Medical Secretary

Job summary

Expected Shortlisting Date:

06/12/2024

Planned Interview Date:

12/12/2024

As a Senior Medical Secretary within the Childrens Hospital at Leeds General Infirmary, you will provide essential administrative support to our consultants and clinical teams. You will play a key role in ensuring the smooth operation of the department, managing patient pathways, and maintaining high standards of service delivery. The ideal candidate will possess a strong understanding of both General Surgery and Colorectal Surgery, which will enable them to effectively support and contribute to MDT (Multidisciplinary Team) meetings. They will also have a good working knowledge and experience of managing the surgical scheduling process.

Main duties of the job

-Staff Management performance and attendance management, conduct, flexible working rosters, training, recruitment, being accountable to the band 5 for the day to day running of the secretarial band 3s.

-Being the central point for Audit and Governance: this includes setting up monthly meetings, minute taking, creating and distributing agendas, arranging reps and rooms.

-Assist/co-ordinate patient complaints.

-Provide high-level admin and secretarial support to multiple consultants and other healthcare professionals.

-Manage patient appointments, referrals, and correspondence with accuracy and efficiency.

-Prepare and maintain medical records/clinical documents, ensuring confidentiality and compliance with NHS policies.

-Managing inpatient/outpatient waiting lists and escalating any concerns to consultant or management team.

-Inpatient theatre scheduling using PPM and Galaxy, including outsourced procedures using the IPT and/or mutual aid process and liaising with private sector and other NHS organisations across the country.

-Handle patient and staff enquiries, both in person and via telephone and email, with professionalism and empathy.

-Co-ordinate and prioritise tasks to support the departments needs, including typing clinic letters, medical reports, and other documentation ensuring weekly and monthly productivity targets are met.

-Supervise/mentor junior admin staff, fostering a positive and productive work environment

-Diary management

About us

Leeds Children's Hospital is one of the largest and most comprehensive children's hospitals in the UK. It is part of Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. The hospital provides a wide range of specialist services for children from birth to 18 years of age, attracting patients locally and from across the UK due to its reputation for excellence in care and research.

Leeds Children's Hospital offers specialist services across numerous medical and surgical fields. These services include both secondary care (for local patients) and tertiary care (for more complex cases referred from other areas).

Leeds Teaching Hospitals is committed to our process of redeploying 'at risk' members of our existing workforce to new roles. As such, all our job adverts are subject to this policy and we reserve the right to close, delay or remove adverts while this process is completed. If you do experience a delay in the shortlisting stage of the recruitment cycle, please bear with us while this process is completed, and contact the named contact if you have any questions.

Job description

Job responsibilities

1. Job Details

Job Title: Senior Medical Secretary / PA

Reports to: Patient Service Coordinator

Accountable to: Business Manager

Band: 4

Directorate: Childrens

Location: Leeds General Infirmary

2. Job Purpose

To provide a consistent and high-quality Personal Assistant (PA) service to a group of Clinicians and their teams while supervising the provision of a comprehensive medical secretarial service by a group of staff. The Senior Medical Secretary will have oversight of the referral to treatment time pathway for their consultants patients ensuring they are managed efficiently and effectively through their agreed clinical pathways and where it is not possible that the correct escalation procedures are followed.

3. Organisation chart

Business Manager

Patient Services Coordinator

Senior Secretary Assistant PSC

Team Medical Secretaries/Team Clerical Support

4. Knowledge, Skills and Experience Required

Qualifications

Audio typing/Word Processing Skills (RSA III) or equivalent experience (desirable)

GCSE Grade C or above (or equivalent AMSPAR Level 2 qualification) English and Maths (essential)

ECDL (desirable)

Experience

At least two years experience in a healthcare environment in a PA-based role or the equivalent experience as a Team Medical Secretary

Co-ordinating and managing a team workload; delegating and prioritising tasks as required to allow for the delivery of a high-quality service for patients while at times adhering to tight deadlines. Where not readily available the post holder will be expected to acquire the relevant skills associated with this duty within six months of commencing their post. (essential)

Using Trust systems to track and update patient journeys PAS/PPM/results and liaising with a wide range of hospital or primary care staff to ensure appropriate communication has taken place keeping all relevant groups informed of the patients journey. (desirable)

The ability to understand and use simple Trust reports 18-week or other waiting time tracking (PTL) reports and to interpret data to allow clinical and national priorities to be met. (desirable)

An understanding of the principles of data quality to ensure that work generated within the Department is of a high standard, accurate and timely. (essential)

Using a variety of Microsoft office packages including word, excel and PowerPoint and e-mail (essential)

Using patient information systems such as PAS (essential) and other relevant systems such as PPM (desirable) or in specific cases Oncology & Physics Mosaic (desirable).

Managing multiple and complex diary schedules to provide a service that meets demand (essential)

Organising and administrating meetings including the ability to take minutes (essential)

Organising travel (desirable)

Skills & Knowledge

The candidate must demonstrate excellence and ability within the following areas:

Interpersonal and communication skills (essential)

Organisational skills and time management (essential)

Patient focus applied to all areas of work (essential)

Supervisory skills to support and manage the workload of a small group of staff. Where not readily available the post holder will be expected to acquire the relevant skills associated with this duty within six months of commencing their post. (essential)

The ability to work as part of a team (essential)

Ability to deal with patients/customers either face to face, or over the phone in an appropriate and supportive manner (essential).

Ability to communicate sensitively with a wide range of people including patients, using tact and diplomacy (essential)

Knowledge and application of the Data Protection Act in relation to patient confidentiality and the appropriate care of patient information (essential).

A detailed understanding of a wide range of policies to include the Trusts complaints procedure, National Waiting Time Standards and associated processes 5-day turnaround of clinical correspondence, 18 week wait for patients (essential).

The ability to use different Trust IT systems (PAS, PPM, results server) to make an assessment of where a patient is in their journey taking corrective measures where necessary to ensure the patients next steps are appropriately booked (essential).

An understanding of medical careers and rotation to support the clinical team in meeting their teaching and training requirements for junior medical staff where required (desirable).

5. Core Values

This is a senior secretarial role and as such the individual will be expected to work independently as well as part of a team. The individual should be patient focused, professional and flexible in their approach to work.

6. Core Knowledge and Understanding

See Knowledge/Skills and Experience above.

Principal duties and areas of responsibility

The post-holder will:

a. Provide a wide-ranging PA service to a group of clinicians (the number of which will be determined by Departmental requirements and the job plan commitments of the clinical team concerned).

b. For the group of consultants responsible for, manage the flow of patients ensuring tests and/or appointments are booked within the necessary timescales escalating potential for delays to the PSC/Business Manager to ensure that prompt action is taken at all times in order to support strategic capacity/demand planning for the Organisation.

c. At the request of the PSC and where relevant, undertake investigation for informal PALS complaints.

d. Co-ordinate and transcribe/process responses to formal patient complaints together with the clinician ensuring that investigation outcomes are generated within the timeframe agreed with the patient.

e. Coordinate and supervise the day-to-day activities and workload of a small team of medical secretaries (and work closely with relevant PSC/Assistant PSCs as appropriate) and any supporting clerical staff.

f. Support the Team Medical Secretaries to ensure that service provision meets relevant quality standards.

g. Be the departmental super-user/system administrator for speech recognition and digital dictation

h. Take a lead in developing new systems and processes to support on-going service delivery and the maintenance of a high quality service for the patients of Leeds and beyond.

Senior Medical Secretary role

In managing diaries for the clinical team the post holder will be expected to co-ordinate the cancellation or alternative provision of outpatient activity ensuring the communication meets Trust targets where appropriate and escalating to the PSC/Business Manager in cases where the cancellation of clinical activity may prevent national targets from being met.

Supervise a small team of medical secretaries, and related clerical support staff, including the allocation of work and the organisation of daily departmental cover.

Managing and prioritising departmental workload on a day-to-day basis.

On a regular basis to review relevant waiting time reports ( reports) for the Consultants responsible for ensuring in all cases that the next steps for the patient are identified and booked. Where this is not possible to liaise with the Business Manager/PSC for appropriate action to be undertaken.

To support the clinical teams in the delivery of excellent patient care by actively working with colleagues and other Departments to ensure that all patients registered within the service are proactively supported through their patient journey (This would include but is not limited to: liaising with the relevant MDT teams about fast track patients and escalating clinically urgent patients to the relevant staff groups for action where required).

Ensuring all phone calls are answered within the department during core office hours

Opening and dealing with departmental post and allocating resulting work to appropriate staff.

Monitoring turnaround times for clinical correspondence and taking corrective action as required, in conjunction with the assistant PSC/PSC, in order to meet 5-day turnaround standard.

Participate in yearly appraisals for the team medical secretaries together with the PSC/Business Manager to support on-going staff development

Providing PSC/Business Manager and Consultant staff with relevant information relating to administrative service.

Take minutes at secretarial staff meetings and attending other administrative meetings as required.

Undertake duties required as the administrator and super user for the digital dictation/speech recognition system including identifying new workflows, updating workflows as required, and providing general advice on the system to team secretaries.

Responsible for ensuring office equipment is in working order and office supplies are maintained and replenished.

PA/Administrative Support (non clinical) to Consultant/Clinical Team

Provide a comprehensive PA service to the Clinical Director/Lead Clinician and other medical colleagues.

Provide administrative support to Clinical Nurse Specialists where appropriate.

Support clinicians with their teaching and research portfolios by organising regular meetings with trainees, supporting in the writing of research materials and organising meetings and conferences as and when required. This includes but isnt limited to providing support to academic, educational, research and supervisory roles.

Taking phone calls and covering departmental phones when required.

Deal directly with patient enquiries on behalf of consultant/clinical team.

Co-ordination of annual leave for consultants, liaising with the Business Manager for approval and then completing the necessary documentation to organise the cancellation of outpatient activity as required.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Audio typing/word processing skills (RSA III) or equivalent experience GCSE Grade C or above (or equivalent AMSPAR Level 2 qualification) English and Maths

Desirable

ECDL

Skills & behaviours

Essential

High level of accuracy and attention to detail. A caring and compassionate approach, with a commitment to patient confidentiality. Interpersonal and communication skills Understanding of patient/customer focus. A detailed understanding of relevant Trust policies and procedures in particular the Complaints/PALS procedures. Supervisory skills Team working Tact and diplomacy in handling sensitive and confidential information Knowledge and application of the Data Protection Act in relation to patient confidentiality and the appropriate care of patient information.

Desirable

An understanding of medical careers and junior doctor rotation

Experience

Essential

Ability to work independently, manage multiple priorities, and meet deadlines. Previous experience as a Medical Secretary, preferably within the NHS. Strong knowledge of medical terminology and NHS administrative procedures Excellent communication, organisational, and time-management skills. At least two years experience in a healthcare environment in a PA or similar role as a Team Medical Secretary Co-ordinating and managing a team workload A good understanding of the principles of data quality Using a variety of Microsoft office packages including word, excel and PowerPoint and e mail Diary management Organising and administrating meetings Prioritising and managing workload to meet deadlines

Desirable

Previous experience of managing patient waiting lists and scheduling theatre lists using PAS, PPM and Galaxy Proficiency in using NHS systems (, EPRO, PAS) and Microsoft Office applications. Direct contact with patients either face to face or by telephone Organising travel

---