Stroke Services Medical Secretary

Job description

Job responsibilities

Communication and Patient Liaison

Act as the main point of contact for consultants, healthcare professionals, patients, and external organisations.

Handle all communication professionally and efficiently, using discretion and good judgement to respond to or escalate enquiries appropriately.

Deal with concerned or distressed patients and relatives with empathy, patience, and tact, particularly when communicating sensitive or complex clinical information.

Provide reassurance and clear information to patients, ensuring they understand the process and next steps in their care.

Workload Management and Initiative

Prioritise and manage own workload independently, ensuring queries are followed through and actions progressed to support clinical efficiency.

Proactively chase outstanding actions, investigations, or results on behalf of clinicians to free up clinical time and maintain progress in patient care.

Sort, assess, and distribute incoming correspondence including post, email, and faxes, using initiative and knowledge to direct items appropriately.

Clinic and Appointment Coordination

Liaise with the departmental pathway coordinator to support the partial booking process, ensuring timely and effective scheduling of patient appointments in line with service requirements.

Manage clinic templates, including setting up additional clinics, rescheduling or cancelling sessions due to leave or service changes, under the guidance of the Department Admin Lead.

Oversee consultant availability and planned absences to ensure sufficient clinic cover, raising issues proactively and helping maintain capacity.

Conduct regular forward-planning meetings with clinicians to ensure clinic availability is accurate and service demands are met.

Referral Management

Access and manage referrals via the electronic referral system (e.g., e-RS), ensuring timely triage by clinicians.

Process and track referrals, ensuring patients are seen and managed within pathway timelines and in accordance with Trust policies.

18-Week Pathway Support

Provide support to the 18-week RTT (Referral to Treatment) team by updating them weekly with information on patient progress at tiers 1, 2, and 3.

Chase typing, test results, clinic letters, and other outstanding elements required to complete the 18-week pathway.

Ensure clinicians are informed of any necessary actions to keep patients within their RTT timeframes and escalate concerns where delays are identified.

Diary and Office Management

Maintain and manage clinicians electronic diaries, scheduling appointments, meetings, and coordinating room bookings.

Plan and organise internal departmental arrangements and meetings with appropriate prioritisation and efficiency.

Support wider office administration including rotas, noticeboards, and general coordination of departmental activities.

Correspondence and Typing

Ensure prompt and accurate typing of all clinical correspondence including clinic letters, medico-legal reports, results, minutes, and other documents.

Monitor and manage digital dictation systems (e.g., Big Hand), ensuring priority letters (red/green) are completed and dispatched within the Trust's 72-hour timeframe.

Action tasks arising from patient and GP letters efficiently and ensure timely follow-up where required.

Urgent Referrals

Access ICE or equivalent systems daily to print and review urgent inpatient referrals.

Ensure clinicians are made aware of urgent referrals on the same day and that appropriate clinical action is taken and documented.

Procedure Coordination

Coordinate the booking of patient procedures as requested by clinicians, ensuring all relevant information and preparatory steps are completed.

Liaise with relevant departments to confirm procedure details and communicate with patients where needed.

Document Handling and Scanning

Scan appropriate documentation to the Trusts electronic record system (e.g., Evolve) in a timely and accurate manner, ensuring compliance with data protection and clinical documentation standards.

Audit and Data Collection

Support departmental audits by collecting, interpreting, and presenting statistical or operational data as requested.

Assist with maintaining accurate records to support quality improvement and service development.

Supplies and Equipment

Order and maintain stationery and non-stock items required for the smooth running of the office.

Monitor office supplies and reorder items to ensure minimal disruption to administrative work.

Meeting Coordination and Support

Organise business, clinical, educational, and patient support group meetings, including venue booking, equipment setup, and refreshments.

Prepare agendas, take and distribute minutes where required.

Support the preparation of PowerPoint presentations and other materials for meetings and events.

On occasion, support meetings or events held outside of regular working hours.

Policy and Procedure Implementation

Implement and maintain local policies and standard operating procedures relevant to the administrative function of the department under guidance from the Admin Lead.

Support the continuous review and improvement of administrative systems and workflows.

Staffing and Departmental Cover

Work with the Department Admin Lead to ensure administrative cover is always maintained, reallocating tasks or coordinating cross-cover when needed.

Support planning for annual leave, sickness cover, and short-term adjustments to ensure continuity of service.

Recruitment, Induction, and Training

Assist with recruitment processes including drafting job descriptions, liaising with HR and recruitment teams, booking interview rooms, and supporting interview arrangements.

Lead on local induction for new starters, including guidance on Trust systems, arranging IT access, car parking, ID badges, and completion of the local induction checklist.

Train and support junior admin staff, including apprentices, and act as a point of contact for queries and escalation of issues.

Advise staff on local procedures, policies, and departmental expectations.

Intranet and Webpage Management

Maintain and update the departments intranet and webpage content to ensure staff and patients have access to up-to-date information.

Liaise with communications or digital teams to ensure branding and content are in line with Trust standards.

General Support

Undertake any reasonable duties required to support the needs of the department and contribute to the effective running of the service.

Provide cover for colleagues during periods of absence, ensuring that essential work is maintained.

Support new projects, pilots, or service developments as required by the management team.

Person Specification

Administration

Essential

• Educated to GCSE level or equivalent including English and Mathematics
• Secretarial qualification RSA II or equivalent
• Secretarial experience in a busy, customer focused NHS environment
• Experience of working as part of a team and on own initiative
• Use of databases and data collection
• Organising meetings and minute taking
• Knowledge and use of Microsoft software including office, Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills - able to deal with people at all levels using tact, diplomacy and understanding.
• Accurate keyboard skills including word processing and audio typing skills
• Excellent organisational skills
• Ability to work to tight deadlines
• Attention to detail
• Flexible and adaptable
• Confident with the ability to remain calm under pressure Ability to work with interruptions

Desirable

• Computer literate to ECDL standard or equivalent
• NHS experience in a Medical Specialties Department
• Medical terminology in the NHS
• Knowledge of NHS IT systems
• RTT Knowledge and Appreciation of patient pathway targets

Education

Essential

• GCSE Level or Equivalent

Commuication

Essential

• Speaks clearly and professionally with patients, staff, and consultants.
• Handles difficult conversations with empathy and tact.

Team Player

Essential

• Collaborates well with clinical teams, admin colleagues, and managers.
• Helps foster a supportive and positive team culture.

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

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Luton and Dunstable NHS Foundation Trust,

Lewsey Rd,

Luton

LU4 0DZ

Employer's website

https://www.bedfordshirehospitals.nhs.uk/working-here/ (Opens in a new tab)