Medical Secretary @ Beech Tree Surgery

Job summary

We are looking for an organised, confident and proactive Medical Secretary to join our administration team at Beech Tree Surgery.

This is a full-time role working 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 8:30am5:00pm, with a one-hour unpaid lunch break.

The role provides essential administrative support to our GPs and wider clinical team. A significant part of the workload involves managing patient referrals, from processing and submitting referrals through to dealing with queries, following up outstanding information and liaising with hospitals and other healthcare services.

Alongside referrals, the Medical Secretary will provide wider administrative support to the clinical team, process private and non-NHS work, manage correspondence and documentation and deal directly with patients regarding administrative queries.

The successful candidate will need to be confident speaking with patients by telephone about referrals, forms, reports and other administrative matters.

We are looking for someone who is organised, approachable and able to take ownership of their workload, with excellent attention to detail and the confidence to follow work through to completion.

Our practice values are Transparency, Kindness, Quality and Integrity, and we are looking for someone who will demonstrate these values in the way they work with patients, colleagues and external organisations.

Main duties of the job

The Medical Secretary will provide comprehensive secretarial and administrative support to the clinical team, with a significant focus on processing and managing patient referrals, including submission, follow-up, liaison with hospitals and other healthcare services, and responding to referral-related queries.

The role will also involve supporting GPs and the wider clinical team with day-to-day administration, processing correspondence and death notifications, managing private and non-NHS work such as insurance reports, DVLA requests and private letters, and following up outstanding information and actions.

About us

Beech Tree Surgery is a busy GP practice serving patients across Selby and the surrounding area. We have a multidisciplinary team of clinical, administrative and reception staff working together to provide high-quality patient care.

Our administration team is a key part of the practice and works closely with GPs and the wider clinical team to ensure that referrals, correspondence and other patient-related administration are managed effectively.

Our practice values are Transparency, Kindness, Quality and Integrity. These values underpin how we work with our patients and with each other, and we aim to provide a supportive working environment where everyone understands the importance of their contribution to patient care.

We are keen to develop and improve the way we work and value team members who are organised, approachable, willing to take responsibility and able to work collaboratively as part of the wider practice.

Job description

Job responsibilities

The Medical Secretary is a key member of the practice administration team, providing comprehensive secretarial and administrative support to the clinical team and helping to ensure that information, referrals and other patient-related administration are processed accurately, efficiently and safely.

The administration team acts as an important link between patients, clinicians, hospitals, community services and other external organisations. The postholder will be expected to take ownership of their workload, follow tasks through to completion and ensure that outstanding actions are identified and progressed appropriately.

Referrals and Secretarial Work

A significant part of the Medical Secretary role involves the processing, management and follow-up of patient referrals. This is a substantial area of workload within the practice and requires a high level of accuracy, organisation and attention to detail.

Responsibilities will include

• Processing referrals following requests from GPs and other clinicians.
• Preparing and submitting referrals using appropriate electronic referral systems.
• Ensuring that relevant information and supporting documentation are included.
• Managing referrals that are returned, rejected or require further information.
• Liaising with clinicians where additional information or action is required.
• Liaising with hospitals, community services and other healthcare providers.
• Responding to patient queries regarding the administrative progress of their referral.
• Ensuring referral-related correspondence, actions and outcomes are accurately recorded within the patient record.
• Running regular referral searches to support audit, monitoring and safety-netting.
• Reviewing referral searches to identify outstanding actions, potential delays, rejected or returned referrals and other referrals that may require further review or follow-up.
• Supporting referral audits to help ensure referrals have been processed appropriately and expected actions have been completed.
• Escalating concerns, delays or potential safety-netting issues appropriately.

Supporting the Clinical Team

Providing effective administrative support to our GPs and wider clinical team is an important part of this role.

The postholder will

• Provide day-to-day administrative support to GPs and other members of the clinical team.
• Process administrative requests arising from patient care.
• Obtain and follow up information required by clinicians.
• Liaise with hospitals, community teams and other healthcare organisations on behalf of the clinical team.
• Process correspondence and documentation requiring clinical input.
• Progress appropriate non-clinical actions on behalf of clinicians.
• Ensure outstanding administrative work is followed through appropriately.
• Recognise when an issue requires clinical input and direct this to the appropriate clinician.
• Help reduce avoidable administrative workload for clinicians by taking ownership of appropriate non-clinical tasks.

General Administrative Duties

The Medical Secretary will undertake a range of wider administrative duties necessary for the effective running of the practice, including:

• Processing death notifications and associated documentation and administrative actions.
• Managing incoming and outgoing correspondence.
• Updating patient records accurately.
• Processing forms, letters and other documentation.
• Following up outstanding information and correspondence.
• Liaising with patients and external organisations.
• Supporting administrative workflows across the practice.
• Identifying outstanding actions and ensuring these are progressed appropriately.
• Escalating potentially urgent issues or concerns to the appropriate person.
• Providing general administrative support to the practice where required.

Private and Non-NHS Work

The postholder will support the processing and management of private and non-NHS administrative work, including:

• Insurance reports and requests.
• Benefits-related reports and supporting information.
• DVLA requests.
• Private letters and reports.
• Travel cancellation documentation.
• Fit-to-fly and other travel-related requests.
• Other private forms, reports and administrative requests.

The Medical Secretary will help manage these requests from receipt through to completion, ensuring that relevant information is available, obtaining clinical input where required, monitoring outstanding work and communicating with patients or requesting organisations as appropriate.

Patient Administrative Queries

The Medical Secretary will have regular direct contact with patients and must be confident and professional when communicating by telephone.

The postholder will

• Respond to telephone enquiries relating to administrative matters.
• Provide appropriate updates regarding referrals.
• Respond to queries regarding reports, forms, letters, correspondence and other documentation.
• Explain administrative processes and next steps clearly to patients.
• Contact patients when additional information is required.
• Communicate sensitively and professionally, including when dealing with difficult or potentially challenging enquiries.
• Recognise when a query should be passed to reception, a clinician or another appropriate member of the practice team.

Working as Part of the Practice Team

The postholder will

• Work collaboratively with colleagues across the administration team and wider practice.
• Develop effective working relationships with GPs, clinicians, reception colleagues and management.
• Take responsibility for allocated work and follow tasks through to completion.
• Prioritise their workload appropriately, taking account of urgency and patient need.
• Support colleagues during periods of absence or increased workload.
• Maintain patient confidentiality and handle information appropriately at all times.
• Work in accordance with practice policies, procedures and information governance requirements.
• Contribute to the ongoing review and improvement of administrative processes.
• Participate in audit and monitoring activity, including referral searches designed to identify outstanding work and support effective safety-netting.
• Raise concerns or identify areas where administrative processes could be improved.

Our Practice Values

All members of the team are expected to demonstrate our practice values in their day-to-day work:

• Transparency: communicating openly and clearly, keeping patients and colleagues appropriately informed and raising concerns when they arise.
• Kindness: treating patients, colleagues and others with patience, understanding and respect.
• Quality: taking pride in producing accurate, timely and reliable work and contributing to improvements in the service we provide.
• Integrity: acting professionally and honestly, maintaining confidentiality, taking responsibility for our actions and doing the right thing for our patients and the practice.

For the Medical Secretary, these values are particularly important given the responsibility involved in managing referrals, confidential patient information, communication with patients and providing dependable support to the clinical team.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Previous experience working in a busy administrative or secretarial role.
• Experience managing a varied workload and working to deadlines.
• Experience dealing with confidential or sensitive information.
• Experience communicating with members of the public by telephone.

Desirable

• Previous experience working in general practice, primary care or the NHS.
• Previous medical secretarial experience.
• Experience processing or managing patient referrals.
• Experience liaising with hospitals, community services or other healthcare providers.
• Experience processing reports, forms or other private/non-NHS work.
• Experience using a clinical system such as SystmOne.

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to prioritise competing demands.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to producing accurate work.
• Confident and professional telephone manner.
• Good written communication skills.
• Confident using IT systems and able to learn new systems and processes.
• Ability to take ownership of tasks and follow work through to completion.
• Ability to identify outstanding actions and follow these up appropriately.
• Ability to recognise when an issue or concern needs to be escalated.
• Ability to work independently while also contributing effectively as part of a team.
• Understanding of confidentiality and the importance of appropriately handling patient information.

Desirable

• Knowledge of referral pathways and NHS referral processes.
• Understanding of referral safety-netting and the importance of following up outstanding actions.
• Experience running searches, reports or audits to identify outstanding work.
• Knowledge of medical terminology.

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

Beech Tree Surgery

Address

68 Doncaster Road

Selby

YO8 9AJ

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.beechtreesurgery.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)