Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, (LGT), is a community-focused provider of local and acute care, delivering high-quality services to over one million people living across the London boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich, and Bexley. We provide whole-life care and are here to support our communities to live healthier lives as well as taking care of them when they need us the most.
Employing almost 7,500 colleagues, affectionately known as Team LGT, we provide services at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, University Hospital Lewisham, and at over a dozen community settings in Lewisham. We also provide some services at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup.
We have recently launched our new vision and values to mark the LGT10 – the tenth anniversary of our Trust forming in 2013. Our trust vision is to be exceptional. In the quality of our patient care; our support for colleagues; and in the difference we make through our partnerships and in our communities.
To achieve this we value Respect, Compassion, and Inclusion; Being accountable over staying comfortable; Listening over always knowing best; and Succeeding together over achieving alone.
Our hospitals and community sites provide a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services, as well as emergency and planned care. The Trust is rated as “good” or “outstanding” in over three-quarters of the services inspected by the Care Quality Commission.
Every year our work includes performing 10,000 procedures in our theatres; bringing seven and a half thousand new lives into the world; carrying out 570,000 visits to patients in their homes or communities and providing emergency care for more than 300,000 patients arriving in our busy Urgent and Emergency Departments.
LGT is a centre for the education and training of medical students enrolled with King’s College London’s GKT School of Medical Education. We are a training centre for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals. We are pioneering new roles that will support the changing needs of our patients and are one of the largest employers of physician associates in the country.
We are committed to working with our partners to deliver the best outcomes for our local communities. This means playing an active role in the South East London Integrated Care System (ICS), and in formal partnerships including the South East London Acute Provider Collaborative, provider partnerships with our local mental health trusts and borough-based boards of the ICS in Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham.
Service Description
Virtual Ward (VW)
The VW team at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust are a multidisciplinary community-based team providing step-up (community-based pathways) or step-down (hospital discharge) pathways of care for patients to receive short-term, hospital-level care at home. The team consists of Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACPs), nurses, a healthcare assistant (HCA) and operational management, with oversight from a Consultant Geriatrician. Patients admitted to the VW are remotely monitored at home, with rapid access to face-to-face care as and when required.
Urgent Community Response (UCR)
The UCR team is a multidisciplinary community-based team consisting of ACPs, trainee ACPs, and supported by a Frailty Consultant. We provide an urgent rapid response (within 2 hours of referral) and short-term intervention (up to 5 working days) when clinically required to Lewisham patients in their place of residence. The Virtual Ward is integrated with the multidisciplinary UCR service which can provide 2-hour crisis assessment where required.
The post holder will assist the Virtual Ward and Urgent Community Response teams with general administration duties to ensure the smooth running of the team and services as required.
Main duties of the job
Provide front‑line administrative and customer service support for patients, demonstrating excellent communication, empathy and professionalism. Ensure accurate use of clinical systems, effective appointment coordination, maintenance of records and caseloads, and timely escalation of urgent issues, while maintaining confidentiality, attention to detail and compliance with Trust policies.
Manage the ordering, receipt, storage and distribution of stock and equipment for the service, requiring strong organisational skills, accuracy in record‑keeping, and reliability.
Deliver comprehensive administrative support, including confidential message handling, minute‑taking and correspondence, while providing flexible cross‑site cover. Demonstrate good time management, adaptability, IT competence, and a proactive approach to supporting service improvement.
Working for our organisation
Our people are our greatest asset. When we feel supported and happy at work, this positivity reaches those very people we are here for, the patients. Engaged employees perform at their best and our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) initiatives contribute to cultivate a culture of engagement. We have four staff networks, a corporate EDI Team and a suite of programmes and events which aim to insert the 5 aspirations:
1. Improving representation at senior levels of staff with disabilities, from black, Asian, and ethnic minorities background, identify as LGBTQ+ and women, through improved recruitment and leadership development
2. Widening access (anchor institution) and employability
3. Improving the experience of staff with disability
4. Improving the EDI literacy and confidence of trust staff through training and development
5. Making equalities mainstream
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
1.Patient Administration
·First point of contact for service users ensuring that messages are passed on appropriately and in a timely manner.
·To deal with patients in a mature manner when speaking to them on the phone and face to face. This may sometimes involve dealing with distressed patients and a sensitive and re-assuring manner is required in difficult situations. Patient confidentiality should be maintained at all times.
·To register patient details on Cerner, Rio, and Doccla, ensuring a high level of data accuracy.
·To admit and discharge on Cerner, Rio, Doccla
·To deal with written and telephone enquiries for the team as appropriate.
·To book follow up appointments as required.
·Booking of hospital transport for patients according to the hospital Transport Policy. Liaise with the Transport team with enquiries.
·Be fully competent in the features of the hospital computer system and undergo further training when systems are updated and as the job requires.
·Attend additional training as required and assist new staff with training.
·On occasion to manage potentially aggressive, verbally abusive callers which must be dealt with appropriately following agreed procedures and protocol.
·To refer enquiries as appropriate to the line supervisor or manager, ensuring patient confidentiality is not compromised in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act and ensuring prompt and accurate response to all enquiries.
·Manage tidiness and appearance of the team office
·To highlight any referrals which require urgent attention and deal with them promptly, this can sometimes involve discussions with the medical team directly to arrange where the patient needs to be booked.
·Update caseload as per requirements.
·Support and ensure completion of the Family and Friends Test for patients at discharge.
·Take/collect prescriptions to Pharmacy if the team are unable to.
2.Ordering, Receiving and Dispatching Goods
·Order and keep track of all stock for the service as relevant.
·Maintain skills in ordering on SBS system.
·To be responsible for receiving all goods on arrival, and notify appropriate staff ensuring goods go to right person/department, ensuring goods are kept in a secure location until collection.
·To be responsible for ensuring all equipment for repair has the correct paperwork and notification to the appropriate department.
3.General Administration/Clerical
·To take messages ensuring complete confidentiality in accordance with Trust policy.
·To be aware of Trust Complaints Procedures and be able to act accordingly and assist in the process by obtaining medical notes, photocopying and scanning etc. when required.
·Maintain confidentiality at all times.
·To book translators when requested by clinicians ensuring they are given a relevant code for the service.
·To be aware of existing processes and offer suggestions for improving services.
·Take minutes as required.
·Any ad-hoc typing required, i.e. letters etc.
·Track Medical records on iCare, RiO and Doccla as appropriate.
·Ensure all Mandatory training is undertaken in a timely manner.
·Any other equivalent duties consistent with the level and purpose of the post.
Person specification
Essential criteria
6. GCSE English Language and Mathematics (Grade C or above)
Desirable criteria
7. NVQ Business Administration – Level II or equivalent
8. Experience or training in NHS EPR systems such as iCare and RiO
Experience
Essential criteria
9. Previous experience of working in a busy environment
10. Previous experience in an admin role
Desirable criteria
11. Previous experience of working in the NHS
Skills
Essential criteria
12. Microsoft Office literacy
13. Organisational and administrative skills
14. Verbal and written communication skills
15. Ability to follow procedures, protocols, and instructions clearly
16. Ability to prioritise a busy workload
17. Ability to work well as part of a team
Knowledge
Essential criteria
18. Understanding of the importance of confidentiality and Data Protection within a healthcare setting
Desirable criteria
19. Awareness of safeguarding principles
We reserve the right to close the post before the stated closing date, please apply early. We do not contact applicants with the outcome of the shortlisting. If you have been shortlisted, you will receive an invite to an assessment day or interview.
As a local employer and anchor institution we work closely with our community to recruit locally and we welcome applications from the widest variety of people to ensure our workforce are reflective of the local communities which we serve. We encourage all suitable candidates to apply including if you are Black, Asian or other ethnic minorities, live with a disability (visible or not) or are LGBT+. We have a number of active staff networks including Disability, LGBT+, Multicultural Inclusion and Women’s staff networks to bring staff together and celebrate diversity across our whole workforce.
Please note that sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route is subject to Trust allocation and UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) approval.
Application numbers
To ensure fairness and manageable shortlisting processes, some vacancies may have an application cap. This means the vacancy will close once a set number of applications have been received even if this happens before the advertised closing date.
We recommend applying as early as possible to avoid missing out. All applications received before the cap is reached will be considered equally and assessed against the person specification.