Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Support Secretary

The closing date is 25 March 2026

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 deliver excellent secretarial support to the Department and Management Team, being accountable to the Team Leader and Assistant Service Manager.

You will be expected to work with minimal supervision, exercising independent judgement and using your own initiative. This position ensures an excellent level of Data Quality is maintained when dealing with confidential information in a sensitive manner. The role requires you to be aware of patients and staff members.

Main duties of the job

  • You will support the Team Leader by undertaking audio transcription and typing of clinic and miscellaneous digital dictation as and when required, whilst ensuring you maintain proficiency and accuracy in the use of medical terminology.
  • You will participate in the efficient and effective process of distributing correspondence out to all relevant parties.
  • You will support the department by undertaking the scanning or filing of letters and diagnostic results into patients case notes, following the Health Records Guidelines.
  • You will support across specialities in the participation of the sorting and tracking of case notes, returning these back to file, putting them into labelled boxes ready for collection by portering staff.
  • You will participate in the Team's post rota (for sending external correspondence), contributing to the preparation of letters and the sorting of incoming & outgoing post.
  • You will assist in the photocopying, faxing and Scanning of any relevant documentation.
  • On a short term basis and as directed, you will provide secretarial cover for others teams, meaning a knowledge of other roles within the speciality teams, to support during incidents of absence and the maintenance of adequate cover.
  • You will support the consultants and your team by providing a comprehensive secretarial service.

About us

The Trust's services are provided from three locations:

o The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 473 general and acute beds.o Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 60 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility.o Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population.

The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust employs 5,964 staff (headcount) to provide care and treatment to a population of over 400,000 people living in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire.

The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System. Due to its location on the border with North Wales, the Trust also works closely with the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

The Trust treats patients from England and some parts of Wales. During 2024/2025, there were approximately 643,000 patient attendances (inpatient, A&E, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery

Details

Date posted

17 March 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 2

Salary

£24,465 a year pa

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

210-2026-61

Job locations

Countess of Chester Hospital

Liverpool Road

Chester

CH2 1UL


Job description

Job responsibilities

See Job Description for further details.

Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values. An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page.

If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the essential criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer YES to the question: Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?

Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.

The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.

If a DBS is required for your role, you are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee applies whcih is payable to the DBS Service.Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costswill be deducted from their salary over the first three months of employment.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.

The Trust will not sponsor where the starting salary does not meet immigration rules

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. An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page.

If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the essential criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer YES to the question: Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?

Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.

The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.

If a DBS is required for your role, you are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee applies whcih is payable to the DBS Service.Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costswill be deducted from their salary over the first three months of employment.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.

The Trust will not sponsor where the starting salary does not meet immigration rules

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

  • GCSE standard (English) or NVQ Level 2 or equivalent

Desirable

  • RSA Typing or Equivalent
  • Audio Typing Qualification

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

  • Audio Typing experience
  • Touch Typist
  • Knowledge of Microsoft packages

Desirable

  • Familiar with medical terminology
  • Relevant clerical experience
  • Knowledge/experience of specific patient administration systems
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • GCSE standard (English) or NVQ Level 2 or equivalent

Desirable

  • RSA Typing or Equivalent
  • Audio Typing Qualification

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

  • Audio Typing experience
  • Touch Typist
  • Knowledge of Microsoft packages

Desirable

  • Familiar with medical terminology
  • Relevant clerical experience
  • Knowledge/experience of specific patient administration systems

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

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Countess of Chester Hospital

Liverpool Road

Chester

CH2 1UL


Employer's website

https://www.coch.nhs.uk/working-with-us.aspx (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Countess of Chester Hospital

Liverpool Road

Chester

CH2 1UL


Employer's website

https://www.coch.nhs.uk/working-with-us.aspx (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Team Leader

Jill Cropper

jill.cropper1@nhs.net

01244365239

Details

Date posted

17 March 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 2

Salary

£24,465 a year pa

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

210-2026-61

Job locations

Countess of Chester Hospital

Liverpool Road

Chester

CH2 1UL


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)