Job vacancy: Personal Medical Secretary, Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Prescot

Job summary

Main area: Administration
Grade: NHS AfC: Band 4
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 409-7522345

Employer: Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: Whiston Hospital
Town: Prescot
Salary: £27,485 - £30,162 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 21/11/2025 23:59
Interview date: 02/12/2025

Personal Medical Secretary

NHS AfC: Band 4

After applying via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred Third-party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. You will not be able to track the progress of your application or receive messages through the NHS Jobs website, and furthermore, as an employer, we will not be able to respond to any e-mails sent to us via the NHS Jobs website. By applying for this post you are agreeing to "name of trust" transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are appointed to a post information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To provide a comprehensive service to the Consultant and Speciality Team including nurse clinicians.

Keep diary up to date, arrange appointments, and arrange travel and accommodation.

Operate an effective bring forward system and filing system.

Type dictation from audio transcription of clinical correspondence and documentation, ensuring all letter and workflow processes are adhered to and Standard Operating Procedures are followed.

Type discharge summaries as appropriate

Check against clinical letters to ensure appropriate follow up arrangements/investigations are in place. Rectify if not.

To manage and maintain 18-week pathways including Tertiary Referrals to external Trusts and ensure these are completed on the PAS system. Keep track of referrals to ensure patient is reviewed promptly. Check that follow up appointments are arranged in conjunction with Referral To Treat (RTT) patient pathway.

Support Consultant in non-clinical activities/Clinical Director role by preparing presentation documents using relevant packages and arranging meetings, circulate agenda/supporting papers as appropriate, and taking minutes at meetings.

Ensure appropriate personnel are informed of consultant annual/study leave. Amend clinic/theatre lists/forms appropriately. Keep Consultants informed of junior doctor leave could have an effect on the service.

Work from initiative using own judgment, acquired knowledge and tact to deal with queries and resolve situations or referring to appropriate person.

Deal with enquiries either on the telephone or face to face from patients, consultants, junior doctors and colleagues in an appropriate manner.

Ensure all correspondence relating to patient care is acted upon in a timely manner and that investigations are signed by Consultants or team and are dealt with in accordance with Trust policy.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

GSCE Standard or Higher
RSA 3 – Typing / Word Processing
RSA 3 – Medical Audio Typing
Medical Terminology

Desirable criteria

Shorthand / Speed Writing
Secretarial Diploma
ECDL
CLAIT award

Experience

Essential criteria

Minute Taking
Microsoft Office Experience
Ability to work as part of a team
Previous Medical Secretary Experience
Medical Audio Typing

Desirable criteria

2 years’ experience in a similar role or equivalent knowledge

Skills

Essential criteria

Excellent IT Skills
Excellent organisational skills
Ability to communicate professionally at all levels
Excellent Word Processing and Keyboard skills
Ability to organise workload effectively and prioritise
Use of all Microsoft Office software, Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint
Ability to use initiative to solve problems
Highly developed interpersonal skills
Ability to use own initiative and work independently
Capability to adapt to most situations
Reliable and conscientious
Ability to maintain control of stressful situations
Able to work the hours and undertake duties required

Desirable criteria

Knowledge of Trust computer systems

Other

Essential criteria

Ability to travel across hospital sites when required
Possess a friendly and approachable personality
Ability to show understanding an appreciation
Comply with Trust policies and procedures at all times
Ability and willingness to undergo further training for the post
Maintain confidentiality at all times

Thank you for considering an application to work for Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust. MWL is an exciting and forward-thinking NHS Trust who are one of the best places to work for in England.

Given sometimes we receive a high volume of applications to work for us, please be aware, that we may close a vacancy earlier than stated should a sufficient number of applications be received from which a shortlist can be confirmed. Therefore, you are advised to apply at your earliest convenience.

The Trust may contact you during the recruitment process for your feedback on your experience. We always aim for continuous improvement in our practice.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity, and respect for all individuals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and value the unique skills, perspective and experience you bring. We are grounded in the belief that diversity enhances our collective strength, fostering innovation and excellence within our workforce. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we commit to offering an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

If you are having difficulty completing an online application, or require any disability reasonable adjustments, to the application process, please contact [email protected]

We also commit to offering an interview to all armed forces veterans who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

The Trust operates anonymous shortlisting where no personal information about you, including your name or personal details are shared with the recruiting manager. No equality information is shared at any time during the recruitment process with the recruiting manager or other people involved in the decision-making process.

The equality monitoring information you provide is used in the following situations: to review our recruitment practices; where a job is limited to a specific person to verify their eligibility to apply; and to offer disability reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab)

Following the recent update on UK immigration policy for those on a Health and Care Visa or Skilled Worker Visa, please click here to check your eligibility before applying for this post as we may be unable to provide sponsorship.

eVisa Update

For successful candidates on selected work and study visa routes, who have completed and paid for their applications will no longer receive a visa vignette in passport as evidence of their permission to enter the UK.

Instead, you will be issued with an eVisa only, which is accessed by creating a UKVI account.

Before travelling to the UK, we advise applicants to:

Create a UKVI account
Link their current passport
Access their eVisa straightaway to check all details. Incorrect information should be reported as soon as possible using the following link: https://www.gov.uk/report-error-evisa
Understand how to generate an eVisa share code

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

If this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Please note if applicable, applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment.

If you have not already done so, you are therefore encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service to which a small annual fee of £13 per year applies.

Flexible Working

We actively support flexible working patterns throughout MWL. Changes made to the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook mean that:

All employees have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment.
There is no limit on the number of requests they can make.
Employees have the right to make requests, have them considered, regardless of the reason.

At Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, we will consider requests for flexible working. We would also encourage you to also discuss flexible working options at interview stage.

Working for Team MWL

Staff recognition is especially important to us; as well as performance reviews and appraisals, we recognise staff through Employee of the month. Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

The Trust is a non-smoking across all our sites. Failure to follow this rule could lead to disciplinary action. For more information, see the Smoke Free NHS website.

You must ensure that your application, including personal statements and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.

The Trust will not accept applications which are found to be AI generated and will check all applications against AI detection software.

Additional Information

Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trusts Values and Behaviours which are We are KIND, We are OPEN, We are INCLUSIVE, which can be found here.

An applicant guide to help and support you with your application and what to expect during your recruitment journey can be accessed in the supporting documents.

Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team MWL very soon.