Office Administrator

Job description – Central Surgery Bell Street Sawbridgeworth

Job Title: Office Administrator / Medical Secretary

Reports To: Assistant Practice Manager

Hours: 37.5 Hours

Days: Monday to Friday

Job Summary:

To ensure a high standard of accuracy in maintaining patients records for the Practice and to provide administrative support to the practice managers, doctors, and health professionals.

Receive, assist and direct patients in accessing the appropriate service or healthcare professional in a courteous, efficient and effective way.

Provide general assistance to the practice team and project a positive and friendly image to patients and other visitors, either in person or via the telephone.

Facilitate effective communication between patients, members of the primary health care team, secondary care and other associated healthcare agencies.

Job Responsibilities:

Office Administrator

· Scan and read code relevant information from clinical letters into the Practice computer system (SystmOne), working strictly in accordance with the scanning protocol.

· To establish and maintain filing and administrative systems so that written or computer information is easily accessible and secure.

· To receive and dispatch mail and maintain a pending system.

· Review medical records and produce an accurate summary of the patient's medical history.

· Accurate filing of patient records and correspondence, maintaining a high standard of medical records in line with Practice procedure.

· To deal with patient queries via telephone, letter, and email.

· To provide a word processing service for GPs and health professionals as required. This includes the typing of letters, reports, minutes, memorandums, dealing with tasks etc. in an accurate and quality manner.

· To assist the Assistant Practice Manager with all clerical and administrative duties.

Medical Secretary

• To process referrals and assist clinicians with accessing the correct clinical pathway and become familiar with those clinical referral pathways.
• To expedite appointments/tests as required
• To deal with patient queries via telephone, letter, and email.
• To arrange patient transport/ambulance where necessary

Confidentiality:

• While seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately
• In the performance of the duties outlined in this Job Description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential
• Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.

Health & Safety:

The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others' health, safety and security as defined in the practice Health & Safety Policy, to include:

• Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines
• Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks
• Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills
• Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards
• Reporting potential risks identified.

Equality and Diversity:

The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:

• Acting in a way that recognizes the importance of people's rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current legislation
• Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues
• Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.

Personal/Professional Development:

The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, such training to include:

• Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development
• Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.

Quality:

The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will:

• Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk
• Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision
• Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the team's performance
• Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients' needs
• Effectively manage own time, workload and resources.

Communication:

The post-holder should recognise the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:

• Communicate effectively with other team members
• Communicate effectively with patients and carers
• Recognise people's needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly.

Contribution to the Implementation of Services:

The post-holder will:

• Apply practice policies, standards and guidance
• Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work
• Participate in audit where appropriate.

Person Specification

Essential (E)

Desirable (D)

Qualifications Required

Educated to GCSE level standard (E)

SystmOne knowledge (D)

Experience

Previous experience of working in GP surgery or similar (D)

A genuine interest in working within a caring environment (E)

Experience of working with the general public (E)

Experience of working as part of a team (E)

Experience of working in a public reception environment (E)

Skills

Excellent communication skills (Written and Oral) (E)

Able to use Microsoft Office software (E)

Able to use Email (E)

Clear, polite telephone manner (E)

Time Management and the ability to work to deadlines (E)

Problem solving skills (E)

Interpersonal skills (E)

Qualities / Attributes

Smart, polite and confident (E)

Planning and organising (E)

Performing under pressure (E)

Adaptability (E)

Using initiative (E)

Team working (E)

Self-motivated (E)

Flexibility (E)

Confidentiality (E)

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: £23,850.00-£24,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company events
• Company pension
• Cycle to work scheme
• Employee discount
• Sick pay
• Store discount

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Sawbridgeworth CM21 9AQ: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)

Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 07/11/2025

Reference ID: 102025