University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW)

Senior Medical Secretary

The closing date is 08 January 2026

Job summary

We are looking to recruit a Band 4 Senior Medical Secretary to join the Paediatric Plastic Surgery and Burns Service at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. This is for 25 hours per week, over four or five days, ideally to include a Thursday and Friday. This position is for a duration of 12 months (fixed term).

We are looking for someone who is a strong team player and enjoys working within a multidisciplinary team. Excellent organisational and interpersonal skills are essential, along with the ability to remain calm under pressure and manage competing priorities effectively. The role requires someone who can use their initiative and take ownership of the secretarial workload. You will thrive in a dynamic environment where your organisational skills and initiative will make a real difference.

The post involves regular contact with patients, families and healthcare professionals, both in person and over the phone. Therefore, excellent communication skills and a courteous, professional telephone manner are vital. Due to the nature of the specialty some clinical correspondence, clinical photographic images or conversations may be distressing, so sensitivity and emotional resilience are important.

Interviews will take place in person at the Children's Hospital. This role requires an on-site presence and cannot be carried out entirely remotely.

Main duties of the job

Communication:

  • To act as a point of contact for queries from clinical and non-clinical staff
  • Liaise via telephone and email with other clinical/clerical teams to action urgent appointments or procedures where necessary and ensure that all relevant departments are notified accordingly
  • Act as a point of contact for patients, relatives and carers. The post holder should be polite and empathetic to the patient's needs at all times and be able to communicate effectively when dealing with difficult situations/conversations
  • Returning calls promptly and keeping callers updated with information in an effective and efficient way
  • Escalate patient queries, capacity problems and general issues to the role's line manager or relevant clinical staff as appropriate

Organising and Planning:

  • Checking and sorting investigation reports and passing information on to clinical team as required
  • Ensure the dispatch and production of all clinical correspondence is maintained by pro-actively monitoring the digital dictation and speech recognition system, and to escalate where delays are identified
  • Provide monthly key performance indicator information to the Line Manager and discuss with the team any appropriate actions that need to be taken

About us

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is one of the largest acute Trusts in the country, bringing together a combined workforce of over 13,000 staff and over 100 different clinical services across 10 different sites, serving a core population of more than 500,000 people across South West England. UHBW has been rated by the CQC as 'Good' overall and our staff are proud to deliver excellent care to the people of Bristol, Weston and beyond. As a forward-thinking multi-award winning Trust and a digital exemplar committed to improving patient care, our world-leading research and innovations are having a positive local and global impact. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone's throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer. UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we're meeting our pledge.

Details

Date posted

16 December 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

Depending on experience £27485 - £30162 pa pro rata (depending on experience)

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

387-WC6349-LMH

Job locations

Bristol Royal Hospital for Children

Upper Maudlin Street

Bristol

BS2 8BJ


Job description

Job responsibilities

For a more detailed job description and main responsibilities, please refer to the job description document attached to this vacancy.

Job description

Job responsibilities

For a more detailed job description and main responsibilities, please refer to the job description document attached to this vacancy.

Person Specification

Skills and Abilities

Essential

  • Effective and polite manner when dealing with people, both face to face and on the phone
  • Able to work under pressure and meet deadlines whilst maintaining a high standard of accuracy
  • Ability to work effectively in a busy team, adjust to change and motivate others
  • Ability to work independently, managing own workload, whilst providing supervision and support to others
  • Confidence to handle difficult conversations with patients, relatives and carers
  • Ability to adapt to use new computer packages and programmes
  • Effective organisational skills
  • Good IT skills including Microsoft packages
  • Attention to detail
  • Ability to deal with non-routine issues on own initiative

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

  • Clerical/administrative experience/Secretarial
  • Understanding of specialist medical terminology
  • Experience of dealing with the public, both on the telephone and in person

Education and Qualifications

Essential

  • Educated to GCSE, grade C or above (or equivalent) in English Language and Maths
  • Qualified in word processing or audio typing (or equivalent)
  • Business and Administration Level 3 NVQ or equivalent experience
Person Specification

Skills and Abilities

Essential

  • Effective and polite manner when dealing with people, both face to face and on the phone
  • Able to work under pressure and meet deadlines whilst maintaining a high standard of accuracy
  • Ability to work effectively in a busy team, adjust to change and motivate others
  • Ability to work independently, managing own workload, whilst providing supervision and support to others
  • Confidence to handle difficult conversations with patients, relatives and carers
  • Ability to adapt to use new computer packages and programmes
  • Effective organisational skills
  • Good IT skills including Microsoft packages
  • Attention to detail
  • Ability to deal with non-routine issues on own initiative

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

  • Clerical/administrative experience/Secretarial
  • Understanding of specialist medical terminology
  • Experience of dealing with the public, both on the telephone and in person

Education and Qualifications

Essential

  • Educated to GCSE, grade C or above (or equivalent) in English Language and Maths
  • Qualified in word processing or audio typing (or equivalent)
  • Business and Administration Level 3 NVQ or equivalent experience

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

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW)

Address

Bristol Royal Hospital for Children

Upper Maudlin Street

Bristol

BS2 8BJ


Employer's website

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


Employer details

Employer name

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW)

Address

Bristol Royal Hospital for Children

Upper Maudlin Street

Bristol

BS2 8BJ


Employer's website

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


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Medical Secretarial Services Manager

Claire Streete

Claire.Streete@uhbw.nhs.uk

01173421061

Details

Date posted

16 December 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

Depending on experience £27485 - £30162 pa pro rata (depending on experience)

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

387-WC6349-LMH

Job locations

Bristol Royal Hospital for Children

Upper Maudlin Street

Bristol

BS2 8BJ


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW)'s privacy notice (opens in a new tab)