Vacancy: Medical Secretary

Responsible to

• Practice or Assistant Manager

Accountable to

• Practice Partnership

Job Summary

The post holder will be responsible for undertaking a wide range of secretarial and administrative duties and the provision of administrative support to the multidisciplinary team.  Duties will include but are not limited to, audio and copy typing, the processing of information (electronic and hard copy) in a timely manner, liaising with multidisciplinary team members and external agencies such as secondary care and community service providers in accordance with current policies, including the use of the electronic referral service (ERS). The post holder must work as part of a team, have the ability to organise and prioritise their own workload on a day to day basis.

Main Responsibilities

The following are the core responsibilities of the Medical Secretary.  There may be, on occasions, a requirement to carry out other tasks. This will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels:

• To provide an efficient audio, copy typing and word processing service for GPs and health professionals as required. This includes the typing of letters, reports, patient referrals, letters to patients and outside agencies etc. in an accurate and quality manner.
• Liaise with GP’s and health professionals with any queries or missing data to ensure referrals are dealt within the set timeframe.
• Process referrals using the electronic referral system (ERS)
• Process urgent 2 week wait referrals in a timely fashion
• Assistance to doctors and clinicians including composing letters on doctors’ behalf either at their request or created under own initiative. Making enquiries and following up investigations. To take responsibility for administration and completion of tasks/queries requested by all GP’s.
• Daily prioritising of workload according to urgency.
• To liaise on a daily basis with the doctors, managers and team members and take on duties as required.
• Make and receive telephone calls to/for GPs, patients, consultant secretaries and outside agencies
• Organise and implement new systems/protocols as required for efficient, smooth running of secretarial office
• Source new referral criteria/organisations as requested.
• Have knowledge of contract exclusions for referrals and liaise with GP’s as required.
• Take responsibility for directing referrals to the correct specialist services following appropriate guidance.
• To update all patient information (Referral data, discharge and history summaries) on the computer system, as required.
• To liaise with the management team and assist by taking on other duties as required.
• To maintain secretarial cover in the absence of other secretarial staff
• Training other members of staff in secretarial duties as required.

Confidentiality

• In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters.   They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately
• In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers.  They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation.  All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential
• Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data

Health & Safety

The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others’ health, safety and security as defined in the practice health & safety policy, the practice health & safety manual, and the practice infection control policy and published procedures. This will include:

• Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines
• Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks
• Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills
• Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way, free from hazards
• Actively reporting health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
• Keeping own work areas and general/patient areas generally clean, assisting in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness consistent with the scope of the job holder’s role 
• Undertaking periodic infection control training (minimum annually)
• Reporting potential risks identified
• Demonstrate due regard for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children

Equality and Diversity

The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:

• Acting in a way that recognises the importance of people’s rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current legislation
• Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues
• Behaving in a manner that is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.

Personal/Professional development

The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, such training to include:

• Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development and revalidation.
• Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work

Quality

The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will:

• Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk
• Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision
• Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the team’s performance
• Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients’ needs
• Effectively manage own time, workload and resources

Communication

The post-holder should recognise the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:

• Communicate effectively with other team members
• Communicate effectively with patients and carers
• Recognise people’s needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly

Contribution to the implementation of services

The post-holder will:

• Apply practice policies, standards and guidance
• Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work
• Participate in audit where appropriate

These duties may be changed from time to time, dependent on the needs of the practice.  This will be done in consultation with the employee and, if appropriate, training and instruction will be given.

Person Specification – Patient Services Advisor

Qualifications	Essential	Desirable
Educated to GCSE level or equivalent	X
GCSE Mathematics & English (C or above)		X
NVQ Level 2 in Health and Social Care		X
Experience	Essential	Desirable
Experience of working with the general public	X
Experience of secretarial / administrative duties	X
Experience of working in a health care setting as a medical secretary	X
Skills	Essential	Desirable
Excellent communication skills (written and oral)	X
Strong IT skills, including audio typing	X
Clear, polite telephone manner	X
Competent in the use of Office and Outlook	X
EMIS user skills		X
Effective time management (planning & organising)	X
Ability to work as a team member and autonomously	X
Good interpersonal skills	X
Problem solving & analytical skills	X
Ability to follow policy and procedure	X
Personal Qualities	Essential	Desirable
Polite and confident	X
Flexible and cooperative	X
Motivated	X
Forward thinker	X
High levels of integrity and loyalty	X
Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations	X
Ability to work under pressure	X
Other Requirements	Essential	Desirable
Flexibility to work outside of core office hours	X
Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check	X