Medical Secretary (XN04)

Job description

Job responsibilities

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 and inpatient 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.

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

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

Opening and dealing with departmental post

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.

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.

Responsible for ensuring office equipment is in working order and escalating to the PSC where appropriate.

Taking phone calls and covering departmental phones when required.

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.

Diary management for consultant staff including organising meetings, preparing meeting paperwork and taking minutes as required.

Organising travel arrangements for consultant staff if required

Administration duties to support departmental clinical audit and clinical governance where required, such as the collation of information for reports.

Other general administrative duties that may be required to fulfil the role.

Scan documents when required and add onto PPM+

Type from general departmental pool.

Type up monthly consultant rota and send out as appropriate.

Surgical scheduling role

On a regular basis to review relevant waiting time reports (e.g.18-week 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 liaise with the MDT co-ordinator regarding patients allocated for surgery.

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).

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

Liaise with specialist nurses/pre-assessment team to arrange pre-assessments for surgical patients and to escalate any issues whilst on the surgical waiting list.

Arrange surgical outpatient appointments for patients who are selected to proceed with surgery and ensure they are correctly booked and coded within PAS.

Regularly monitor and validate all acute patients waiting for surgery and escalate to clinicians/PSC/Business manager if necessary.

Regularly monitor active surgical waiting list and active monitoring lists on PAS ensuring that patients are on the correct lists and that information is regularly updated.

Book surgical patients onto the Theatre Management system in the appropriate theatres under the correct surgeon and amend when necessary.

Type Surgical Operation notes and Surgical outpatient clinic letter on Epro following trust targets of a 5-day turnaround.

Contact patients regarding any cancellations or amendments to surgery dates, using compassion when relaying upsetting information and maintaining regular contact to arrange new dates, ensuring continued monitoring of dental work needed, forthcoming exams, holidays and unexpected illnesses etc.

Prepare and attend a weekly scheduling meeting with a view to scheduling patients from the waiting list, rebooking cancelled patients, raise any queries/concerns that have arisen from other colleagues or patients throughout the week.

Populate a forthcoming surgical planning diary and ensure it is kept accurate at all times, updating where necessary.

Inform wards and any other department necessary of pending surgery date and patient details.

Ensure all cancellations are recorded accurately on PAS, new dates are given within trust guidelines and all relevant staff are informed of cancellation reasons.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Experience in a healthcare environment in a medical secretary or scheduler role
• Coordinating and managing a busy workload
• A good understanding of the principles of data quality
• Using a variety of Microsoft office packages including word, excel, powerpoint and email
• Using Trust based information systems such as PAS/PPM+/Epro/TMS
• Experience understanding trust reports (18 weeks or other time tracking PTL reports)
• Direct contact with patients either face to face or by telephone
• Experience using EproScrik
• Using PAS for a variety of actions such as organising outpatient appointments or adding to inpatient waiting lists

Desirable

• Using Microsoft Access
• Organising pre-assessment appointments
• Organising travel
• Diary management

Qualifications

Essential

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

Skills & behaviours

Essential

• Interpersonal and communication skills
• Organisational and time management skills
• Understanding of patient/customer focus
• A detailed understanding of relevant Trust policies and procedures in particular the Complaints/PALS procedures
• Team working
• Customer care skills - verbal and oral to support dealing with patient queries
• 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
• Understanding of relevant Trust standards and National Waiting Time Standards e.g. 5 day turnaround of clinical correspondence, 18 week wait for patients
• Using different IT systems to make an assessment of where a patient is in their pathway and the resulting steps required to progress that patient through their journey
• Able to work flexibly and amend surgical procedures at short notice whilst always maintaining a professional and empathetic attitude towards patients

Desirable

• An understanding of medical careers and junior doctor rotation
• An understanding of the cardiac anatomy and the types of surgery required

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

Leeds Teaching Hospitals

Address

Leeds General Infirmary

Great George Street

Leeds

LS1 3EX

Employer's website

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