Job overview
The department is fast paced, and the successful candidate will need to demonstrate excellent teamwork skills and the ability to work effectively within team.
This role is part of a team of three Secretary vacancies, and the successful candidates will work closely with colleagues to ensure the smooth running of the service. They must be able to work independently, prioritise tasks, and manage their own workload effectively.
As the role involves regular contact with patients, relatives, and healthcare professionals via telephone and email, applicants must have excellent communication skills and a courteous, professional, and empathetic manner.
The successful candidate will need a good working knowledge of Microsoft Office 365 and experience of proofreading and editing documents.
This is a 12-month secondment opportunity. Please note that if the secondment ends earlier than anticipated, or the substantive postholder returns to their role before the end of the secondment period, this appointment may be terminated early in line with the appropriate notice provisions.
Main duties of the job
- To support the Senior Medical Secretaries on a day-to-day basis with admin, typing of letters and overseeing of basic tasks
- To liaise with and act as a point of contact for clinical and non-clinical staff via telephone and email
- To act as a point of contact for patients, relatives and carers. The post holder should be polite and empathetic to the patient’s needs at all times and be able to communicate effectively when dealing with difficult situations/conversations
- Returning calls promptly and keeping callers updated with information in an effective and efficient way
- Escalate patient queries, capacity problems and general issues to the role’s line manager or relevant clinical staff as appropriate
- To show a caring and professional approach towards patients, relatives and carers. This may require acting with resilience to deal with sometimes distressed patients and relatives in a professional and empathetic manner
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For a more detailed job description, main responsibilities, and person specification, please refer to the job description document attached to this vacancy.
Person specification
Aptitudes
Essential
- Supportive
- Respectful
- Innovative
- Collaborative
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Effective and polite manner when dealing with people, both face to face and on the phone
- Able to work under pressure and meet deadlines whilst maintaining a high standard of accuracy
- Ability to work effectively in a busy team, adjust to change and motivate others
- Ability to work on your own, using your own initiative, if required
- Confidence to handle difficult conversations with patients, relatives and carers
- Ability to adapt to use new computer packages and programmes
- Effective organisational skills
- Good IT skills including Microsoft packages
- Attention to detail
- Good secretarial and audio typing skills
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Experience of dealing with the public, both on the telephone and in person
Desirable
- Previous NHS experience
- Understanding of medical terminology
- Clerical / administrative experience
Qualifications and Training
Essential
- Educated to GCSE, grade C or above (or equivalent) in English Language and Maths
- Business and Administration Level 3 NVQ or equivalent experience
- Qualified in word processing or audio typing (or equivalent)
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Support Medical Secretary with University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust in Weston General Hospital. It is listed as a Band 3 Administrative and IT role. The advertised salary is £25,760 - £27,476 pa pro rata. The contract type is 12 months (Please note that this fixed-term appointment is linked to a secondment arrangement. Should the substantive postholder return to their position earlier than anticipated, or should the secondment end for any reason before the stated end date, the fixed-term appointment may be terminated early. Appropriate notice will be provided in accordance with the terms and conditions of employment.). The application deadline is 06 Sep 2026.
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