Senior Secretary

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South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust is one of the top performing organisations within the NHS. Our staff think this is a great place to work and we hope you will agree. We have recently been rated as 'Outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following our most recent inspection.

We provide services across Warwickshire and beyond ranging from Hospitals in Warwick, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Royal Leamington Spa and Shipston-on Stour to Community Services across the whole county. This includes our Community Teams in North Warwickshire.

We are a progressive, expanding organisation with great ambition around improving quality, integrating pathways and delivering high levels of productivity. Over 6000 people work for the Trust and many of them have been here a long time. People find they don't need to go elsewhere to find a fulfilling career in healthcare.

The first thing you will notice about us is how we take our values seriously. We believe that our values underpin everything we do. If you are interested in a role with us you need to make sure our values match your own.

Our values can be summed up in one sentence. We are 'Trusted to provide inclusive, safe, effective and compassionate care'. Throughout the recruitment process you will be asked to think about how you demonstrate these values and how they impact on your work. It doesn't matter what role you do, whether it is patient facing or not, we are all working in the same way with our values at the core.

Probationary Period

All new staff to the Trust will be subject to a standard 6 month probationary period, the details of which will duly follow in your contract of employment.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust is committed to creating and sustaining a positive and inclusive working environment for all our employees. Our aim is to ensure that employees are equally valued and respected and that our organisation is representative of all members of society. We define diversity as valuing everyone as an individual - we value our employees, job applicants, students, patients and visitors as people. This is reflected within our values of being Inclusive, Safe, Effective, Compassionate and Trusted.

Agile and Flexible Working

All our staff will have a work base. However the Trust operates as an Agile Working Team therefore staff may be working from home on a regular basis as required by the service. However, occasionally travel around Warwickshire and into your base will be required so access to your own transport would be helpful.

The Trust also welcome staff to work flexibly and we would welcome the conversation at interview regarding flexible working.

Staff Benefits

The Trust offer a wide range of additional benefits to staff. Anyone who joins us on a substantive basis can assess things such as the Lease Car Scheme, Electronics Scheme, Discounted Leisure and Travel, Cycle to work scheme amongst many others available.

Car Parking

The Trust have recently completed the construction of a multi-storey car park at our Warwick Hospital site which has allowed us to reduce waiting times for car parking passes.

To keep up to date on our latest recruitment activity follow us on twitter @swftrecruit or look us up on Facebook (Recruitment - South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust).

Job overview

We are looking for an experienced senior secretary to work with the Hospital Specialist Palliative Care Team and support the Clinical Director.

The Hospital Specialist Palliative Care Team is a busy team based in Warwick Hospital. The ideal candidate will have previous experience within a senior secretarial role, confident and proficient in using MS office applications.

You will be personable and dedicated to the role with outstanding attention to detail, comfortable with a challenging and variable workload. You will be able to work autonomously within a team and willing to provide support to the team as required. You will have a flexible approach to your work. Experience of the NHS is desirable, but not essential.

For informal queries please contact: Angela Wilson, Hospital Specialist Palliative Care Lead Nurse on 01926 495321.

Main duties of the job

To provide a specialised, comprehensive and confidential patient-centred clinical administration and secretarial service to consultants and their teams in accordance with Departmental, Trust and National standards, policies and procedures. To act as a source of advice and guidance regarding the specialty.

To have an understanding on the importance/relevance of how to co-ordinate the management of the elective and/or emergency pathways to include Cancer, Referral to Treatment Targets (RTT) and Choose & Book and Co-ordinate Specialist Palliative Care Multi-Disciplinary Team Meeting. Ensuring the role is deputised when taking planned absence.

To co-ordinate the delivery of a specialty specific single point of access for patients.

Working for our organisation

Come and join a Trust rated Outstanding by the CQC. South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust have been rated as outstanding following our latest inspection by the CQC and we are recruiting new staff to come and help us improve even further. In addition our staff survey results have placed us 4th in the country for recommended place to work.

We provide services across Warwickshire and beyond ranging from Hospitals in Warwick, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Royal Leamington Spa and Shipston-on Stour to Community Services across the county. We are a progressive, expanding organisation with great ambition around improving quality, integrating pathways and delivering high levels of productivity.

Our values can be summed up in one sentence. We are 'Trusted to provide safe, inclusive, effective and compassionate care'. Throughout the recruitment process you will be asked to think about how you demonstrate these values and how they impact on your work. It doesn't matter what role you do, whether it is patient facing or not, we are all working in the same way with our values at the core.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities
• To ensure that all clinical documentation is up to date, in an orderly fashion and available whenever clinical decisions are being made, reporting exceptional circumstances where necessary. This will require effective collaboration with all relevant personnel to maintain an efficient administrative system, prompt transcription, manipulation and distribution of appropriate correspondence.
• To request patient appointments (new and follow-up), liaising with the appropriate department.
• To act as a senior point of contact to ensure all enquiries are effectively managed and successfully resolved within a prompt timescale, ensuring all relevant personnel are informed as necessary and an appropriate record is maintained.
• To liaise professionally with all departments regarding admissions, waiting lists, ad hoc ward attenders and cancellations, ensuring hospital policies are adhered to.
• Have an understanding about how to update and maintain the 18wk RTT Status Manager to ensure accurate record keeping at all times. To complete ITT forms as required according to the Standard Operating Procedure.
• To co-operate in the introduction of new procedures, policies or technology, including any technology associated with the Patient Administration System, and assisting team leaders in its implementation.
• To set up and maintain electronic filing systems ensuring all documents are accurately and appropriately archived. To take responsibility for patients' written information. To implement secretarial and administrative policies to track medical records using Lorenzo/Emis.
• To take responsibility of patient electronic records and ensure data is relevant, up to date and accurate, logging data where necessary.
• To obtain investigation results and exercise judgement to ensure that attention is urgently drawn to histology and urgent telephoned results and all results are filed in the patients' records as set out in the Standard Operating Procedure.
• To compile and maintain up-to-date secretarial job plan/cover folder for the secretarial team.
• To open promptly and deal with appropriately any email correspondence.
• To action all routine, urgent and complex leave requests for the medical staff promptly in accordance with Trust Policy including completing the electronic session cancellation form and forwarding to the appropriate person within the given timescale.
• To maintain up-to-date timetables for the Consultants as and when required and provide appropriate secretarial support.
• Arrange meetings, composing and transcribing minutes proactively ensuring action points are raised and completed where necessary, and liaising with the Medical School/Medical Students as and when required. When appropriate re-arranging meetings to ensure that key stakeholders are present, with an understanding of clinical and managerial responsibilities of those needing to attend.
• Maintain accurate contact lists for regular meetings ensuring attendees are added and deleted as appropriate. In addition, monitor meeting attendance to ensure quorate is maintained. Manage changes to core meetings with clear communication to key stakeholders as to reasons why.
• To ensure all secretarial team timesheets are accurate and up to date on a monthly basis, including flexible working.
• To approve annual leave for the secretarial team electronically ensuring the office is covered during working hours.
• To participate in the recruitment and selection of new team members and organise their departmental induction.
• To support team members by demonstrating and explaining Departmental practices and procedures; undertaking appropriate training and development with new and existing staff ensuring high standards of practice are always maintained and providing day to day supervision where required.
• To provide accurate, appropriate signposting to team members and to those who contact the team. Ensure that policies, procedures and guidelines accurately reflect the current operational/strategic situation.
• To undertake appropriate administrative role required by the team to enable timely delivery of projects/deadlines.
• To receive calls to the team ensuring that callers are provided with clear and accurate information.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Able to demonstrate good basic education.
• English language pass GCSE
• RSA/OCR level III or equivalent speed and accuracy.
• AMSPAR or equivalent training / experience (minimum 2 years Medical secretary experience)

Desirable criteria

• Experience of Excel and PowerPoint and other Microsoft suite products

Experience

Essential criteria

• Previous involvement in delivery of service improvements.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office

Desirable criteria

• Working knowledge of Lorenzo/EMIS/ICR or equivalent system

Skills

Essential criteria

• Excellent communication skills.
• Friendly and professional telephone manner
• Good typing skills.
• Ability to influence and engage others both at peer and a senior level.
• Good organisational skills and ability to prioritise tasks.
• Demonstrates potential to be able to work under pressure.
• Demonstrate understanding of patient confidentiality

Personal Qualities

Essential criteria

• Able to respond effectively to working alone or in a team.
• Ability to deal with distressing situations patients/relatives.
• Ability to use initiative.
• To be able to adapt to change.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Sometimes we get a lot of applications for our roles. On those occasions we might close the job early. If you don't want to miss out we recommend submitting your application as early as possible.

The Trust use an Applicant Management System called TRAC which helps us manage the recruitment process. All communications regarding your application will come via TRAC (even if you applied via NHS Jobs).

Please check your TRAC account regularly and ensure your email is set up to accept messages so they don't go into your junk/spam folder.

We aim to shortlist all vacancies within 2 days of the vacancy closing, we will get back to all candidates ASAP.

Please ensure all sections of the application form are completed fully. Please particularly ensure that you provide full details of all referees including business email address, telephone contact details and postal address.

South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust is an equal opportunities employer who is committed to Equality and Diversity and does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the grounds of any protected characteristic as defined by the Equality Act 2010.

All South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust sites are smoke free. We feel it's a great way to help our patients, visitors and staff stay healthy.

The Trust is part of a 'Foundation Group' through a strategic alliance with Wye Valley NHS Trust, George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. This partnership is great for the sustainability of all four organisations and allows us to share learning and maximise opportunities to ensure the delivery of high quality health and care services for our local populations.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Documents to download

• Band 4 Senior Secretary Job Description (PDF, 160.6KB)
• Person Specification Band 4 Senior Secretary (PDF, 56.7KB)
• Occupational Health Functional Requirements Form (PDF, 207.6KB)