Medical Secretary

At Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC), we provide joined-up mental health, physical health and learning disability services to people of all ages across Gloucestershire. We run community hospitals and provide care and support in people's own homes and in a range of other locations across the county.
We are on a mission to enable people to live the best life they can and we have a vision to work together to provide outstanding care. We put people at the heart of our services, focusing on personalised care by asking 'what matters to you'.
We're passionate about making sure that everyone can contribute to achieving our mission and we are continually working to support healthy and happy high-quality teams in all areas of the Trust.
Our application process aims to understand each candidates knowledge, skills and experience. We have found that candidates that use AI to generate their answers can lack specificity and fail to address key criteria outlined in the job description.
It is really important to personalise your application to convey your individual skills, knowledge, and experiences effectively and for us to understand why you are applying for this role with GHC. We discourage over reliance on AI-generated as it will lessen your chances of success in securing an interview with us .,

• Internal applicants who wish to be considered for a secondment opportunity should discuss with their line manager the suitability of a possible secondment

We have an exciting opportunity for a Medical Secretary to cover maternity leave in the Perinatal Mental Health Team at Pullman Place.
Relevant secretarial experience is essential as the environment is fast-paced requiring a broad knowledge of medical terminology, RSA II/OCR II Word Processing/Typing and audio typing experience. You will work as part of a committed supportive team and be able to deal confidently and professionally with colleagues, GP surgeries and patients, maintaining confidentiality at all times.
You should have a friendly, positive, problem solving approach, be self-motivated, willing to learn and enjoy using your own initiative, within the remit of the post. You will need to be an excellent team player with the ability to adapt to various tasks according to service needs. As well as good verbal, written and numerical skills, you must be able to prioritise and organise your own workload well, and be able to work effectively and efficiently., The main Duties of the role will be to:
To provide a full confidential, administrative and secretarial service to Consultants and their Specialist Registrar / Senior House Officer
To work as a member of the secretarial team ensuring deadlines are met and adequate secretarial cover is provided
To project the professional image of the business through demonstrating excellent customer care in all activities.,
• To be the first point of contact for the Consultant and the Medical Team. Managing enquiries from patients, carers and professionals; providing non-clinical help and advice; and utilising experience and knowledge to identify when urgent action may be required by the Consultant or Medical Team.


• To respond sensitively to patients, showing empathy and recognising that they may sometimes be distressed or upset. The post holder has direct contact with relatives and carers and needs to demonstrate tact and diplomacy.


• To plan and organise clinics in order to meet fluctuations in capacity and demand. This will involve patients being seen in the community.


• To co-ordinate the provision of meetings, as needed to support multi-agency working (e.g. Mental Health Act Tribunals)


• To ensure all documentation/records are made available in advance of clinics as required.


• To use the relevant systems to book new and follow-up clinic appointments.


• Provide timely and accurate typing from audio/Digital Dictation tapes of all patient related correspondence following: outpatient appointments; in-patient admissions; or as a result of multi-disciplinary meetings. This includes written correspondence with General Practitioners, involving the accurate transcription of detailed and sometimes complex medical information that may be of a sensitive nature.


• Managing the Consultant/Medical Team diaries effectively and efficiently, including organisation of annual leave.


• Notifying other Consultants of the absence of a Consultant in order to ensure there is adequate medical cover; notifying in a timely manner regarding any adjustments needed to the Consultant / Specialist Registrar on-call rotas.


• Support the process for reimbursement of expenses incurred by the Consultant and their team (e.g. courses and travel arrangements).


• Carry out searches and provide statistical information for the Consultant and Medical Team.


• Maintain service delivery of the Medical Secretariat by assisting colleagues, within the Perinatal Team, during their absence or with peaks of work.


• Organise and facilitate meetings / training events etc. through the creation and distribution of agendas and papers, arranging dates, venues, and refreshments if required, including minute-taking.


• Support the process for admissions to hospital units, using current approved protocols.


• Support the Referral process into the Clinical Team.


• Adhere to all Trust policies, paying particular regard to the Information Governance and Data Protection Policies.


• Effective use of the Trust's Patient Information System (RIO), with robust updating and recording of accurate data. Good understanding of RiO pathways and admin responsibilities, ensuring effective/timely delegation of tasks.


• Open, record, date stamp and effectively manage and distribute all incoming and outgoing post in order to ensure effective communications for the department.


• Support work associated with the individual responsibilities of the Consultant - which may include their roles as Clinical Lead, Programme Director, Research Supervisor


• Pro-actively manages completion of statutory & mandatory training and appraisals to ensure 100% compliance.


• Contribute ideas and suggestions to improve the effectiveness and image of the Medical Secretariat.


• Actively participate in team meetings and discussions with colleagues and manager to make constructive suggestions as to how services could be improved within own work area, and implementing such changes with guidance from line manager


• Act in ways that; support equality and value diversity. Treat everyone with whom you come into contact, with dignity and respect, and recognise and report behaviour that undermines equality and diversity.

When joining us, as well as becoming part of a team that makes a difference, we also offer:
+ Free car parking at many of our sites
+ 27 days leave plus bank holidays, increasing up to 33 days with long service
+ A broad range of training and development opportunities, including apprenticeships up to Level 7 qualification.
+ A multi-professional preceptorship programme for all Newly Qualified; Nurses, Nursing Associates, Internationally Educated Practitioners, Allied Health Professionals and Return to Practice Practitioners.
+ Generous NHS pension and enhanced pay when if you work unsocial hours
+ Flexible, family friendly and agile working opportunities
+ Recognition and long service awards
+ Fast Track physiotherapy
+ Our Wellbeing line
+ Access to discounts and salary sacrifice schemes; including Cycle to Work, Car scheme and discounts on travel, leisure and retailers.
Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date. Good luck with your application.
For more information please see the attached 'Additional Information for Applicants' document.
Salary Update
With effect from 1 April 2024, there is a 5.5 per cent consolidated uplift for all Agenda for Change (AfC) staff on NHS terms and conditions. This may change the salary that is advertised on this advert.
The national NHS Employers team are working through the processes required to implement the recently announced new Agenda for Change pay award for 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025. The related national Pay Advisory Notice (which confirms the details including dates) is yet to be issued to employers.
If there is any further information, we will ensure you are updated accordingly.

We have in excess of 5000 staff working over 50 sites, providing a diverse range of services. We strive to support an organisational culture that is welcoming, builds and celebrates inclusivity and diversity and provides a sense of belonging and trust.
The annual NHS Staff Survey gives our people the opportunity to tell us about their experience working at the Trust. For the 2023 survey just over 2800 colleagues gave us their views (58.5%). It was great to see from the results that colleagues are saying that:
+ 89.7% believe they are making a positive difference to patients/service users;
+ 73.3% would recommend the organisation as a place to work;
+ 82.4% agree that care of patients and service users is the organisations priority;
+ 76.7% would be happy with the standard of care for a friend or relative
Our results put us as 5th nationally as a Community, Mental Health and Learning Disabilities NHS Employer of Choice and 1st equal amongst all NHS Provider Trusts in the South West. However, we know we have more to do and will continue to drive forward our commitment to making GHC a Great Place to Work.