Job summary
- Main area
- Health Information Management Service - Clinical Coding
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 2
- Contract
- Permanent: or Apprenticeship Route 18 months
- Hours
- Full time
- Flexible working
- Job ref
- 153-CO06846
- Employer
- University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Bournemouth Hospital - Tringham House
- Town
- Bournemouth
- Salary
- £25,272 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 07/10/2026 23:59
- Interview date
- 09/10/2026
Employer heading
Novice Clinical Coder & HIMS Apprentice Open Day
NHS AfC: Band 2
As University Hospitals Dorset we are a three site acute trust with ‘university hospital’ status through our partnership with Bournemouth University, working with an annual budget of £730m.
We offer highly regarded health services, employing some 10,000 staff. Our ambitious £500m transformation programme is well on the way to delivering state-of-the-art facilities over the next two years to meet the current and future healthcare needs of the populations we serve.
In an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with over seven miles of sandy beaches you’ll find inspirational opportunities to achieve your perfect work/life balance. With the New Forest and the Purbecks on our doorstep, we’re also less than three hours from London by road or train. The thriving towns of Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch give way to idyllic villages and unspoilt landscapes just minutes from our hospitals.
We believe that having a diverse workforce, and allowing people to be themselves, is essential in ensuring we offer an inclusive, welcoming and productive place to work.
We especially welcome applications from minority groups in the community who may be underrepresented in our workforce.
At UHD our active staff network groups are the Women's Network, Black Asian Minority Ethnic Group (BAME), Pride Network, European (EU), Pro Ability Staff Network, and the Armed Forces Support Group.
As a Trust we are proudly signed up to the Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant guaranteed interview schemes.
We are aware that some candidates may choose to use AI tools to support the preparation of their application. While this is not discouraged, we kindly remind applicants that submissions should remain an honest and accurate representation of your own experience and suitability. Personal integrity is an important part of the recruitment process.
Job overview
Are you looking to start a career in Clinical Coding and Health Information Management Services (HIMS)?
Clinical Coding involves reviewing information about a patient’s care, including their diagnoses, treatments and procedures, and translating it into nationally recognised clinical codes. This creates an accurate record of the patient’s hospital journey and provides important information to support NHS services.
These entry-level opportunities will help you develop specialist skills in clinical coding, data quality and information management. You will receive full training, structured support and supervised workplace experience, developing your understanding of clinical information, patient pathways and coding. No previous clinical coding experience is required. We are looking for people who are keen to learn, have excellent attention to detail and take pride in producing accurate work.
You can develop through the Trust’s Clinical Coding Career and Competency Pathway towards a Trainee Clinical Coder role, subject to achieving the required standards.
The HIMS Apprentice role also provides the opportunity to work towards a recognised apprenticeship qualification while gaining practical workplace experience.
Attendance at the HIMS Clinical Coding Recruitment Open Day on Friday 9 October 2026 is a mandatory part of the recruitment process for both opportunities.
Main duties of the job
HIMS Clinical Coding Recruitment Open Day – Friday 9 October 2026
- Novice Clinical Coder
- HIMS Apprentice
If you are interested in joining our team, please note the following:
-
Arrival: Candidates must arrive by 9:30am. Late arrivals will not be able to participate in the day's activities.
-
Duration: Please be prepared to remain on site until mid-afternoon.
-
What to bring: Please bring an up-to-date printed copy of your CV.
-
Right to work: Candidates must have the right to work in the UK. Unfortunately, sponsorship is not available for these positions
- An introduction to the Clinical Coding team
- A presentation about the roles and career pathways available
- A screening exercise and short assessment
- The opportunity to demonstrate your skills and potential
Working for our organisation
UHD are investing, developing and transforming Trust services in line with the New Hospital Programme. Some services may move site this year or next, either temporarily or permanently. Recruiting Managers will be happy to answer any service-specific questions at interview.
If a role or service relocates as part of a planned move, excess mileage will not be reimbursed. Travel from home to the new work base will be classed as a normal commute. Any other changes will be managed under Trust or national terms and conditions.
UHD has active networks including Women’s, BAME, Pride, EU, Pro Ability, and Armed Forces. We support Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant interview schemes.
AI tools may be used, but applications must honestly reflect your own skills and experience. Integrity is key to our recruitment process.
HIMS Apprentice Eligibility
As the Apprentice forms part of a funded apprenticeship programme, applicants must be eligible for apprenticeship funding and able to complete the full programme.
Applicants requiring a visa to work in the UK should have sufficient leave remaining to complete the apprenticeship. As a guide, applicants should normally have at least two years remaining on their visa at the point of application.
Applicants will usually need to have lived in the UK for the three years immediately preceding the apprenticeship start date, unless they fall within one of the eligibility exceptions set out in the ESFA Apprenticeship Funding Rules.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For full details of the main duties and responsibilities of this role, please see the attached Job Description.
Find Out More
To learn more about our department and the exciting career opportunities available, please view our Recruitment Brochure:
Clinical Coding Department Recruitment Brochure
If you are viewing this advert through NHS Jobs, the brochure can also be found in the Supporting Links section.
Express an Interest
If you would like to attend, please complete our short Expression of Interest (EOI) Form. This is not a full application form and should only take a few minutes to complete
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Good general standard of education, including GCSE English and Mathematics at Grade 4/C or above, or ESFA acceptable equivalent.
- Willingness and ability to undertake structured role specific education, training and competency development.
- For apprenticeship appointments, willingness and ability to undertake the relevant Level 3 Apprenticeship Programme, including off-the-job learning and end point assessment.
Desirable criteria
- Level 3 qualification such as A Levels, BTEC, T Level, NVQ Level 3 or equivalent.
- Further or higher education qualification in a health, science, data, information, digital or related subject.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Able to demonstrate experience, through education, employment, volunteering or other activities, of working accurately with information, following instructions and completing tasks to required timescales.
- Experience of using computers and digital applications.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working with data or detailed information.
- Experience of an administrative, data, healthcare or information related environment.
- Experience of comparing, checking, validating or identifying discrepancies in information.
- Experience within the NHS or healthcare environment.
Technical Skills Competencies
Essential criteria
- Ability to work accurately and methodically with detailed information.
- Ability to identify errors, omissions, inconsistencies and discrepancies.
- Ability to compare information from different sources. Ability to understand, retain and consistently apply written instructions, rules and defined procedures.
- Ability to understand, retain and consistently apply written instructions, rules and defined procedures.
- Ability to extract relevant information from written material.
- Ability to use standard IT applications and learn new digital systems.
- Ability to organise allocated work and meet required timescales.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of Microsoft Office applications including Word, Excel and Outlook.
- Experience of spreadsheets, databases, patient administration systems or other information systems.
- Ability to produce simple summaries of information or data.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Understanding of the importance of accurate, complete and timely information.
- Awareness of confidentiality and the importance of handling personal and sensitive information appropriately.
- Understanding of the importance of checking own work and escalating where information is unclear or outside own knowledge.
Desirable criteria
- Awareness of Health Information Management, Clinical Coding or Data Quality.
- Basic understanding of how information and data are used within healthcare.
- Awareness of medical terminology, anatomy and physiology.
- Awareness of information governance and data protection principles.
Other requirements specific to the role
Essential criteria
- Ability and willingness to undertake structured learning, supervised practice and competency assessment.
- Ability to maintain concentration when undertaking detailed and repetitive computer based work.
- Willingness to work across Clinical Coding, Data Quality, NMTR and other allocated Health Information Management activities.
- Ability to work across UHD sites as required.
- For apprenticeship appointments, ability to meet the eligibility requirements of the relevant apprenticeship programme, including travel to the course provider site.
- Interest in developing a career within Health Information Management, Clinical Coding, Data Quality or related NHS information services.
Personal Attributes
Essential criteria
- High level of attention to detail and commitment to accuracy. Curious and willing to learn.
- Organised and methodical approach to work.
- Able to learn new terminology, concepts, systems and procedures.
- Receptive to feedback and able to apply learning to subsequent work.
- Reliable and conscientious.
- Able to take responsibility for the accuracy and completion of own work.
- Able to work independently within defined boundaries and seek guidance appropriately.
- Able to work collaboratively as part of a team.
- Professional approach to sensitive and confidential information.
- Commitment to Trust values.
Desirable criteria
- Proactive attitude to identifying potential data quality issues
- Confidence to raise queries or concerns appropriately with senior colleagues.
- Willingness to support team communications and engagement activity
Language requirement
Essential criteria
- Ability to communicate effectively in English, both verbally and in writing, and to understand and accurately interpret written information, instructions and guidance..
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Clinical Coding Senior Leadership Team
- Job title
- Clinical Coding Senior Leadership Team
- Email address
- [email protected]
List jobs with University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust in Administrative Services or all sectors