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Job summary

Main area
Microbiology
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 4
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Monday - Friday)
Job ref
435-D062-25
Employer
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital
Town
Blackburn
Salary
£27,485 - £30,162 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
28/07/2025 23:59

Employer heading

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust logo

Medical secretary - Microbiology

NHS AfC: Band 4

At East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust our vision is to be widely recognised for providing safe, personal and effective care.  We currently provide high quality services and treat over 600,000 people across East Lancashire and the surrounding area. We employ over 9,500 staff, many of whom are internationally renowned and have won awards for their work.

Job overview

The role of the Medical Secretary is to provide a comprehensive secretarial, administration and information service to the Microbiology Department Consultants and to support the Microbiology team.  The role comprises a wide range of specific duties and requires competence in word processing, keyboard skills, audio-typing, communication and organisation skills.  An ability to understand the need for and to maintain confidentiality is essential.

Full training will be provided, previous medical secretarial experience and medical terminology will be advantageous.

Main duties of the job

  • Transcription and production of correspondence for the Microbiology Consultants
  • Open and prioritise correspondence on behalf of the Consultants.
  • Date and stamp all incoming mail, communications and reports.
  • Receive, manage and prioritise telephone and personal enquiries, complaints, messages and information from GPs, Consultants, other medical staff and external organisations on behalf of Consultants.
  • Undertake self-supervision and effective self-organisation in terms of:-

- Co-ordinating annual and other leave in co-operation with other secretaries and with the approval of management;

- Liaising with other secretary to ensure fair distribution of work by mutual assistance;

  • Establish and maintain efficient office system, including filing systems.
  • Maintain confidentiality at all times.
  • Extract data from patient administration system and other relevant software programmes.
  • Produce confidential letters/correspondence for Patients, GP’s and Consultants.
  • Contact other laboratories.
  • Maintain the Consultant Microbiologists diaries as appropriate
  • Arrange meetings, prepare and circulate agendas and documentation as required.
  • Circulate laminated posters and information leaflets for wards etc when required
  • Circulate Ward audit forms and collate information when required.
  • Help with preparation of figures of quarterly and annual reports as requested.

Working for our organisation

Established in 2003 East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT) is a large integrated health care organisation providing high quality acute secondary healthcare for the people of East Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen. 

Our vision is to be widely recognised for providing safe, personal and effective care.  We currently provide high quality services and treat over 700,000 patients a year from the most serious of emergencies to planned operations and procedures. We employ over 8,000 staff, many of whom are internationally renowned and have won awards for their work and achievements.

This role is to join a robust Microbiology team. 

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The role comprises a wide range of specific duties and requires competence in word processing, keyboard skills, audio-typing, communication and organisation skills.  See attached documents for the full job description and main responsibilities.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Four GCSEs including English and Math at C Grade or above or equivalent
  • RSA/OCR III typing/Word-processing or equivalent level of skill
  • AMSPAR qualification or equivalent
Desirable criteria
  • ECDL
  • Good standard of general education

Experience

Essential criteria
  • secretarial experience or medical secretarial experience
  • Working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint

Knowledge and Skills

Essential criteria
  • Good computer skills and a good understanding of Microsoft Office and Outlook
  • Good secretarial knowledge and practice (generating letters, reports, invoices and presenting documents)
  • Highly organised and able to prioritise own workload, work independently and able to adapt to priority changes
  • Clear and accurate written and verbal communication skills with people at all levels
  • Excellent telephone manner including good listening skills
  • Good attention to detail
Desirable criteria
  • Medical terminology
  • Knowledge of the NHS
  • Experience using trust software systems to retrieve data

Personal attributes

Essential criteria
  • Proven ability to use own initiative and work without supervision
  • Proven ability to keep information confidential
  • Friendly and caring manner. Able to work well in a team and be supportive to team members
Desirable criteria
  • Ability to adapt to the changing needs of the service
  • Able to take on board new ideas, skills and knowledge

Employer certification / accreditation badges

NHS Pastoral Care Quality AwardPositive about disabled peopleInvestors in PeopleCare quality commission - GoodDisability confident committedStep into healthHappy to Talk Flexible Working

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

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Dionne Ellison
Job title
Lead Biomedical Scientist
Email address
[email protected]
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