Forgotten Patients Group
Experienced Secretary - Health Charity - Volunteer
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
About Us
We are a small multidisciplinary UK charity supporting people with complex enduring medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) who are struggling in the health system. We are looking for an experienced, proactive colleague with an interest in health matters to help bring order to chaos.
What Difference Will You Make?
You will bring order to chaos, support, inspire, encourage, nag, have ideas, and bring an occasional reality check to what we are doing.
Our charity has been going for 3 years, with one of the Trustees largely supporting the charity by lending it staff time, office space, and money. We have survived and delivered a lot during this time but see the need to be more organized, increase our membership, improve our finances, and build something of real patient value.
We are looking for the right person to accompany us on this journey.
What Are We Looking For?
- 3+ years of office experience
- Some knowledge/interest in health matters
- An organized, enthusiastic, and energetic person. A nice manner. Able to keep confidential material confidential.
- Word processing skills. Good English writing and grammar.
- Possibly some research and health writing skills.
- Familiar with social media postings. Able to update our websites and LinkedIn pages.
- Someone who can see where we are going and can help us get there.
Hybrid
What Will You Be Doing?
Background
MUS is a major, yet under-recognized challenge for patients, families, and the health service. An estimated £3 billion of NHS resources are wasted every year (2008 figures) as people rotate over months/years between different specialties, various tests, and failed attempts at treatment. Further sums are wasted in lost productivity and social costs (~£14 billion), not to mention mental deterioration, family break-ups, and occasional suicides. Approximately 25% of GP consultations and 40% of hospital referrals do not result in a clear diagnosis. This is possibly the largest unaddressed medical issue in western economies. There is more in our recent ‘Analysis’ paper in the BJGP (https://bjgp.org/content/75/761/579.full).
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Yet despite the scale of the issue, there are very few organizations supporting people living with MUS. We are the only charity dedicated to this area.
What Do We Do?
Driven by clinicians, patients, and advocates with first-hand experience, we advocate, raise awareness, educate, provide patient and physician resources, and undertake research. Based in a cramped West London office, we are a friendly and supportive bunch with no money who punch above our weight. Hopefully, we are making a difference.
Recent Activities Include
- Simple guides for patients attending their GP, hospital appointments, or who are experiencing MUS https://www.forgottenpatients.org/patient-stories
- Research: We are involved in two major projects
- A systematic review of gaslighting in healthcare with UCL (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42024601930)
- An exploration of patient stories looking to identify symptom clusters, better understand the patient journey, and develop management algorithms for MUS together with Prof. Lee Aiyegbusi at the University of Birmingham.
- Films: Recognizing Rare Diseases in the Emergency Department – An Interview with Dr Eva Diehl-Wiesenecker, Charite University Hospital, Berlin
- International collaboration: We are members of the EU-funded JARDIN Undiagnosed Multidisciplinary Task Force. Our charity has contributed to the soon-to-be-published ‘Recommendations on Patient Organisations for Undiagnosed Patients in Europe’.
- Educational conferences: Most recently ‘Enduring Symptoms from patient voices to solution-driven care’. A 1-day hybrid CPD-approved conference at the Royal College of Physicians, 24th June 2026. A previous conference was referred to in an article in the BMJ and the Daily Mail.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
What Are We Looking For?
We are looking for an experienced, friendly, competent person to help with meetings, minutes, emails, trustee and member matters, research activities, online postings, funding applications, etc. Must be able to handle sensitive information and cope with deadlines and occasional chaos. Must have 3+ years of office administrative experience.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location