Medical Secretary - Obsteterics & Gynaecology

The role of the Medical Secretary is to provide a comprehensive secretarial, administration and information service to the Consultant in respect of his/her NHS work and to the supporting medical team. To provide a secretarial service: accurately producing from digital dictation system, patient related correspondence /reports/discharges of a sensitive and complex nature, using appropriate software and within specific timescales,

• Open and prioritise correspondence (which is often of a highly sensitive and confidential nature) on behalf of consultant ensuring that urgent correspondence receives prompt attention.
• Process case-notes of patients discharged from hospital; follow through ongoing care plans as indicated in notes. Allocate notes to relevant clinician for dictation or ensure that any standard letters are completed as appropriate. Where standard letters have been generated at ward level, ascertain from case-notes whether any supplementary letter/action is required and deal with appropriately. Ensure that follow up appointments or referrals to other specialties are arranged where necessary.
• Ensure that relevant investigation/ results received after patient's discharge are communicated to GP's where appropriate, particularly where treatment may be required.
• Ensure that discharge summaries and other time-sensitive information are dictated and typed within the designated time limits.
• Receive, manage and prioritise telephone and personal queries, complaints, messages and information from patients, relatives, General Practitioners, Consultants and other medical staff and external organisations on behalf of consultant and clinical team. Deal with queries relating to the medical and social welfare of patients and relatives in a sensitive manner, referring to medical staff or other Healthcare Professionals where appropriate., Respond to queries from patients and Healthcare personnel as appropriate. Provide empathy and reassurance to patients where necessary.
• Manage patient investigation results. Check all incoming laboratory/radiology results, ensuring that abnormal results are communicated promptly to appropriate Clinician. Ensure all reports are seen and signed by Clinician prior to filing in case-notes.
• Participate in the training and supervision of Support Medical Secretaries, Medical Audio Typists and work experience students, which will involve planning and allocation of work, and checking of letters produced for accuracy, as appropriate
• Undertake self-supervision and effective self-organisation in terms of:
1. co-ordinating annual and other leave in co-operation with other secretaries, and with the approval of management; 2. liaising with other secretaries to ensure fair distribution of work by mutual assistance;
• Establish and maintain efficient office systems, including filing systems and maintain a booking out and/or booking in system for case-notes.
• Liaise with Admissions Department in respect of patients requiring hospital admission, ensuring that relevant information or instructions are communicated effectively. Ensure that all relevant investigations are available prior to admission and in particular that any problem with the potential to delay admission/surgery is brought to the urgent attention of the relevant clinician (may be necessary to liaise with or organise input of other Clinicians prior to admission (eg anaesthetic assessment) or to co-ordinate arrangements where procedures require multidisciplinary input)
• Maintain confidentiality at all times, ensuring that information is only divulged to authorised sources and by appropriate means.
• Input and extract data from hospital systems and other relevant software programmes, which may be Trust-wide or specialty-specific.
  
  GCSE English at Grade 'C' or above or equivalent
• AMSPAR Diploma or equivalent extensive medical secretarial experience
• RSA/OCR Level III or equivalent
• Proficient IT skills (use of Microsoft office packages - particularly word and excel)
• Working knowledge of medical terminology, Ability to accurately transcribe complex dictation
• Previous Medical secretarial experience
• Experience using the hospital's Electronic Patient Record system
• Previous experience working in an NHS Office environment, Clear and accurate written and verbal communication and ability to converse in a positive professional manner
• Proven ability to work in a team and be supportive of team members
• Highly motivated and possess enthusiasm for developing the role
• Good organisational skills. Manage/priorities own workload
• Ability to use own initiative and work without close supervision
  
  At East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust our vision is to be widely recognised for providing safe, personal and effective care. We currently provide high quality services and treat over 600,000 people across East Lancashire and the surrounding area. We employ over 9,500 staff, many of whom are internationally renowned and have won awards for their work., East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust was formed in 2003 from the merger of Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust and the Burnley Hospitals NHS Trust. East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust provides a caring service to a population of approximately 520,000.
Services are provided from two main sites, the Royal Blackburn Hospital and Burnley General Hospital. The Royal Blackburn Hospital and Phase V at Burnley General Hospital are significant PFI developments. In 2006 a service reconfiguration, 'meeting patients needs' was implemented which resulted in the Blackburn site becoming the centre for all acute services in East Lancashire. The ED at Blackburn is the only ED for East Lancashire and since 2012 has become a Trauma Unit in the Lancashire Trauma network with the trauma centre at the Royal Preston Hospital. The ED is supported by Urgent Care Centres at Blackburn and Burnley and a Minor Injuries Unit at Accrington. Burnley is the site for the East Lancashire Women and Newborn Centre with an in-patient obstetric unit. There is a midwife led birthing unit off the Hospital site in Blackburn In 2012 the Royal Blackburn Hospital was designated as one of the Lancashire Vascular Centres., The Trust is an equal opportunities employer, committed to improving the working lives of our staff and operates a 'Zero Tolerance' policy to aggression, violence, bullying and harassment. In addition, our aim is to help protect children and vulnerable adults by providing a first-class service to the recruitment of people into positions of trust. We aim to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from everyone irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, disability or social background. We especially welcome applications from members of our black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, as we have identified that ELHT has an under-representation of BAME employees. Appointments will be made on merit.

It is important you are made aware of the following as regards your application to East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
• Please note that the salary advertised is for full time hours. If this post is less than 37.5 hours per week, the salary will be pro-rata. For posts on Agenda for Change pay-scales, new entrants to the NHS will normally commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.
• This vacancy may close before the closing date if the recruiting manager deems sufficient applications have been received. Therefore it is advised to complete your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
• Please ensure you check the email account from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.
• Please note that shortlisting is completed anonymously with candidates being assessed against the essential criteria for the post. Therefore only applicants, who can clearly demonstrate how they meet our person specification criteria in their application, will be short-listed.
Disclosure and Barring Scheme (DBS) If the role you are applying for is identified as either controlled or regulated activity as defined in in the Safeguarding vulnerable Groups Act (2006) any offer of employment is provisional upon a satisfactory DBS check being obtained. The healthcare sector is exempted from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. In line with other NHS organisations in the North West Region, the Trust is now passing the charge for undertaking a DBS check on to candidates in the event they are successfully appointed into the post for which they have applied. Candidates can choose whether to pay this over 1-3 months as a deduction from the monthly salary. However, if you are applying for a post as a BANK worker, the payment must be made in full at the time of employment checks. By applying for this vacancy you are agreeing to this undertaking in the event you are successfully appointed. The cost of an Enhanced Disclosure will be £55.38 and for a Standard Disclosure will be £27.38.