Ward Clerk - Swinley Ward in Wigan

The Ward Clerk plays a vital administrative and coordination role on Swinley Ward, a busy 26-bedded surgical ward, supporting the multidisciplinary team to ensure the smooth day-to-day running of the ward and associated GAU. Working 12-hour shifts, Monday to Sunday, including bank holidays, the post holder acts as a key point of contact for patients, relatives, and staff, helping to maintain high standards of patient care and safety in a fast-paced clinical environment.

Main duties of the job

• Provide comprehensive administrative support to the surgical ward and gynaecology clinic.
• Act as the first point of contact for patients, relatives, visitors, and external departments.
• Manage patient admissions, discharges, and transfers on electronic systems.
• Maintain accurate patient records, notes, and documentation in line with confidentiality and data protection policies.
• Coordinate communication between nursing staff, medical teams, theatres, diagnostics, and outpatient services.
• Support clinic activity, including appointment coordination, patient flow, and clinic preparation.
• Answer telephone and face-to-face enquiries promptly and professionally.
• Order and maintain ward stationery and non-clinical supplies.
• Assist with bed management and escalation processes during periods of high activity.
• Ensure compliance with hospital policies, procedures, and infection prevention standards.

Communication and Liaison

• Act as the first point of contact for patients, relatives, visitors, and members of the multidisciplinary team.
• Answer telephone and face-to-face enquiries professionally, dealing with routine queries and escalating concerns appropriately.
• Facilitate effective communication between ward staff, medical teams, diagnostics, theatres, pharmacy, outpatient departments, and external agencies.
• Receive and disseminate messages accurately and in a timely manner.

Ward and Clerical Support

• Provide general clerical support including filing, photocopying, scanning, emailing, and data entry.
• Maintain ward lists, admission boards, and electronic trackers to reflect real-time activity.
• Support bed management processes and escalate capacity pressures as directed by senior staff.
• Order and monitor non-clinical ward supplies, stationery, and equipment as required.

Data Quality and Information Governance

• Ensure all work is carried out in line with data protection, confidentiality, and Caldicott principles.
• Maintain accurate records in accordance with Trust policies and NHS standards.
• Report incidents, concerns, or errors using appropriate reporting systems.

Health, Safety, and Infection Prevention

• Adhere to Trust policies relating to health and safety, infection prevention and control, and risk management.
• Maintain a clean, organised, and safe ward reception and administrative area.
• Participate in mandatory training and updates as required.

Teamwork and Professional Responsibilities

• Work collaboratively as part of the ward and multidisciplinary team to support high-quality patient care.
• Prioritise workload effectively in a demanding environment, responding flexibly to changing service needs.
• Support new staff, students, and temporary staff by providing guidance on ward administrative processes.
• Participate in service improvement initiatives and audits as required.

Person specification

• Must be able to work flexibly and where appropriate cover annual leave or sickness.
• 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.

Knowledge

• Good understanding of customer care practices within the workplace.
• Good knowledge of clerical/admin skills.
• Experience of using NHS electronic systems.

Skills

• Excellent communication and organisational skills.
• Previous clerical experience.
• Experience of working within the NHS.

Experience

• Experience of working in a busy, pressurised environment dealing with frequent interruptions.
• Ability to work within a team or independently.

Qualifications

• Educated to GCSE or equivalent level in English and Maths.

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.