Medical Secretary in London

Hook Surgery is a busy, friendly GP training practice caring for approximately 7,500 patients. Our clinical team includes three GP Partners, salaried GPs and a wider multidisciplinary team, supported by a dedicated and hardworking administrative team. We are looking for an experienced, enthusiastic and highly organised Medical Secretary to join our supportive team on a maternity cover basis. This is an important role within the practice, providing high-quality secretarial and referral support to our GPs and wider clinical team. The successful candidate will play a key role in ensuring referrals and clinical correspondence are processed accurately, efficiently and within appropriate timescales.

Main duties of the job

• Processing and monitoring patient referrals
• Managing clinical correspondence and hospital letters
• Making referrals through e-RS
• Managing Advice and Guidance requests
• Liaising with patients, GPs, hospitals, consultants and other healthcare professionals
• Monitoring referral pathways and following up outstanding referrals
• Supporting clinicians with administrative and secretarial tasks
• Maintaining accurate and confidential patient records
• Working as part of the wider administrative and clinical team

You will be joining a friendly and supportive team where your contribution is valued. As a GP training practice, we are committed to providing high-quality patient care while supporting the development of our staff and maintaining a positive working environment. If you are an experienced Medical Secretary looking for an opportunity to join a busy but friendly practice and have the skills and knowledge required for this role, we would love to hear from you.

Job responsibilities

The successful candidate will provide an efficient medical secretarial and referral service to the GPs and wider clinical team. The role will involve processing referrals, managing clinical correspondence, liaising with hospitals and other healthcare professionals, and supporting clinicians with administrative tasks. The post holder will need to be confident using EMIS Web and the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS) and have excellent attention to detail.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Process routine, urgent and two-week-wait referrals accurately and within required timescales.
• Create, book and monitor referrals using NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS).
• Monitor e-RS worklists and follow up outstanding, rejected or incomplete referrals.
• Process incoming hospital letters, discharge summaries and other clinical correspondence through EMIS Web.
• Ensure correspondence requiring clinical action is appropriately directed to the relevant clinician.
• Prepare referral letters and other clinical documentation.
• Liaise with hospitals, consultants, community services and other healthcare providers.
• Deal with patient queries relating to referrals and appointments in a professional and sensitive manner.
• Maintain accurate patient records and ensure information is recorded appropriately on EMIS Web.
• Maintain strict confidentiality and comply with GDPR, information governance and practice policies.
• Prioritise workload according to clinical urgency and deadlines.
• Support the wider practice team with general administrative and secretarial duties.
• Participate in practice training, meetings and quality improvement activities as required.

About the Candidate

We are looking for someone who is:

• Experienced in a medical secretary or healthcare administration role.
• Ideally experienced within a GP practice or NHS setting.
• Confident using EMIS Web and NHS e-RS.
• Highly organised with excellent attention to detail.
• Able to manage a busy workload and competing priorities.
• A confident and professional communicator.
• Able to work independently whilst also being an effective team member.
• Patient-focused, approachable and compassionate.
• Reliable, flexible and able to remain calm under pressure.
• Committed to confidentiality and high standards of patient care.

Person Specification

• Experience in medical secretarial/healthcare administration
• Experience using EMIS Web
• Experience using NHS e-Referral Service
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent organisational and time-management skills
• Good general IT skills and Microsoft Office
• High level of accuracy and attention to detail
• Able to work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team
• Understanding of patient confidentiality and GDPR
• Professional, reliable, flexible, approachable and patient-focused
• Commitment to continuous improvement

The successful candidate will be required to complete relevant mandatory training, including information governance and safeguarding, and comply with all Hook Surgery policies and procedures. This post is subject to the appropriate pre-employment checks, including references and right-to-work verification.

Qualifications

• Good standard of general education.
• Willingness to undertake mandatory and role-specific training.
• Medical Secretarial qualification or equivalent experience.
• NHS or GP practice administration training.

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.