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Job summary

Main area
Paediatrics
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 3
Contract
6 months (Fixed term for 6 months)
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Monday - Friday 0900am - 1700pm)
Job ref
297-8299546
Employer
Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust
Town
Gateshead
Salary
£25,760 - £27,476 pa
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
27/10/2026 23:59

Employer heading

Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust logo

Assistant medical secretary

NHS AfC: Band 3

In the event of excessive applications being received this vacancy may close earlier than the stated closing date, you are encouraged to submit your application as soon as possible  

IMPORTANT NOTE ON COMPLETION OF REFERENCE SECTION OF APPLICATION FORM

All references from current and previous employers will be sought and MUST cover a minimum of 3 years employment. Therefore, when completing the reference section of your application form, please give the address, telephone number and work email address of each of your current/previous line managers that cover 3 years employment. Where possible this should be from two separate employers. Failure to complete this section may result in your application not being processed.

PLEASE NOTE it is a requirement of this Trust that all successful applicants pay for their DBS certificate if a check is required for the post. This will be done through deduction from your monthly pay over a maximum of three months. It is also a requirement that all successful applicants register  or are registered with the DBS update service where a DBS is required. 

All new entrants to the NHS will be appointed on the minimum of the pay scale in line with Terms & Conditions.

 

Job overview

We are looking to recruit a highly motivated and enthusiastic person with administration experience to join our Team within the Paediatric Department at  Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead. This is a fixed term post for 6 months to work Monday to Friday 9-5.

Main duties of the job

· Provide a high quality clinical typing service as delegated by the Admin Manager or Senior Medical Secretary, including; clinic instructions/outcomes, update routine information in procedural documents etc.

· Action tasks arising from typing; including updating systems, outcome codes, internal referral, IPT & image transfer.

· Working to the Departmental typing & turnaround guidelines ensuring GPs/Patients receive letters in a timely manner.

· Knowledge of medical terminology.

· Provide information to assist performance reporting and resolution of queries or complaints (e.g. PALS/InPhase) as required.

· Support Multi-Disciplinary Team Meetings when necessary, as delegated by the Admin Manager.  This may involve populating proformas, attending meetings, taking minutes and following up on actions from clinic.

· During absence cover be a main point of contact for patient and third parties (e.g. other clinicians, GP, police, social care, legal) to resolve queries, respond to requests for information or notify third party of information as required by clinicians.

· Demonstrate excellent organisational skills, flexible in approach, able to exercise initiative and demonstrate a consistently high standard of professionalism, being aware of the need for confidentiality and integrity.

· Provide cover for the Children's outpatient Department Reception and provide cover for the ward clerks when necessary.

Working for our organisation

Based in the North East of England we provide a range of hospital and community health services from our leading facilities, including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Blaydon urgent care centre and Bensham Hospital, all within Gateshead.

Established in 2005, we were one of the first foundation trusts in the country and since then have consistently achieved the highest levels of care for patients.

We now employ around 4,800 staff and currently provide 444 hospital beds across the Gateshead region.

Our values should be the ‘golden thread’ which runs through everything we do – they are the core of who we are. Our five values can easily be remembered by the simple acronym ICORE; Innovation, Care, Openness, Respect, Engagement.

We have a number of staff networks including the Global Ethnic Majority (GEM) network, D-Ability network, LGBTQ+ Network and the Women’s Network, to challenge us and help us to constantly improve. Our Armed Forces network is one of our emerging networks.

The health and wellbeing of our staff is one of our highest priorities, and we offer a range of support and initiatives as part of our ‘Balance’ programme balancegateshead.com to cater for our diverse workforce, so that your individual needs can be supported, allowing you a happy and healthy working experience with us. 

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

  • Dealing with telephone queries, checking patient information with clerical staff/patients. Communicating information verbally and in writing, routine information with patients and staff on, for example discharge, admission, transfer. May be barriers to understanding for example anxious patients, cultural differences, language or communication difficulties.
  • Resolves problems, eg locating notes, appointment issues, follow up actions when responding to queries, escalating issues when necessary.
  • Organises own workload/patient referral outcome actions to ensure services are delivered to meet internal and external quality/performance requirements.

Person specification

Experience

Essential criteria
  • At least one year's experience of working as a secretary (as evidenced in work history)
  • At least one year 's experience of typing letters or RSA/OCR II qualification (as evidenced in work history)
  • Experienced in using Microsoft Office packages
Desirable criteria
  • Audio Typing

Skills

Desirable criteria
  • Knowledge of Careflow system
  • Knowledge of medical terminology (as evidenced in work history)

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • NVQ 3 Certificate in Business Administration or equivalent experience
  • English Language (GCSE) - at least Grade C or above

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Veteran AwareApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyAge positiveCare quality commission - GoodDisability confident employerStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.Better Health at Work Award

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
Karen Fleming
Job title
Administration Manager
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
0191 445 2841
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