Job overview

This is an entry level trainee position and represents the first step on a career path towards becoming an Accredited Clinical Coder.  Full training towards this goal will be provided by the Trust.

As a trainee Clinical Coder you will perform a key role within the Trust to ensure that our clinical coding is accurate, complete and timely.

As a Band 3 Trainee Clinical Coder you will be actively supported in working towards progression to a Band 4 Clinical Coder post, after successfully completing the speciality training programme and other relevant competencies, with progression to a Band 5 Clinical Coder post (including an R&R incentive), after having successfully attained the national Clinical Coding Qualification.

Applicants who have not completed the Clinical Coding Standards Course are welcome to apply, and if successful will be recruited as a Band 2 until completion of the course and relevant competencies are met within the first 3 months of employment.

The post holder is responsible for extracting clinical information from the patients electronic healthcare record and apply clinical codes whilst adhering to National Standards, local policies and guidance.

Main duties of the job

Undertake the Clinical Coding Standards Course online which is fundamental to the role.

Maintain and develop practical coding skills and knowledge delivered by formal internal specialist training, 

Organise own work to achieve individual targets and set objectives,

To accurately extract relevant clinical information from the patients electronic healthcare record and to assign appropriate codes using ICD10 and OPCS  following established National Coding Guidelines

Liaise with Trust staff to achieve accurate data and work closely with department colleagues in ensuring targets and objectives are attained.

Ensure coding accuracy and integrity are maintained at the highest level.

The post holder will engage with the internal coding audit programme and action all audit recommendations.

Working for our organisation

#BeKnown at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. By us. By our patients. By our community

We are a busy, friendly, rural NHS Trust providing high-quality care and compassion to more than a quarter of a million people across west Suffolk. We care for, treat and support people in hospital, at home and in various community settings.

The West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds provides acute and secondary care services (emergency department, maternity and neonatal services, day surgery unit, eye treatment centre, Macmillan unit and children's ward). It has 500+ beds and is a partner teaching hospital of the University of Cambridge.

Adult and paediatric community services, provided in collaboration with West Suffolk Alliance partners, include a range of nursing, therapy, specialist, and ongoing temporary care and rehabilitation, some at our Newmarket Community Hospital.

We do our utmost to achieve outstanding clinical outcomes for patients and our values of fairness, inclusivity, respect, safety and team work guide how we work and behave as a team.