Full Time Medical Secretary jobs in Bedfordshire

The post holder will provide a comprehensive and specialist medical secretarial service to consultants, specialist nurses and other clinicians within the Gastroenterology and Hepatology team. The post holder will have significant responsibility for independently coordinating and monitoring clinical administrative processes and patient pathways.

Main Duties of the Job

Act as a central point of contact for patients, relatives, clinicians, specialist nurses and external organisations, managing a wide range of enquiries professionally and sensitively.

Provide high-quality secretarial support, including audio typing and processing clinical correspondence using digital dictation systems .

Prepare agendas, attend meetings, take minutes and follow up

Coordinate administrative actions arising from outpatient clinics, ensuring appointments, investigations, referrals, waiting list actions and follow-up arrangements are completed accurately and within agreed timescales.

Monitor patient pathways, including cancer and 18-week RTT targets, identifying delays and escalating concerns where appropriate.

Track outstanding investigations and diagnostic results, ensuring relevant information is brought to the attention of clinicians in a timely manner.

Support the planning, booking, cancellation and reconfiguration of outpatient clinics, working closely with booking teams and clinical departments.

Maintain accurate patient records and ensure documentation is appropriately scanned, uploaded and managed in line with information governance requirements

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides hospital services to a growing population of around 700,000 people living across Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas across two busy hospital sites in Bedford and Luton. Both hospital sites offer key services such as A&E, Obstetrics-led Maternity and Paediatrics. You will be joining a friendly, high performing Trust committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff. As one of the largest NHS Trusts in our region you will have access to a programme of high quality training and development to help you grow your career. The Trust continues to be committed to delivering the best patient care using the best clinical knowledge and technology available.

Our values

We not only recruit based on qualifications and experience - we recruit individuals who demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. We achieve this by using values based recruitment. We are dedicated to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone, we are committed to promoting equality and diversity, and creating a culture that values differences.

Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date when sufficient number of applications have been received. All new staff will be subject to a probationary period covering first 6 months in post. Travel between hospital sites may be required. Please review all documents attached to ensure you familiarize yourself with all requirements of the job

The Job Description and Person Specification are attached to this job, please review for the full details and responsibilities

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Act as a key point of contact for patients, relatives, consultants, specialist nurses, clinicians, allied health professionals and external organisations. Independently manage electronic, telephone and written enquiries, including sensitive, confidential, difficult or distressing information, using tact, discretion and developed knowledge of the services to establish the nature of the enquiry and determine the appropriate course of action. Resolve enquiries wherever possible and ensure matters requiring clinical or managerial input are escalated appropriately and followed through to an outcome.

2. Independently sort, assess, prioritise and distribute incoming correspondence, including electronic mail, according to clinical urgency, patient need, service requirements and agreed timescales. Use judgement to determine which matters require immediate action, which can be dealt with directly and which require referral to the appropriate clinician, department or external organisation.

3. Audio type clinic letters, reports and other clinical correspondence dictated through the Big Hand system, ensuring accuracy, confidentiality and timely completion. Monitor consultant amendments and approvals, identify outstanding correspondence and take appropriate action to ensure letters are completed and communicated within agreed timescales.

4. Independently monitor and coordinate administrative actions arising from outpatient clinics. This includes ensuring that follow-up appointments, investigations, referrals, discharges, waiting lists, cancellations and other actions identified by clinicians are appropriately processed and completed.

5. Maintain oversight of outstanding investigations and clinical information, including blood tests, histopathology, MRI scans, X-rays, imaging and other diagnostic investigations. Identify delays, discrepancies or outstanding actions. Ensure significant or clinically relevant issues are brought to the attention of the appropriate clinician without unnecessary delay.