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Job summary

Main area
General Surgery
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 3
Contract
12 months (Fixed Term)
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Monday - Friday)
Job ref
249-8167000
Employer
Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Great Western Hospital
Town
Swindon
Salary
£25,760 - £27,476 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
13/08/2026 23:59

Employer heading

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust logo

Medical Secretary

NHS AfC: Band 3

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is a unique organisation, serving as the sole integrated provider in the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire system. Our scope extends beyond boundaries as we oversee adult community services in Swindon and provide acute care from the Great Western Hospital. 

Our 5,500 staff have 1.2m patient contacts a year, with 13,000 operations carried out in our Theatres, around 4,000 babies born, and our emergency attendances are now well over 100,000 per year. Those numbers only tell part of our story about what an exciting time it is to join Great Western Hospitals.

We are cultivating a culture that fosters our ambitions, prioritising equality, diversion, inclusion, wellbeing, and leadership. We aim to create an environment where every member of our team can truly thrive.

Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used, then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.

If we receive a high volume of applications, we may close adverts prior to the published closing date. Therefore, we advise you to complete and submit your application as soon as possible.

Job overview

Medical Secretary

The post will be an integral part of the General Surgery secretarial group providing an efficient typing service to the division in support of the work for Consultants and other Clinical Staff and the Clinical Lead to maximise patient care.

Main duties of the job

   Act as the main contact point for your consultants and other clinical staff related to your specialist clinical area, fielding enquiries in a professional and efficient manner.

 

    Type (audio/copy) clinics letters, medico-legal letters, and general reports and memos for consultants and junior medical staff. Ensuring work is of the highest quality in terms of presentation and layout and dispatch is within agreed timescales.

 

    Open, sort and action post on a daily basis.

 

    Retrieve, log and return case notes/medical records, keeping these in accordance with Trust policy (Case note tracking and Filing in Case notes)

 

    File correspondence, investigatory reports and maintain paper and electronic filing system in the office. 

 

Respond and/or action enquiries (face to face/telephone/email/written) from staff, patients and third parties in a professional and pro-active manner, including liaising with police, solicitors, and social services.

 

 

 

Working for our organisation

We are proud to be part of BSW Hospitals Group – a formal partnership between Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust and Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust. With a combined workforce of over 17, 600 colleagues, and budget of 1.6 billion the Group is united by a common purpose to deliver the best possible care to over 1 million people.

We are creating a health and care system that works with the people we care for, reducing the differences people currently face in access, experience and outcomes, improving the experience of our colleagues and tackling shared challenges like sustainability and finances. Every improvement we make across our Group will be guided by what creates the greatest benefit for our colleagues, our patients, our communities and our partners.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

    Ensure referral letters are collected and assessed daily and that the patient referral letters are moved quickly through the registration system to the booking team.

  Ensure all investigatory results are seen promptly by the consultant, or agreed member of team during periods of leave, and processed accordingly.

   Work with other team members to cover for and support departmental secretaries including local induction for new starters.

  Ensure the consultant’s diary is up to date, and agree a system for diary management with the consultant.

 Facilitate medical staff leave through diary management and communicating with the relevant personnel responsible for processing leave requests. 

  To take and produce minutes for occasional meetings when required.

   To review/audit and establish where appropriate, revised systems to maximise the efficient running of the department.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • NVQ Level 3 (or equivalent)
  • Educated GCSE (or equivalent) English and Maths
  • RSA II or equivalent in secretarial skills and typing.
  • Demonstrable working knowledge of Microsoft packages- Word, Excel etc
Desirable criteria
  • Certificate in Medical Terminology.
  • European Computer Driving Licence
  • Secretary qualification
  • Willingness to actively seek personal development and training.

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Significant experience of working as a secretary and/or in a clerical environment
  • Demonstrable experience of working with Microsoft Office and databases
  • Referral triaging and booking processes
Desirable criteria
  • Hospital patient system such as Medway

Employer certification / accreditation badges

NHS Pastoral Care Quality AwardVeteran AwareApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyPositive about disabled peopleAge positiveDisability confident leaderInvestors in People: GoldCare Leaver CovenantStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.Step into healthArmed Forces Covenant

Applicant requirements

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.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Tia Jones
Job title
Operational Support Manager
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
01793 696775
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