About this role
Job summary
We are looking for an enthusiastic, organised and compassionate Community Administration Assistant to join our Community Services team. This is a varied and rewarding role where you will provide high-quality administrative support to clinical and multidisciplinary teams, helping services to run efficiently and ensuring patients, families and healthcare professionals receive a professional and responsive service.
This part time Band 3 position will work as part of a wider Community Administrative Team and there will be lots of opportunities for support and development.
Main duties of the job
As a key member of the administrative team, you will undertake a broad range of duties including managing telephone enquiries, processing referrals, coordinating appointments and clinics, maintaining electronic records, supporting meetings, managing databases and spreadsheets, and assisting with staff rotas, training records and other administrative processes. You will also support the Single Point of Access, often acting as the first point of contact for patients, relatives, carers and healthcare professionals.
Excellent communication and customer care skills are essential. You will communicate with a wide range of people on a daily basis and will sometimes support patients and families who may be anxious, distressed or experiencing communication difficulties. You will be expected to respond with sensitivity, patience, professionalism and respect, recognising when an enquiry requires escalation to an appropriate member of the clinical team.
The successful candidate will have strong organisational and IT skills, with experience of Microsoft Office and administrative systems. You should be confident working independently, using your initiative and prioritising competing demands while maintaining accuracy and meeting deadlines. Experience of healthcare services and electronic patient record systems such as EMIS would be beneficial, although these are listed as desirable rather than essential.
About us
Based in the North East of England we provide a range of hospital and community health services from our leading facilities, including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Blaydon urgent care centre and Bensham Hospital, all within Gateshead.
Established in 2005, we were one of the first foundation trusts in the country and since then have consistently achieved the highest levels of care for patients.
We now employ around 4,800 staff and currently provide 444 hospital beds across the Gateshead region.
Our values should be the 'golden thread' which runs through everything we do - they are the core of who we are. Our five values can easily be remembered by the simple acronymICORE; Innovation, Care, Openness, Respect, Engagement.
We have a number of staff networks including the Global Ethnic Majority (GEM) network, D-Ability network, LGBTQ+ Network and the Women's Network, to challenge us and help us to constantly improve. Our Armed Forces network is one of our emerging networks.
The health and wellbeing of our staff is one of our highest priorities, and we offer a range of support and initiatives as part of our 'Balance' programme balancegateshead.com to cater for our diverse workforce, so that your individual needs can be supported, allowing you a happy and healthy working experience with us.
Job description Job responsibilities
The successful candidate will work 15 hours per week within the Bladder and Bowel Administrative Team, comprising 7.5 hours on a Monday and 7.5 hours on a Tuesday.
A key aspect of the role will be providing a professional and compassionate first point of contact for patients, families and carers, primarily through telephone communication. The post holder will work closely with other members of the administrative team to support the effective coordination of the service. Duties will include organising clinic appointments, preparing and sending patient correspondence, maintaining accurate records, responding to enquiries and liaising closely with the clinical team to support the delivery of timely and effective patient care.
The successful candidate will also work 9 hours per week with the Rapid Response Nursing Team. These hours will generally be worked on a Wednesday; however, flexibility will be required as there may occasionally be a need to work on an alternative day across the seven-day service.
Within Rapid Response, the post holder will work collaboratively with the wider clinical and administrative team as part of the Single Point of Access, helping to coordinate enquiries and referrals and ensuring information is communicated promptly and accurately to the appropriate members of the team.
Person Specification
Qualifications Essential
Business Administration Qualification or Equivalent Experience GCSE English Language (Good spelling, punctuation and grammar) Entry level IT qualification (GCSE, BTEC, OCR) or equivalent experience
Skills Essential
Excellent Communication Skills
Experience Essential
Customer Service Experience
Desirable
Experience of working in the NHS Experience of using EMIS/an electronic patient record
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 Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust
Address Bensham Hospital
Fontwell Drive
Bensham
NE8 4YL
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.qegateshead.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)