, and a positive attitude are essential. Whether it's preparing clinic letters, coordinating meetings, or handling incoming queries, your contribution will make a real difference.

We're proud to offer an inclusive, caring workplace, where our values--being caring and compassionate, recognising individuality, seeking to involve, building team spirit, and taking personal responsibility--guide everything we do.

Main duties of the job

As we are recruiting to several roles, we can't list every task you will undertake, but these are an example of the kinds of things you will be responsible for:

  • Be a friendly and helpful first point of contact for patients, GPs, and external enquiries.

  • Handle internal and external telephone calls, referring appropriately when needed.

  • Manage electronic calendars, schedule meetings, and coordinate diaries efficiently.

  • Provide admin support to Outpatient Clinics and assist with processing urgent referrals.

  • Assist with the preparation and typing of clinic letters, reports, and correspondence--including audio typing.

  • Coordinate multi-disciplinary team meetings, including minute-taking and arranging venues.

  • Maintain effective filing systems, record-keeping and data entry using Trust systems.

  • Uphold patient confidentiality and maintain professional integrity at all times.

Your kind, compassionate nature and your dedication to accuracy and organisation will help us ensure we have the right information in the right place at the right time and that everyone receives a great service.

If these are the kinds of things which make you tick and you feel you excel at then please apply.

We know our application form can seem onerous, but its so important we have as much information about you as possible to help us decide who to invite to interview. Our application video can help you understand how to complete it: APPLICATION VIDEO LINK.

About us

You'll have access to varied development opportunities, learn new skills, meet fantastic people & do things you'd never have done. You'll learn about working in a hospital, interacting with people from all different roles to build skills & enhance your career path.

You'll make an impact, be challenged to think differently, be bold & help innovate to keep improving things. Everything we do centres around patient care and enhancing their experience which means your role is pivotal and something really to be proud of.

We have 10000 fantastic people working hard to deliver quality services to our patients. Whatever your role, you help look after 370,000 people in our local area & give specialist care to 1.5 million people across Lancashire & Cumbria.

Working with us gives you the knowledge and sense of pride that every activity you do genuinely does make a difference to support our patients & staff, ensuring we keep thriving & delivering outstanding healthcare right across our local towns.

Details

Date posted

07 August 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£24,937 to £26,598 a year per annum, pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Part-time

Reference number

438-PB3474

Job locations

Chorley / Preston

Chorley / Preston

PR2 9HT


Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see attached Job Description for a detailed description.

Duties include:

1. Be the point of contact for enquires from patients, GPs and other outside parties, referring where necessary to more senior staff.

2. Respond to external and internal telephone queries from staff, patients and others and referring to appropriate person.

3. Manage electronic calendars, organising meetings as required and accurate maintenance of an electronic diary with effective communication of diary commitments.

4. Coordinate meetings. This occasionally requires arranging venues and refreshments for off-site meetings. This may include the taking of minutes.

5. Provide the admin support to the Outpatient Clinics and process urgent A&E and ward referrals.

6. Provide secretarial / administrative services by perusing and distributing incoming correspondence and patient results, disseminating information, composing reports and correspondence, maintaining up-to-date filing systems and continuously developing administrative practices.

7. Maintain efficient and effective administrative systems, including bring forward, and message taking.

8. Provide secretarial and administrative support and cover when other members of the Secretary Team are absent from sickness or annual leave.

9. Typing of letters or other correspondence. This may include audio typing where appropriate.

10. Use databases and computer packages where appropriate to initiate and maintain records and generate information for analytical purposes.

11. Utilisation of local or Trust case note tracking system and other systems where appropriate.

For further information on the positions we have available, please see attached Vacancy Sheet. If there are any positions that you feel would suit you, please stipulate in your application.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see attached Job Description for a detailed description.

Duties include:

1. Be the point of contact for enquires from patients, GPs and other outside parties, referring where necessary to more senior staff.

2. Respond to external and internal telephone queries from staff, patients and others and referring to appropriate person.

3. Manage electronic calendars, organising meetings as required and accurate maintenance of an electronic diary with effective communication of diary commitments.

4. Coordinate meetings. This occasionally requires arranging venues and refreshments for off-site meetings. This may include the taking of minutes.

5. Provide the admin support to the Outpatient Clinics and process urgent A&E and ward referrals.

6. Provide secretarial / administrative services by perusing and distributing incoming correspondence and patient results, disseminating information, composing reports and correspondence, maintaining up-to-date filing systems and continuously developing administrative practices.

7. Maintain efficient and effective administrative systems, including bring forward, and message taking.

8. Provide secretarial and administrative support and cover when other members of the Secretary Team are absent from sickness or annual leave.

9. Typing of letters or other correspondence. This may include audio typing where appropriate.

10. Use databases and computer packages where appropriate to initiate and maintain records and generate information for analytical purposes.

11. Utilisation of local or Trust case note tracking system and other systems where appropriate.

For further information on the positions we have available, please see attached Vacancy Sheet. If there are any positions that you feel would suit you, please stipulate in your application.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Educated to GCSE English Grade C or above/Grade 4-9 OR Functional Skills level 2 in Literacy.

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

  • Efficient in the use of Office 365 (Word, Excel, Outlook etc)
  • Previous administrative experience
  • Understanding of Confidentiality
  • Experience of working with customers

Desirable

  • Previous administration experience in an NHS environment
  • Advanced knowledge of medical terminology
  • Experience of audio typing
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Educated to GCSE English Grade C or above/Grade 4-9 OR Functional Skills level 2 in Literacy.

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

  • Efficient in the use of Office 365 (Word, Excel, Outlook etc)
  • Previous administrative experience
  • Understanding of Confidentiality
  • Experience of working with customers

Desirable

  • Previous administration experience in an NHS environment
  • Advanced knowledge of medical terminology
  • Experience of audio typing

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Chorley / Preston

Chorley / Preston

PR2 9HT


Employer's website

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


Employer details

Employer name

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Chorley / Preston

Chorley / Preston

PR2 9HT


Employer's website

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


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Recruitment

Recruitment Team

recruit@lthtr.nhs.uk

01772521900

Details

Date posted

07 August 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£24,937 to £26,598 a year per annum, pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Part-time

Reference number

438-PB3474

Job locations

Chorley / Preston

Chorley / Preston

PR2 9HT


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

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