About this role
Job summary
The Non Specific Symptoms (NSS) Pathway Team operates across Mersey & West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals and provides specialist advice and guidance to both primary and secondary care on the management of patients who present with symptoms that may indicate cancer but do not align to existing two-week-wait pathways, as well as supporting the unplanned care of patients with a known cancer diagnosis.
The post holder will provide a comprehensive, high-quality secretarial and administrative service to the Non-Specific Symptoms (NSS) Pathway Team, working with minimal supervision and ensuring cross-cover arrangements are maintained when required. The role requires a high level of initiative, strong organisational skills, and absolute confidentiality at all times.
Interview date TBC
The JD & PS are currently under AfC review and are subject to change.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will provide a comprehensive and professional secretarial and administrative service to the Non-Specific Symptoms (NSS) Pathway Team, supporting clinicians and colleagues across both Trust sites. You will play a key role in ensuring timely clinical correspondence, smooth patient pathways and high-quality administrative support. A key element of the role will be typing clinical correspondence using digital dictation systems, ensuring accuracy, confidentiality and adherence to Trust processes and Standard Operating Procedures. You will manage a busy and varied workload, including preparing agendas and papers, taking formal minutes, coordinating meetings, organising travel and venues, and maintaining diaries and appointment systems.
You will handle telephone and face-to-face patient enquiries in a professional and sensitive manner, ensuring all correspondence relating to patient care is acted upon promptly. The role also involves checking and updating patient demographics on PAS, supporting data collection for audits and research, and assisting with the production of presentations and reports.
The post holder will use their own initiative and judgement to resolve queries, work flexibly to provide cross-cover within the team, and contribute to the smooth and efficient running of the office environment. General administrative duties, including handling incoming/outgoing mail, email management, photocopying and ordering stationery, also form part of the role.
About us
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.
We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.
Our services:
Acute Care
Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.
Primary Care
Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.
Community Services
Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation, freeing up space for more unwell patients. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.
Specialist Regional Services
We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.
Achievements:
Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018 Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal) National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme
Job description Job responsibilities
Key Duties:
To provide a comprehensive secretarial and administrative service to the NSS pathway team.
Type dictation from audio transcription of clinical correspondence and documentation, ensuring all letter and workflow processes are adhered to and Standard Operating Procedures are followed.
Prepare agendas and associated papers for meetings.
Take and transcribe formal minutes of meetings.
Assist in the production of presentations and audits using advanced level of IT packages.
To maintain appointments, diaries and bring forward systems. Arrange venues, speakers and travel/accommodation as required, ensuring timely and efficient communication.
Responsible for leading a range of discrete projects on a regular basis.
To deal with telephone calls/enquiries, incoming and outgoing post and in an efficient, professional and, where appropriate, sensitive manner.
Work from initiative using own judgement, acquired knowledge and tact to deal with queries and resolve situations or referring to appropriate person.
Deal with enquiries either on the telephone or face-to-face from a range of people, including patients, consultants, junior doctors and colleagues in an appropriate manner.
Ensure all correspondence relating to patient care is acted upon in a timely manner.
Accurate check of demographics using the Patient Administration System (PAS), including registration screen to check patient details are correct.
Assist with audit/research data collection as required.
Be able to work as part of a team, promote effective flows in the department to cover leave to ensure office runs smoothly.
General office duties including dealing with incoming and outgoing mail, e-mail, fax, photocopying. Participate in housekeeping of the office environment.
Attend appropriate training and education sessions at the request of manager.
Implement policies and procedures for own areas.
Order stationery for own areas when required.
To work in a flexible manner in accordance with the Trust Policy.
Any other duties required by Line Manager.
General Duties:
To observe the provisions of and adhere to all Trust policies and procedures.
To actively participate in the annual performance review to identify personal development needs
To attend Trust Statutory and Mandatory training sessions as required and any other training courses relevant to the post.
To fully comply with the relevant sections of the Health and Safety at Work Act. They must also understand and implement St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Hospitals Trust Statement of Policy on Health and Safety at Work and the Trust corporate Health and Safety Policies and Procedures. You are required to follow all applicable rules and procedures relating to Health and Safety at Work and to take all responsible precautions to avoid actions.
To keep up to date with the requirements of information governance; undertake mandatory training and follow Trust policies and procedures to ensure that trust information is dealt with legally, securely, efficiently and effectively. You must maintain the confidentiality of information about service user staff and organisational business in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Caldicott principles.
To ensure that when creating, managing and sharing information records it is done in an appropriate way, subject to statutory requirements and agreed security and confidentiality policies, procedures and guidelines. All employees are responsible for implementing and maintaining data quality, ensuring that records are legible and attributable and that the record keeping is contemporaneous.
To be aware of the confidential aspects of the post. Breaches of confidentiality will result in disciplinary action that may involve dismissal. The post holder should also be aware that, regardless of any action taken by the employing authority, breaches of confidentiality could result in civil action for damages.
All employees will be treated with respect by management, colleagues, patients and visitors and equally staff will treat management, colleagues, patients and visitors with the same level of respect. Staff will be supported to challenge any discriminatory behaviour that may be based on differences in race, disability, language, culture, religion, sexuality, age, and gender or employment status.
To fully comply with the relevant sections of the Health and Safety at Work Act. They must also understand and implement St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Hospitals Trust Statement of Policy on Health and Safety at Work and the Trust corporate Health and Safety Policies and Procedures. You are required to follow all applicable rules and procedures relating to Health and Safety at Work and to take all responsible precautions to avoid actions.
You will be expected to undertake the Trusts commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.
To adhere to relevant Code of Practice of Professional body (if appropriate).
The duties contained in this job description are not intended to be exhaustive. The duties and responsibilities of this post are likely to evolve in line with the Trusts continued organisational development.
The post holder must be flexible in the duties performed and it is expected that similar duties, not specifically listed above, will be carried out as required and may be cross-site.
Person Specification
Qualifications Essential
GSCE Standard or Higher RSA/OCR III or equivalent Word Processing Skills Audio-Typing Skills Medical Terminology
Desirable
Shorthand/Speedwriting Skills
Knowledge & Experience Essential
Microsoft Office Products Experience Ability to work as part of a team
Desirable
Extensive experience working in an NHS environment Previous Medical Secretary Experience Medical Audio Typing Understanding of Trust Internal Policies as appropriate Minute Taking
Skills Essential
Excellent IT Skills Excellent communication skills Ability to manage/prioritise own workload Excellent Word Processing and Keyboard skills Ability to accurately maintain computerised and manual filing/documentation systems
Desirable
Time Management Skills Knowledge of Trust computer systems
Qualities Essential
Ability to use own initiative and work independently Capability to adapt to most situations Reliable and conscientious Ability to manage difficult/sensitive situations Able to work the hours and undertake duties required
Desirable
Excellent interpersonal skills
Other Essential
Comply with Trust policies and procedures at all times Ability and willingness to undergo further training for the post
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.
Employer details Employer name Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Address St Helens Hospital
Marshalls Cross Road
St Helens
WA9 3DA
Employer's website https://www.merseywestlancs.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)