BESS PA Consultant Secretary

As University Hospitals Dorset we are a three site acute trust with 'university hospital' status through our partnership with Bournemouth University, working with an annual budget of £730m.

We offer highly regarded health services, employing some 10,000 staff. Our ambitious £500m transformation programme is well on the way to delivering state-of-the-art facilities over the next two years to meet the current and future healthcare needs of the populations we serve.

In an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with over seven miles of sandy beaches you'll find inspirational opportunities to achieve your perfect work/life balance. With the New Forest and the Purbecks on our doorstep, we're also less than three hours from London by road or train. The thriving towns of Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch give way to idyllic villages and unspoilt landscapes just minutes from our hospitals.

We believe that having a diverse workforce, and allowing people to be themselves, is essential in ensuring we offer an inclusive, welcoming and productive place to work.

We especially welcome applications from minority groups in the community who may be underrepresented in our workforce.

At UHD our active staff network groups are the Women's Network, Black Asian Minority Ethnic Group (BAME), Pride Network, European (EU), Pro Ability Staff Network, and the Armed Forces Support Group.

As a Trust we are proudly signed up to the Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant guaranteed interview schemes.

We are aware that some candidates may choose to use AI tools to support the preparation of their application. While this is not discouraged, we kindly remind applicants that submissions should remain an honest and accurate representation of your own experience and suitability. Personal integrity is an important part of the recruitment process.

Job overview

We are looking for an experienced secretary to join the BESS Secretarial team. This role offers excellent opportunities for an enthusiastic and conscientious person to provide a comprehensive medical secretarial service to consultants, junior medical and specialist nursing staff in an efficient and timely manner, assisting in the organisation of their workload and contributing to the overall success of the service.

The ideal candidate must have a good knowledge of office practices and medical terminology alongside excellent interpersonal skills and be reliable and flexible with the ability to work under pressure and above all be a team player.

Interview: TBD

Main duties of the job

Providing a full support service to BESS Consultants and Clinical Nursing team, to include - diary management, clinic management, note taking, MDT meetings, tracking patient results and booking appointments, inputting on to hospital systems to maintain complete patient records and follow up investigations etc.

Managing patient results / investigations

TEAMS

Post & referrals

RTT management

Working for our organisation

UHD are investing, developing and transforming Trust services in line with the New Hospital Programme. As part of this, some services may move site this year or next, either temporarily or permanently. Recruiting Managers will be happy to answer any service-specific questions at interview.

This service has a planned move from Royal Bournemouthsite to Poole site 2027.

If a role or service relocates as part of a planned move, excess mileage will not be reimbursed. Travel from home to the new work base will be classed as a normal commute. Any other changes will be managed under Trust or national terms and conditions.

UHD has active networks including Women's, BAME, Pride, EU, Pro Ability, and Armed Forces. We support Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant interview schemes.

AI tools may be used, but applications must honestly reflect your own skills and experience. Integrity is key to our recruitment process.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Supporting consultants and clinical nursing team providing an efficient secretarial service. This will involve the typing of clinical correspondence i.e. MDT minutes, clinic letters, reports, operation letters etc, using audio/Digital Dictation.
• Clinics - maintain and ensure full clinic capacity at all times and ensure cancellations are done within the SOP timeframe
• To be aware of RTT (Referral to Treatment) pathways to adjust patient referral to treatment clock according to the treatment plan, liaising with validator as necessary.
• Tracking/filing patient results as directed by the clinician/consultant s in line with Health Records filing policy.
• PA Inbox
• Photocopying and general filing to include correspondence, results in hospital notes when required.
• Dealing with out-going post.
• Answering telephone queries in an appropriate manner.
• Understand and be proactive in managing RTT (Referral to Treatment) pathways and highlight any potential issues to prevent breaches. This includes ensuring that follow up appointments following diagnostics are dealt with immediately to avoid any unnecessary delays within the patient pathway to meet national targets.
• Prepare an adequate instruction daily work sheet to be used in the post holder's absence.
• Maintain confidentiality at all times. Deal with confidential sensitive information about patients. Adhere to policies and statutory Health and Safety requirement of the University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust.
• To maintain patient safety through rigorous and consistent compliance with Trust policies for the prevention and control of infection, including hand hygiene. To undertake appropriate mandatory training and updates in infection prevention and control.
• To provide the support for the development and training of secretarial and admin staff within your team

Person specification Qualifications

• RSA II or equivalent touch typing/computer skills
• Minimum 5 GCSE's including English or equivalent
• Computer Qualification
• NVQ Level 2 in Business Administration or relevant experience

Experience

• Secretarial Experience
• Experience working with MS Teams
• NHS medical secretary experience
• Working with people
• UHD Experience
• Good verbal and written skills (attention to detail)

Technical Skills

• Good knowledge of IT systems and software
• Outlook/Word/Excel/Teams/PowerPoint
• Data accuracy on computer systems
• Experience of hospital systems (eCamis/EPR/Teams)

Knowledge

• Understanding of secretarial procedures
• Medical Terminology
• Understanding of Confidentiality and Data Protection Act

Please note:

Staff recruited are expected to be available to work flexibly across all our Trust locations to meet service demands.

This advert may be closed early if sufficient applications are received.

COVID-19 vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself and our patients from the virus when working in our healthcare settings. Whilst this vaccination is not a condition of employment we do encourage our staff to get vaccinated.

Internal Candidates: staff employed prior to merger who voluntarily change jobs will be appointed to UHD terms and conditions.

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