East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust

Medical Secretary Cellular Pathology

The closing date is 16 October 2025

Job summary

An opportunity has arisen at EKHUFT for the position of medical secretary within the cellular pathology office. Cellular pathology is based at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, providing a wide range of cellular diagnostics in a team-based environment; a chance to really help direct patient treatment.

The successful applicant will have significant experience of relevant administrative roles, IT systems and a wider understanding of the broader issues at play within busy multi-disciplinary diagnostic service is preferred.

Medical secretary staff work within the administrative team in order to provide a comprehensive medical secretarial and/or secretarial service for the whole cellular pathology department. They undergo formal internal training and assessment programmes. The post holder will be required to support and sustain the disciplines practice, reviewing and implementing agreed administrative protocols, processes and procedures in line with service needs.

An understanding of UKAS accreditation standards or expectations would be welcomed. We currently hold UKAS Accreditation ISO:15189, and this post supports the quality lead as well as the chief and head BMS in all matters pertaining to histology and non-gynae cytology report production.

Main duties of the job

Work within the administrative team in order to provide a comprehensive medical secretarial and/or secretarial service for the Cellular Pathology department.

Undergo formal internal training and assessment programmes. The post holder will be required to support and sustain the disciplines practice, reviewing and implementing agreed administrative protocols, processes and procedures in line with service needs.

The post holder must be able to communicate sensitively and effectively with a wide range of people including patients, medical staff and colleagues. They will support and administer processes to sustain the disciplines practice through administrative protocols, processes and procedures in line with service needs. The post holder may be required to cover for colleagues during absence when necessary.

Kent and Medway Pathology Network (KMPN) is a formal partnership of seven laboratories across three pathology services in four acute Trusts. Our 1000 colleagues provide services across the health and care sector to a population of nearly 2 million.

About us

We are one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five hospitals and community clinics serving a local population of around 800,000 people. Our vision is 'great healthcare from great people'. Everything we do is guided by our values: 'People feel cared for, safe, respected and confident that we are making a difference'. We have a new way of working at East Kent Hospitals, called 'We care'. It's about empowering frontline staff to lead improvements day-to-day. We're looking for compassionate people to be part of our improvement journey for the patients, families and carers we care for every day.

KMPN are at an exciting point of our network development with a recommendation to form a joint venture across the four Trusts leading transformation. Our projects including single IT solutions, procurement and digital projects, to ensure our services are able to meet growing demand for our service users, patients and communities.

You will have a fantastic opportunity to grow your career in KMPN. We are developing a network academy, a platform for all network education and training from apprenticeships to advanced clinical and scientific qualifications with a single faculty making best use of our talented educators and trainers. You will not be expected to work at sites outside of EKHUFT. However, there will be opportunities for collaborative working within the network.

Details

Date posted

03 October 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£24,937 to £26,598 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number

334-1118DCB

Job locations

William Harvey Hospital

Kennington Road, Wilesborough

Ashford

TN24 0LZ


Job description

Job responsibilities

Please scroll down to access the full Job Description and Person Specification located in 'supporting documents. If you have further queries please dont hesitate to contact the line manager using the contact details below.

Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please scroll down to access the full Job Description and Person Specification located in 'supporting documents. If you have further queries please dont hesitate to contact the line manager using the contact details below.

Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • 4 GCSE's or equivalent including English

Desirable

  • OCR/ NVQ 3 or equivalent
  • ECDL or equivalent

Experience

Essential

  • Worked in a hospital environment
  • Experienced working in a busy administration environment

Desirable

  • Knowledge of NHS
  • Experience of formal minute taking

Knowledge

Essential

  • Knowledge of Microsoft Office packages e.g. Word, Excel, Access
  • Knowledge of medical terminology
  • Evidence of some knowledge of Human Biology

Desirable

  • Use of audio dictation packages
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • 4 GCSE's or equivalent including English

Desirable

  • OCR/ NVQ 3 or equivalent
  • ECDL or equivalent

Experience

Essential

  • Worked in a hospital environment
  • Experienced working in a busy administration environment

Desirable

  • Knowledge of NHS
  • Experience of formal minute taking

Knowledge

Essential

  • Knowledge of Microsoft Office packages e.g. Word, Excel, Access
  • Knowledge of medical terminology
  • Evidence of some knowledge of Human Biology

Desirable

  • Use of audio dictation packages

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Additional information

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust

Address

William Harvey Hospital

Kennington Road, Wilesborough

Ashford

TN24 0LZ


Employer's website

https://www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/patients-and-visitors/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust

Address

William Harvey Hospital

Kennington Road, Wilesborough

Ashford

TN24 0LZ


Employer's website

https://www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/patients-and-visitors/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Head Biomedical Scientist

Stuart Turner

stuart.turner1@nhs.net

01233616129

Details

Date posted

03 October 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£24,937 to £26,598 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number

334-1118DCB

Job locations

William Harvey Hospital

Kennington Road, Wilesborough

Ashford

TN24 0LZ


Supporting documents

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