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.
Job overview
To provide a comprehensive service to the Consultants and Specialty Teams with the minimum of supervision. Organise your workload and co-ordinate activities with other Medical Secretaries to ensure that an efficient service is provided. It is essential that you should exercise initiative commensurate with the role and it is vital that confidentiality is maintained at all times.
The JD & PS are currently under AfC review and are subject to change
Main duties of the job
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.
Check against clinical letters to ensure appropriate follow up arrangements/investigations are in place. Rectify if not.
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 judgement, 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.
Working for our organisation
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.
Our services:
Acute Care
Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.
Primary Care
Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.
Community Services
Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.
Specialist Regional Services
We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.
Achievements:
* Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
* Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
* National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme.
You will be expected to undertake the Trusts' commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.
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 judgement, 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
* GSCE Standard or Higher
* RSA 3 – Typing / Word Processing
* RSA 3 – Medical Audio Typing
* Medical Terminology
* Shorthand / Speed Writing
* Secretarial Diploma
* ECDL
* CLAIT award
Experience
* Minute Taking
* Microsoft Office Experience
* Ability to work as part of a team
* Previous Medical Secretary Experience
* Medical Audio Typing
* 2 years’ experience in a similar role or equivalent knowledge
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
* Knowledge of Trust computer systems
Other
* 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 Recruitment@merseywestlancs.nhs.uk
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
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:
* 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 means 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.
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