Stroke Services Medical Secretary
| Posting date: | 25 July 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £27,485.00 to £30,162.00 per year |
| Additional salary information: | £27485.00 - £30162.00 a year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 07 August 2025 |
| Location: | Luton, LU4 0DZ |
| Company: | NHS Jobs |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | C9418-25-0926 |
Summary
Communication and Patient Liaison Act as the main point of contact for consultants, healthcare professionals, patients, and external organisations. Handle all communication professionally and efficiently, using discretion and good judgement to respond to or escalate enquiries appropriately. Deal with concerned or distressed patients and relatives with empathy, patience, and tact, particularly when communicating sensitive or complex clinical information. Provide reassurance and clear information to patients, ensuring they understand the process and next steps in their care. Workload Management and Initiative Prioritise and manage own workload independently, ensuring queries are followed through and actions progressed to support clinical efficiency. Proactively chase outstanding actions, investigations, or results on behalf of clinicians to free up clinical time and maintain progress in patient care. Sort, assess, and distribute incoming correspondence including post, email, and faxes, using initiative and knowledge to direct items appropriately. Clinic and Appointment Coordination Liaise with the departmental pathway coordinator to support the partial booking process, ensuring timely and effective scheduling of patient appointments in line with service requirements. Manage clinic templates, including setting up additional clinics, rescheduling or cancelling sessions due to leave or service changes, under the guidance of the Department Admin Lead. Oversee consultant availability and planned absences to ensure sufficient clinic cover, raising issues proactively and helping maintain capacity. Conduct regular forward-planning meetings with clinicians to ensure clinic availability is accurate and service demands are met. Referral Management Access and manage referrals via the electronic referral system (e.g., e-RS), ensuring timely triage by clinicians. Process and track referrals, ensuring patients are seen and managed within pathway timelines and in accordance with Trust policies. 18-Week Pathway Support Provide support to the 18-week RTT (Referral to Treatment) team by updating them weekly with information on patient progress at tiers 1, 2, and 3. Chase typing, test results, clinic letters, and other outstanding elements required to complete the 18-week pathway. Ensure clinicians are informed of any necessary actions to keep patients within their RTT timeframes and escalate concerns where delays are identified. Diary and Office Management Maintain and manage clinicians electronic diaries, scheduling appointments, meetings, and coordinating room bookings. Plan and organise internal departmental arrangements and meetings with appropriate prioritisation and efficiency. Support wider office administration including rotas, noticeboards, and general coordination of departmental activities. Correspondence and Typing Ensure prompt and accurate typing of all clinical correspondence including clinic letters, medico-legal reports, results, minutes, and other documents. Monitor and manage digital dictation systems (e.g., Big Hand), ensuring priority letters (red/green) are completed and dispatched within the Trust's 72-hour timeframe. Action tasks arising from patient and GP letters efficiently and ensure timely follow-up where required. Urgent Referrals Access ICE or equivalent systems daily to print and review urgent inpatient referrals. Ensure clinicians are made aware of urgent referrals on the same day and that appropriate clinical action is taken and documented. Procedure Coordination Coordinate the booking of patient procedures as requested by clinicians, ensuring all relevant information and preparatory steps are completed. Liaise with relevant departments to confirm procedure details and communicate with patients where needed. Document Handling and Scanning Scan appropriate documentation to the Trusts electronic record system (e.g., Evolve) in a timely and accurate manner, ensuring compliance with data protection and clinical documentation standards. Audit and Data Collection Support departmental audits by collecting, interpreting, and presenting statistical or operational data as requested. Assist with maintaining accurate records to support quality improvement and service development. Supplies and Equipment Order and maintain stationery and non-stock items required for the smooth running of the office. Monitor office supplies and reorder items to ensure minimal disruption to administrative work. Meeting Coordination and Support Organise business, clinical, educational, and patient support group meetings, including venue booking, equipment setup, and refreshments. Prepare agendas, take and distribute minutes where required. Support the preparation of PowerPoint presentations and other materials for meetings and events. On occasion, support meetings or events held outside of regular working hours. Policy and Procedure Implementation Implement and maintain local policies and standard operating procedures relevant to the administrative function of the department under guidance from the Admin Lead. Support the continuous review and improvement of administrative systems and workflows. Staffing and Departmental Cover Work with the Department Admin Lead to ensure administrative cover is always maintained, reallocating tasks or coordinating cross-cover when needed. Support planning for annual leave, sickness cover, and short-term adjustments to ensure continuity of service. Recruitment, Induction, and Training Assist with recruitment processes including drafting job descriptions, liaising with HR and recruitment teams, booking interview rooms, and supporting interview arrangements. Lead on local induction for new starters, including guidance on Trust systems, arranging IT access, car parking, ID badges, and completion of the local induction checklist. Train and support junior admin staff, including apprentices, and act as a point of contact for queries and escalation of issues. Advise staff on local procedures, policies, and departmental expectations. Intranet and Webpage Management Maintain and update the departments intranet and webpage content to ensure staff and patients have access to up-to-date information. Liaise with communications or digital teams to ensure branding and content are in line with Trust standards. General Support Undertake any reasonable duties required to support the needs of the department and contribute to the effective running of the service. Provide cover for colleagues during periods of absence, ensuring that essential work is maintained. Support new projects, pilots, or service developments as required by the management team.