Medical Secretary, Maxillofacial Department
NHS AfC: Band 4
Main area Administration Grade NHS AfC: Band 4 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Monday - Friday) Job ref 276-7693988-AC
Site Queen Victoria Hospital Town East Grinstead Salary £27,485 - £30,162 per annum (pro rata) Salary period Yearly Closing 03/02/2026 23:59
Welcome to Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and thank you for your interest.
In addition to receiving tertiary referrals from across the South East of England, we have a network of ‘spoke’ sites at district general hospitals enabling our consultants to offer their expertise with routine treatments and consultations as close to patients’ homes as is possible. With the recent addition of video led ‘virtual’ consultations we also enable patients who have some distance to travel to avoid the additional stress and worry of a long journey.
Working at QVH combines the excitement, challenge and career opportunities of many larger organisations with the satisfaction of delivering excellent patient care that really does re-build our patients’ lives.
We also offer attractive benefits such as
* tailored personal development to support career aspirations, including accredited clinical and management development programmes
* flexible working arrangements for a work-life balance that suits you and your needs
* a dedicated reward programme, offering a range of national and local discounts, cashback and tax relief schemes
At Queen Victoria Hospital we want to be the first Net Zero Hospital in England, and to achieve that wants every member of staff to be a green champion. The way in which the Trust works has a significant impact on the organisation’s carbon footprint and that of our patients. From the heat, light and power supplies within the hospital to avoiding unnecessary patient journeys, the Trust is empowering all staff to create a sustainable health and care environment for future generations. The Trust expects all staff to reuse and recycle more, to use energy and water efficiently, to walk or cycle to work if you can, and to have a focus on sustainability in the workplace.
We are seeking a keen and enthusiastic person to provide strong secretarial, organisational and administrative support within our Maxillofacial Department supporting Head and Neck Oncology Surgeons.
The successful candidate will have a medical secretarial background with strong computer skills including fast and accurate audio typing. Key skills required are excellent verbal and written communication skills, enabling communication at all levels, a keen eye for detail, good time management, and the ability to work to tight deadlines prioritising workload under pressure while working efficiently as part of a friendly, busy team, ensuring the best possible care for our patients in a timely manner whilst ensuring that targets adhered to.
Main duties of the job
To provide full secretarial and administrative support to the Maxillofacial Department.
To work flexibly and sensitively with other disciplines at Queen Victoria Hospital and other sites.
To provide and receive confidential and sensitive information written, aural or verbal, to be exchanged with patients/clients, relatives, staff or external parties.
To review and manage the patient pathway to ensure all Oncology and RTT targets are met, escalating concerns when they arise.
To communicate sensitively and appropriately with patients suffering from serious illness.
Working for our organisation
Rated GOOD overall with outstanding care by the CQC. A specialist NHS hospital providing life-changing reconstructive surgery, burns care and rehabilitation services across the South of England and beyond.
A centre of excellence, with an international reputation for pioneering advanced techniques and treatments. Everything we do is informed by our passion for providing the highest quality care and the best clinical outcomes.
At QVH we are proud of our achievements and our specialist services continue to record excellent clinical outcomes for patients. We regularly receive excellent results from patient satisfaction surveys and on average 98% of inpatients say they would recommend the hospital to their family or friends.
Our success is underpinned by the skills and enthusiasm of our staff and a strong culture of partnership. We are fully committed to training and development of the workforce with support for continuing education and learning.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Liaison with Nursing and Diagnostic Imaging support services to QVH and off-site clinics.
Maintain close and collaborative working relationships with the Service Co-ordinator and other administrative and clinical staff.
Maintain effective manual and computerised systems to ensure accurate and timely delivery of information to clients and professionals.
Deal with correspondence making use of IT, i.e. e‑mail, internet and intranet, using initiative and discretion to prioritize.
Deal with all telephone calls promptly and courteously with an empathetic approach.
Respond sympathetically to individual needs within resources available.
Type clinic letters from digital dictation to meet Trust guidelines on responses.
Ensure clinic letters are sent out to GP within agreed timeframe of the clinic date.
Prioritise results needing urgent attention and chase for results where needed.
Co-ordinate and monitor patients that require follow up tests to ensure the tests and results are obtained wherever possible.
Ensure an audit trail in the patients’ notes is kept.
Co-ordinate matters arising from clinical appointments and arrange further referrals/ investigations as directed. This includes liaison with external trusts conducting interventional/diagnostic procedures and the tracking of these patients through their pathway ensuring that interventional/ diagnostic reports are available for Clinicians’ review prior to or for patient follow-up appointments.
Responding to the requests of the Patient Access team regarding Oncology and RTT18 queries and/ or input clinical outcomes for clinics.
Book appointments for patients for the services as required onto Patient Centre.
Manage patient’s expectations when booking appointments and advising them of updates.
Monitor clinics to ensure that they are fully utilised and ensure full clinics wherever possible.
Monitor the patient pathways for all patients in the services making every effort to ensure all patients are offered an appointment within 6 weeks of referral.
Schedule all diagnostics that are required for each clinic type in a time effective order to ensure the patient’s receive an excellent service from QVH.
Ensure there are regular reviews of all the outstanding patients in the service to ensure patients are seen in the timescales allowed.
Support the Service Co-ordinator with gathering monitoring data for the service as required.
Create and maintain patient case notes in preparation for outpatient consultation clinics, working closely with medical records departments where necessary.
Ensure patient case notes are stored, tracked and archived according to Trust guidelines.
Develop and maintain a sound knowledge of medical terminology, tests, symptoms and procedures.
Arrange for notes/ referrals/ equipment for triage, dictation equipment and clinical supplies to be transported to/ from off-site clinics.
Actively participate in Departmental meetings as required.
Where required assist in maintaining stationery/ equipment stock control for the department.
Attend statutory Trust training courses as necessary and access training ensuring continued professional development within the service.
Assist with the supervision of temporary or new secretaries when covering for holidays and sickness.
Follow the QVH Trust’s guidelines on confidentiality.
Ensure a professional image of QVH and the service is maintained at all times.
Person specification
Qualifications
* Secondary education to GCSE level including English and Maths
* NVQ level 3 in administration or equivalent experience or RSA level III or able to demonstrate equivalent skill
Experience
* Significant experience in secretarial/administration, preferably in a medical setting
* Working in a multi-disciplinary team
* Aware of confidentiality and General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
* Knowledge and awareness of medical terminology
* Knowledge of NHS performance/targets
Skills
* Accurate audio typing; Typing speed of at least 60 wpm
* Proficient use of computers and software packages, including knowledge of databases and spreadsheets
Attributes
* Good command of English, both written and verbal, with good grammatical and spelling ability
* Attention to detail with high degree of personal organisation, prioritisation and self-management
* Demonstrate ability to work under pressure
The closing date given is a guide only. There may be some occasions when we have to close a vacancy once sufficient applications have been received. You are therefore advised to submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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.
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