Consultant PA - Wrightington in Wigan

Main area: Surgery

Grade: NHS AfC: Band 4

Contract: Fixed term: 12 months (Due to departmental developments. Whilst this post is advertised on a temporary basis there is the potential that this post may become permanent in the future.)

Hours: Part time, Flexible working, Home or remote working, 18.75 hours per week (Whilst hybrid working may be considered after a period of training, your work base will be Wrightington Hospital.)

Salary: £28,392 - £31,157 per annum, pro rata

Salary period: Yearly

Closing: 18/06/2026 08:00

Job overview: An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced, motivated & enthusiastic secretary to join our Medical Secretarial Team as a Consultant PA on a temporary 12-month secondment. You will be working 18.75 hours per week within the Rheumatology department at Wrightington Hospital. This interesting & varied role requires you to work well on your own initiative whilst being committed to teamwork to ensure work is completed to meet Trust targets. Good communication skills & the ability to deal with confidential & sensitive issues in a professional manner are essential.

Candidates should hold an AMSPAR Diploma Qualification & RSA Level III in typewriting &/or medical audio transcription or be able to demonstrate experience in a similar role. NHS Employees should ideally secure their manager’s agreement for a secondment arrangement ideally prior to applying, as this will be a condition of any offer made. 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.

Main duties of the job:

• You will be working within a small team, managing office administration for the Consultant(s), junior doctors & Specialist Nurses they support, providing an efficient & effective PA service.
• You will act as the first point of contact for all forms of communication for the Consultant(s) & their team(s) & will be expected to organise & prioritise your own workload.
• The post holder will work with other Consultant PA’s to ensure office administration for all the relevant consultants is covered.
• Supporting other Consultant PA teams, when required, & provide mentorship support to the Clinical Secretaries linked to their team.
• Experience in using Microsoft office software is essential. Experience of utilising digital dictation, creating spreadsheets and scheduling of clinic/theatre lists is desirable.

Please note, shortlisting is based on the person specification, therefore, when completing your supporting statement, please refer to the person specification, demonstrating in your application how you match all points, providing examples of experience, understanding and transferable skills. Please also indicate all the specialities that you have experience of typing for, where applicable.

Working for our organisation: Choose Well – Choose WWL. Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh 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.

On-Call: Please note that senior positions (AFC band 8A or above) may be expected to participate in an on-call rota, if the role is predominantly operational.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities:

• Providing a complete PA service including word processing, filing, audio typing, photocopying and the composition of letters.
• Prepares responses and requests for the Consultant and designated medical staff as appropriate.
• Distributing and prioritising incoming mail, using judgement and experience to decide which documents are to be passed directly to other areas for action and information.
• Undertaking administrative work at the request of the consultant or their team.
• Attending outpatient clinics and ward rounds as necessary and where appropriate.
• Providing the first point of contact for written and telephone enquiries, some of which may be sensitive, on behalf of the Consultant and their team, using judgement to establish the validity and priority of the contact.
• When notified of Consultant’s leave, ensure appropriate action is taken regarding cancelling/reducing clinics and re-evaluating/rescheduling appointments in Consultant’s diary where appropriate.
• The production and distribution of patient/procedure lists, e.g. admissions, arranging and co-ordinating Domiciliary visits and assessments, theatre, outpatient procedures within the required timescales.
• Maintaining close working relationships between consultant and patient where appropriate.
• Organising and co-ordinate multidisciplinary team meetings, arrange venue and take minutes where appropriate.
• Ensuring timely responses to Medico-legal reports/Insurance reports.
• Introducing and implementing new practices to enhance service development, i.e. developing protocols and procedures for improved patient services.
• Supervising new PA’s/secretaries/support staff and work experience students ensuring an effective office system is maintained.
• Compiling and distributing medical staff rotas and liaising with medical staffing about annual leave/sick leave arrangements where applicable.
• Ensuring all results of investigations are brought to the attention of the medical staff to be signed and uses own judgement and experience to highlight any that may need urgent action.
• Maintaining a diary of appointments and information relevant to medical staff.
• Ensuring accurate and up-to-date information for the Trust’s waiting list requirements.
• Ensuring adequate supply of stationery and equipment.
• Developing office, PA and secretarial practices to continually improve service delivery.
• Assisting colleagues in providing cross cover for the work of absent PA’s, including across sites, when necessary.
• Preparation of induction packs for Junior Doctors.
• Administration of duties in relation to new policies i.e. 18-week pathway inter-provider transfer documentation, choose and book administration and patient choice bookings. Provide training to other staff, as appropriate, in relation to this requirement.
• Migration to digital dictation systems and re-organisation of workload to meet performance standards.
• The post holder is expected to act independently within occupational guidelines and decide when it is necessary to refer to their manager.
• The post holder should exercise initiative commensurate with the role and it is vital that confidentiality is maintained at all times.

Person specification:

• Qualifications: AMSPAR Diploma or equivalent experience of providing a PA/secretarial service, RSA III typing or equivalent experience, Shorthand Qualification, ECDL, AMSPAR Certificate in medical terminology, or equivalent / proven relevant experience.
• Experience: Diary Management, Answering telephone enquiries, Minute taking, Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook on a regular basis, Experience of monitoring quality of transcriptions, Experience of managing stationary and stock levels, Experience of handling medico-legal reports and insurance claims, Experience of scheduling and rescheduling clinic lists on behalf of a consultant, Experience of training/mentoring new staff within own work area.
• Skills: Demonstrate working as a team member, Ability to communicate in a clear and concise manner, Able to work within tight time frames and to deadlines, Able to use tact and empathy when handling patient calls, Ability to type more than 40 - 50 words per minute with an accuracy rate of at least 90 - 95%.
• Knowledge: Medical terminology in at least one specialty, Understanding of 18 weeks, CAB and how role fits with these initiatives, Information Governance and Data Protection, Knowledge of medical terminology within more than one specialty, Knowledge of patient administration systems including Electronic Patient Record.

Additional Information: Demonstrates a willingness to change as the role evolves, Willing to meet the performance criteria set out in the job description and undertake personal and professional development, Able to work at other Trust sites, when required, 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.

Use of Artificial Intelligence in Job Applications: If you choose to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) or other automated tools to help draft your application, please ensure all content is personalised and an accurate reflection of your own skills, experience and professional judgement. AI may be useful for idea generation, grammar, or formatting, but it must not replace your own supporting statement or be relied on as the sole source of content. Wrightington Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust does not advocate reliance on AI during applications and expects applications to be genuine and tailored to the role; over-reliance on AI-generated text may negatively affect your application.