Raigmore Hospital

Job Description

1.  JOB IDENTIFICATION

Job Title: Support Medical Secretary
Responsible to: Ophthalmology Administrator
Department(s): Ophthalmology
Directorate: Surgical
Job Reference: SSSARAIGADMI64
No of Job Holders: 2
Last Update: April 2017

2. JOB PURPOSE

To provide a comprehensive secretarial and administrative support service to the Secretarial, Medical and Specialist Support staff within the Ophthalmology Department.
3. DIMENSIONS
The postholder will work within the Ophthalmology Department, Surgical Division, Raigmore Hospital which comprises 7 Consultants, and supporting Orthoptic, Optometry and Nursing Teams. The postholder will support the Medical Secretaries and the Consultant Teams with a full range of secretarial and administrative services for the clinical workload at Raigmore Hospital and peripheral hospitals within NHS Highland, West Grampian, Western Isles and Orkney.
The postholder checks and corrects work done by audio-typists for the Department, trains new starts and supervises college students on placement within the Department.

4. ORGANISATIONAL POSITION

Consultant Service Manager

Department Administrator x 2

Medical Secretary

Support Medical Secretary

5. ROLE OF DEPARTMENT

The Surgical Division provides services across NHS Highland and also visiting services to West Grampian, Western Isles and Orkney.
The Department of Ophthalmology consists of 7 Consultants and their associated clinical staff. The postholder will, in conjunction with/support to the other medical secretaries in the Department, provide a comprehensive secretarial and administrative service to this group of staff to ensure efficient service delivery of patient care.

6. KEY RESULT AREAS

1.  Expeditious word processing of correspondence relating to clinics, discharge summaries, test results and general administrative work for Consultant and associated medical/nurse specialist staff ensuring that work is completed accurately within agreed deadlines.
2.  Provide assistance to the Medical Secretary in the administration of correspondence, co-ordination of admissions, appropriate tests, appointments and book Patient Lodge accommodation. Liaise with medical secretary to replace admission cancellation slots by selecting another patient from the waiting list requiring similar operation/operating time to ensure full utilisation of theatre session.
3.  Provide assistance to the Medical Secretary to ensure the daily diary up-to-date for Consultant and Team, ensure that all relevant dates are accurately recorded including patient admissions, checking that all associated arrangements have been made.
4.  Open, sort and action departmental mail, ensure that appropriate case notes/documentation is available to enable Consultant and associated staff to respond timeously. Draft routine correspondence on behalf of Consultant.
5.  Receive enquiries, by telephone or face to face involving patients, GPs, relatives and other departments/hospitals. Evaluate messages and implement action as appropriate, ensuring that enquiries are followed through to a satisfactory conclusion.
6.  Assist the Medical Secretary with the implementation of alterations to clinics in response to necessity of the service, eg notification of cancellations of clinics, determining number of patients per Consultant/doctor.
7.  Provide assistance to the Medical Secretary in organising travel arrangements for Consultant Team and PAMs specialists, this includes booking flights, car hire and hotel reservations.
8.  Maintain filing systems, maintain stock control of stationery for department, photocopy and fax as required.
9.  Liaise with other departments to ensure good working relationships and efficient running of the overall Department, on occasions this includes providing cover, where feasible, for other secretaries within the Department.
10.  Carry out secretarial and administrative duties associated with the Consultant’s management responsibilities and duties relating to Academic, Research and Professional work. Duties include co-ordination of arrangements for clinical meetings, working groups and committees, both at local and national level.

7a. EQUIPMENT AND MACHINERY

·  Personal Computer and printer
·  Photocopier
·  Audio equipment
·  Office Equipment
·  Telephone/fax/voicemail
7b. SYSTEMS
·  Office filing system
·  PMS
·  Electronic data storage eg Word, Access, Excel, PowerPoint
·  Medical Records Tracking (MRT) of patient notes on Patient Management System (PmS)
·  Using the Radiology Information System to check on status of patient investigations to allow timeous completion of patient’s treatment
·  Updating and maintaining patient records to ensure these are accurate and up to date with all relevant correspondence and investigative results
·  Create and send messages to all points of contact using Microsoft Outlook
·  Intranet/internet
·  Creation, updating and maintenance of departmental databases
·  PECOS

8. ASSIGNMENT AND REVIEW OF WORK

The postholder works directly to the Administrators, Consultant(s)/associated clinical staff.
Workload is generated by the Consultant Team and the Medical Secretary. The postholder manages their own workload to meet agreed deadlines. The ability to prioritise and make decisions is expected.
Provide assistance to colleagues as required in times of sickness and annual leave to ensure efficient service delivery.
Undertake surveys and audits as requested by Administrator(s)/Consultant(s) when required.
Line Management support is provided where required.
9. DECISIONS AND JUDGEMENTS
The postholder plans and organises their own time with supervision available from the Medical Secretary and the Consultant Team. The postholder should also work to departmental/office procedures and operating systems.
The postholder is required to exercise judgement when dealing with patient enquiries, analysing and resolving the problem timeously where necessary and seeking the appropriate level of expertise where required. Requests from GPs to expedite appointment/admission dates require the postholder to establish the patient’s clinical condition in order to determine how quickly the patient needs to be seen.
The Consultant(s)/associated clinical staff/Administrator(s) is available to advise on more complex matters.

10. MOST CHALLENGING/DIFFICULT PARTS OF THE JOB

·  Managing time effectively, prioritising work to meet competing demands
·  Providing advice and information to patients
·  Dealing with distressed relatives and patients
·  Dealing with complaints and verbal aggression both face to face and on the telephone
·  Providing secretarial support to colleagues at times of annual/sick leave
·  Utilising good communication skills to nurture a close working relationship with internal/external contacts to ensure continued effectiveness of the service
·  Managing constant interruptions which affect concentration
11. COMMUNICATIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS
·  Communicate with staff within NHS Highland, external agencies, patients, relatives and carers both verbally and in writing regarding appointments, admissions and meetings.
·  The postholder must acknowledge the sensitive nature of the topics discussed with patients and use skills of tact and diplomacy especially when dealing with patients who are terminally ill. When instructed by the Consultant to contact a patient with suspected cancer to arrange an urgent appointment the postholder must ensure that no alarm is caused and that the potential diagnosis is not disclosed to the patient.
·  The postholder must acknowledge when speaking to patients that some will have barriers to understanding ie. stroke patients, patients with visual, verbal or hearing impairments, patients with little or no English, etc. and treat them with patience and respect.
12. PHYSICAL, MENTAL, EMOTIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEMANDS OF THE JOB
Physical Skills:
·  Advanced keyboard skills requiring high degree of speed and accuracy
·  Excellent audio skills
·  Good working knowledge of computer software packages
Physical Demands:
·  80% of work is computer based therefore required to sit in a restricted position for prolonged periods of time on a daily basis – an average of 6 hours per day
·  Moving and transferring large amounts of case records +/- x-rays by hand or trolley – an average of 30 minutes per day, varying between 1 to 100 case notes, average weight 2kg per set
Mental Demands:
·  A degree of concentration when entering patient data into the various systems, transcribing notes, filing, distributing mail, photocopying and dealing with enquiries – face to face and by telephone – average 60%.
·  Frequent interruptions requiring postholder to change from working on one task to another at the request of a third party – average 20% per day
·  Frequently required to undertake several tasks simultaneously – average 10% per day
·  Intense concentration required when inputting data onto computer systems – average 10% per day
Emotional Demands:
·  Daily exposure to clinical information which can be distressing
·  Daily communication with distressed and anxious patients and relatives frequently required on a daily basis using skills of tact, diplomacy and discretion
·  Actively listening to callers and dealing with issues of grievance diplomatically
·  Communicating with external agencies (.ie. legal bodies, social work services, Procurator Fiscal’s office and the Police)
Working Conditions:
·  More or less continuous use of VDU and sitting in one position for lengthy periods of time – daily 80%

13. KNOWLEDGE, TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED TO DO THE JOB

·  HNC, SVQIII or RSA III in Medical secretarial studies or equivalent experience
·  Minimum 3 years secretarial experience with a high level of office practice skills
·  Proficient in use of Software systems, i.e. Excel, Access, Power Point, Word, E-mail and Internet
·  Advanced keyboard skills
·  Medical terminology – 2 years
·  Excellent organisational, communication and problem solving skills
·  Excellent verbal, written and interpersonal skills
·  Self-motivated
·  Assertive, diplomatic and consultative
·  Adhere to Data Protection Act and Patient Confidentiality Policy
·  Understand the Freedom of Information Act
·  Adhere to Departmental and NHS Highland policies e.g. Health & Safety, Sickness Absence and Reporting Procedures and Fire Safety
·  Continue to undertake ongoing training as required in response to Organisational Policy and System Developments
14. JOB DESCRIPTION AGREEMENT
I agree that the above job description is an accurate reflection of my duties and
Responsibilities at the date of signing.
Job Holder’s Signature:
Head of Department Signature: / Date:
Date: