Job summary: To be responsible for undertaking a wide range of secretarial and administrative duties and the provision of administrative support to the multidisciplinary team. Duties can include, but are not limited to, the processing of information (electronic and hard copy) in a timely manner, liaising with multidisciplinary team members and external agencies such as secondary care and community service providers in accordance with current policies, including the use of the electronic referral service (ERS).
Mission statement:
AIMS:
To maintain the health and wellbeing of our patients to the highest possible standard
To provide a safe and congenial environment for our patients and staff to interact and work
To provide a culture of training and learning for the betterment of the health economy as a whole
Objectives:
To deliver high quality primary care general practice services to our service users
To focus on health promotion and disease prevention
To work in partnership with our service users, delivering patient centred care and involving them in all aspects of management of their own health and wellbeing related issues and encouraging service user participation in organisational decision making through our patient participation group
To work in partnership with other local and national care providers to provide holistic care for our patients
To ensure the locations we provide our services from are maintained to a high standard to ensure safe and effective provision of patient care for our patients and a welcoming working environment for our staff with implementation of policies to ensure protection of service users and staff from any form of abuse or discrimination.
To ensure our organisation monitors and evaluates the services it provides to be able to continually improve and be responsive to the needs of patients
To promote an environment of learning for our staff, students and medical trainees and ensure proper training for the betterment of the individual, organisation and health economy as a whole
All staff at Oswald Medical Centre have a duty to conform to the following
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
A good attitude and positive action towards Equality Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I) creates an environment where all individuals can achieve their full potential. Creating such an environment is important for three reasons – it improves operational effectiveness; it is morally the right thing to do, and it is required by law.
Patients and their families have the right to be treated fairly and be routinely involved in decisions about their treatment and care. They can expect to be treated with dignity and respect and will not be discriminated against on any grounds including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
Patients have a responsibility to treat other patients and our staff with dignity and respect.
Staff have the right to be treated fairly in recruitment and career progression. Staff can expect to work in an environment where diversity is valued, and equality of opportunity is promoted. Staff will not be discriminated against on any grounds including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Staff have a responsibility to ensure that they treat our patients and their colleagues with dignity and respect.
Safety, Health, Environment and Fire (SHEF)
This organisation is committed to supporting and promoting opportunities for staff to maintain their health, wellbeing and safety.
The post holder is to manage and assess risk within the areas of responsibility, ensuring adequate measures are in place to protect staff and patients and monitor work areas and practices to ensure they are safe and free from hazards and conform to health, safety and security legislation, policies, procedures and guidelines.
All personnel have a duty to take reasonable care of health and safety at work for themselves, their team and others and to cooperate with employers to ensure compliance with health and safety requirements.
All personnel are to comply with the:
· Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
· Environmental Protection Act 1990
· Environment Act 1995
· Fire Precautions (workplace) Regulations 1999
· Coronavirus Act 2020
· Other statutory legislation which may be brought to the post holder’s attention
Confidentiality
The organisation is committed to maintaining an outstanding confidential service. Patients entrust and permit us to collect and retain sensitive information relating to their health and other matters pertaining to their care. They do so in confidence and have a right to expect all staff will respect their privacy and maintain confidentiality.
It is essential that, if the legal requirements are to be met and the trust of our patients is to be retained, all staff must protect patient information and provide a confidential service.
Quality and Continuous Improvement (CI)
To preserve and improve the quality of this organisation’s outputs, all personnel are required to think not only of what they do but how they achieve it. By continually re-examining our processes, we will be able to develop and improve the overall effectiveness of the way we work.
The responsibility for this rests with everyone working within the organisation to look for opportunities to improve quality and share good practice and to discuss, highlight and work with the team to create opportunities to improve patient care.
Oswald Medical Centre continually strives to improve work processes which deliver healthcare with improved results across all areas of our service provision. We promote a culture of continuous improvement where everyone counts, and staff are permitted to make suggestions and contributions to improve our service delivery and enhance patient care.
Staff should interpret national strategies and policies into local implementation strategies that are aligned to the values and culture of general practice.
All staff are to contribute to investigations and root cause analyses whilst participating in serious incident investigations and multidisciplinary case reviews.
Induction
At Oswald Medical Centre you will be required to complete the induction programme and the practice management team will support you throughout the process.
Learning and development
The effective use of training and development is fundamental in ensuring that all staff are equipped with the appropriate skills, knowledge, attitude and competences to perform their role. All staff will be required to partake in, and complete mandatory training as directed by Oswald Medical Centre . It is an expectation for this post holder to assess their own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate
The post holder will undertake mentorship for team members and disseminate learning and information gained to other team members to share good practice and inform others about current and future developments (e.g., courses and conferences).
The post holder will provide an educational role to patients, carers, families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning.
Collaborative working
All staff are to recognise the significance of collaborative working and understand their own role and scope and identify how this may develop over time. Staff are to prioritise their own workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are embedded within the culture of the team.
Teamwork is essential in multidisciplinary environments and the post holder is to work as an effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploring the mechanisms to develop new ways of working and work effectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon care delivery
Effective communication is essential, and all staff must ensure they communicate in a manner which enables the sharing of information in an appropriate manner. All staff should delegate clearly and appropriately, adopting the principles of safe practice and assessment of competence.
Plans and outcomes by which to measure success should be agreed.
Managing information
All staff should use technology and appropriate software as an aid to management in the planning, implementation and monitoring of care and presenting and communicating information. Data should be reviewed and processed using accurate SNOMED/read codes to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes.
Service delivery
Staff will be given detailed information during the induction process regarding policy and procedure. The post holder must adhere to the information contained within the organisation’s policies and regional directives, ensuring protocols are always adhered to.
Security
The security of the organisation is the responsibility of all personnel. The post holder must ensure they always remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity immediately to their line manager.
Under no circumstances are staff to share the codes for the door locks with anyone and are to ensure that restricted areas remain effectively secured. Likewise, password controls are to be maintained and are not to be shared.
Professional conduct
All staff are required to dress appropriately for their role.
Leave
All personnel are entitled to take leave. Line managers are to ensure all their staff are afforded the opportunity to take annual leave each year and should be encouraged to take all their leave entitlement.
Public holidays will be calculated on a pro-rated basis dependent on the number of hours worked.
Primary key responsibilities
The following are the core responsibilities of the Medical Secretary. There may be, on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels:
a. Typing letters, reports and associated documentation as required
b. Liaising with external agencies such as hospitals and community services, ensuring referrals are processed efficiently
c. Managing all enquiries in an effective manner
d. Maintaining an accurate referrals database
e. Actioning all incoming email
f. Processing calling letters as requested
g. Scanning of patient related documentation and attaching scanned documents to patient’s healthcare records
h. Inputting data into the patient’s healthcare records as necessary
i. Processing referrals using the electronic referral system (ERS)
j. Work with the Administration Team for Processing requests for information i.e., SAR, insurance/solicitor’s letters and DVLA forms to ensure these are completed in a timely manner
k. Clinically coding data on EMIS Clinical System
l. Answering incoming phone calls, transferring calls or dealing with the callers request appropriately
m. Managing all administrative queries as necessary
n. Carrying out system searches as requested
o. Maintaining a clean, tidy, effective working area at all times
p. Supporting all clinical staff with general administrative tasks as requested
Secondary responsibilities
In addition to the primary responsibilities, the Medical Secretary may be requested to:
a. Partake in audit as directed by the audit lead
b. Produce meeting agendas and record the minutes of meetings
c. Support reception staff, providing cover during staff training events
Person specification – Medical Secretary
Qualifications:
Educated to GCSE level or equivalent - Essential
GCSE Mathematics and English (C or above) - Desirable
NVQ Level 2 in Health and Social Care - Desirable
Experience:
Experience of working with the general public - Essential
Experience of administrative duties - Essential
Experience of working in a healthcare setting as a medical secretary - Essential
Skills:
Excellent communication skills (written and oral) - Essential
Strong IT skills, including audio typing - Essential
Clear, polite telephone manner - Essential
Competent in the use of Office and Outlook - Essential
EMIS/ SystmOne/Vision user skills - Desirable
Effective time management (planning and organising) - Essential
Ability to work as a team member and autonomously - Essential
Good interpersonal skills - Essential
Problem solving and analytical skills - Essential
Ability to follow policy and procedure - Essential
Personal qualities:
Polite and confident - Essential
Flexible and cooperative - Essential
Motivated - Essential
Forward thinker - Essential
High levels of integrity and loyalty - Essential
Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations - Essential
Ability to work under pressure - Essential
Other requirements:
Flexibility to work outside of core office hours - Essential
Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check - Essential
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Pay: £13.13 per hour
Expected hours: 37.5 per week
Work Location: In person
