Medical Secretary (XN04)

Job description

Job responsibilities

1. JOB DETAILS

Job Title: Senior Medical Secretary

Reports to: PNH Service Coordinator/Data Manager

Accountable to: Business Manager

Band: 4

Unit/Dept: The National PNH Service

Directorate: Oncology CSU

Location: Leeds Cancer Centre

AfC Job No: 2106

2. JOB PURPOSE/SUMMARY

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.

4. PRINCIPAL DUTIES & AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

The post-holder will:

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).

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Be the departmental super-user/system administrator for voice recognition and digital dictation

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 (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 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/voice 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.

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

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

Organising travel arrangements for consultant staff.

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

5. THE LEEDS WAY VALUES

Our values are part of what make us different from other trusts, so we see this as a strength, as well as a responsibility. They have been developed by our staff and set out what they see as important to how we work. Our five values are:

Patient-centred

Collaborative

Fair

Accountable

Empowered

All our actions and endeavours will be guided and evaluated through these values

Additionally, the following are core values which relate specifically to this post:

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.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

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

Skills & behaviours

Essential

• Team working
• Customer care skills - verbal and oral to support dealing with patient queries.
• Ability to deal with patients/customers either face to face, or over the phone in an appropriate and supportive manner.
• Tact and diplomacy in handling sensitive and confidential information Ability to communicate sensitively with a wide range of people including patients, using tact and diplomacy

Experience

Essential

• Experience in a healthcare environment in a PA or similar role e.g. 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 Wh
• 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)
• 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
• An understanding of the principles of data quality to ensure that work generated within the Department is of a high standard, accurate and timely.
• Using a variety of Microsoft office packages including word, excel and PowerPoint and e mail
• Using Trust based information systems such as PAS and other relevant systems such as PPM
• Diary management .Managing multiple and complex diary schedules to provide a service that meets demand.
• Organising and administrating meetings including the ability to take minutes.
• Prioritising and managing workload to meet deadlines. Understanding of patient/customer focus.
• A detailed understanding of relevant Trust policies and procedures in particular the Complaints/PALS procedures
• Understanding of relevant Trust standards and National Waiting Time Standards e.g. 5-day turnaround of clinical correspondence, 18-week wait for patients.
• Knowledge and application of the Data Protection Act in relation to patient confidentiality and the appropriate care of patient information

Desirable

• Direct contact with patients either face to face or by telephone
• Previous healthcare experience
• Using other Trust based information systems such as PPM for a variety of purposes e.g. reporting or patient pathway management
• Interpreting simple reports
• Organising travel
• Using Trust based information systems such as PPM and where relevant Mosaic
• An understanding of medical careers and junior doctor rotation

Other Criteria

Essential

• Interpersonal and communication skills
• Organisational and time management skills

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

St. James's University Hospital

Beckett Street

Leeds

LS9 7TF

Employer's website

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