Clinical Support Secretary - RAEI in Wigan

We currently have an opportunity for a suitably experienced secretary to join our team of Clinical Support Secretaries within our Medical Secretariat, working with the Fractures team. The available position is for 32 hours per week, based at our Wigan Site. This interesting and varied role requires the ability to work well on your own initiative whilst being committed to teamwork to ensure work is completed to meet Trust targets. You must possess the ability to manage a variety of tasks and prioritise these accordingly whilst working under pressure. Good communication skills and the ability to deal with confidential and sensitive issues in a professional manner are essential.

This vacancy is advertised on a fixed term basis due to departmental developments and will end in 12 months or when the substantive postholder returns. Whilst this post is advertised on an acting/secondment basis there is the potential that this post may become permanent in the future.

• You will be working in a busy environment within the ‘virtual’ Clinical Secretary pool within a small team to designated specialties.
• You will be providing an efficient audio typing service using our Digital Dictation System, together with our existing Patient Information Systems.
• You will support our Consultant PAs, ensuring that patient and GP correspondence is typed and dispatched within a timely manner.
• To be successful in this role you will need to be qualified to RSA III or equivalent or have a proven experience of audio-typing and providing a secretarial/audio-typing service.
• You will also need to be able to type accurately at speeds of around 40 – 50 words per minute.
• Having knowledge of medical terminology and/or an AMSPAR qualification will be a distinct advantage.
• Previous secretarial experience within a hospital or other medical environment would also be a distinct advantage.

This role is ideal for those wishing to pursue a career as a medical secretary, offering opportunities to gain knowledge and experience across multiple specialties to facilitate progression to a higher level.

Working for our organisation, Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are the proud providers of acute hospital and community services to the people of the Wigan Borough and surrounding areas. At WWL, we value our staff believing that ‘happy staff makes for happy patients’. We have a recognised track record in staff engagement and living our values. WWL are committed to placing the patient at the heart of everything we do, and in the provision of safe, effective care that acknowledges and ensures dignity. With this in mind, we are seeking to recruit people who share our values and beliefs.

• Audio typing using the Digital Dictation System, photocopying and the composition of letters.
• Sorting, prioritising, processing and distribution of incoming mail, using judgement and experience to decide which documents are to be passed directly to other areas for action and information.
• Ensuring accurate and up-to-date inputting of information onto all Trust patient systems (PAS, ORMIS, EPR, Digital Dictation).
• General office management duties (photocopying, scanning, emailing documentation) as required.
• Assist other Clinical Secretaries with their workload.
• Promote the dissemination of quality patient information.
• Provide non-clinical advice and information to patients/clients/relatives.
• Knowledge of a full range of secretarial procedures and software programmes (PAS, theatre, EPR, digital dictation) and their application to improve service efficiency and effectiveness.
• Understanding of medical terminology and a willingness to assist colleagues with transcription outputs.
• Exercise judgement when dealing with patient enquiries, analysing and resolving problems at source.
• Assist in new staff induction together with the identification and support of their training requirements.
• Facilitate a supportive learning environment that enables all members of the secretariat team to develop.
• Recognise the effective utilisation of all appropriate development resources and opportunities.
• Promote the ethos of continuous improvement disseminating any new knowledge gained to other colleagues.
• Recognise and accept responsibility for own personal development.
• Supervising administration support and work experience students ensuring an effective office system is maintained.
• Providing cover for the work of absent secretaries, including across sites, when necessary.

• Motivated and proactive.
• Demonstrates willingness to change as the role evolves.
• Speak English to an appropriate standard relevant to their role, i.e. with confidence and accuracy, using correct sentence structures and vocabulary, and without hesitation.

• Demonstrates willingness to develop a range of medical terminology.
• Understanding of the Data Protection Act.
• Some knowledge of the 18-week policy, Choose & Book and Patient Choice; and how this role fits with these initiatives.
• Knowledge of medical terminology within at least one specialty.
• Knowledge of medical terminology within more than one specialty.
• Knowledge of how to use Trust PAS and theatre systems.

• Ability to communicate in a clear and concise manner.
• Ability to use VDU equipment.
• Ability to work as part of a team.
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Ability to type 40 – 50 words per minute with an accuracy rate of 90%.
• Ability to type documents in letter format.
• Clear and accurate written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to type more than 50 words per minute with an accuracy rate of at least 95%.

• Proven relevant experience of providing a secretarial or audio-typing service, or equivalent.
• Experience of successfully working within tight time frames and to deadlines.
• Experience of word processing.
• Experience of using digital dictation systems.
• Experience of coaching and training new staff within own work area.
• Experience of using Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Outlook.

• Qualified to RSAIII Level or equivalent qualification/experience.
• AMSPAR Certificate in medical terminology.
• AMSPAR qualification, in addition to medical terminology.