North Bristol NHS Trust
Medical Secretary
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North Bristol NHS Trust and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust Merger
North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) have merged as of 1st July 2026 to become Bristol NHS Foundation Trust. This will create an exciting future that brings together the best of both organisations. As a single, strong and sustainable organisation, we will not only be able to deliver better outcomes for our patients and fairer care for our population, but it will also provide greater opportunities for our people.
Bristol NHS Foundation Trust recognise the value of a healthy work-life balance. When applying, speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate flexible working, so your work life fits around your home life.
We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates as they are under-represented within the Trust.
Our job adverts may close as soon as sufficient applications have been received. Considering this, if you are interested in this role, please do apply as soon as you can.
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Job Overview
We are looking to appoint an enthusiastic, adaptable and dedicated individual to provide an effective and efficient secretarial service to the Neuropathology Department at Southmead Hospital on a substantive basis.
The successful candidate should ideally have a range of secretarial/PA experience that is transferable to the hospital environment. They will be working in a busy department with one other secretary and will need the ability to work independently and manage their own workload, as well as working as part of the team. The successful candidate should have both organisational and interpersonal skills with the ability to work well under pressure and be able to focus on attention to detail. As the successful candidate will be dealing with healthcare professionals, police, coroner’s officers on the telephone and via email applicants must have excellent communication skills and will be expected to have a courteous and efficient telephone manner.
The ideal candidate will need to have a good working knowledge of Microsoft Office 365 software and be keen to learn departmental systems.
The Neuropathology Department is located in purpose-built laboratories at Southmead Hospital and processes neuropathological specimens from surgical patients and autopsies.
This post is a full-time position (37.5 hours per week), five days per week (Mon – Fri) Secretarial cover between 08:00 and 17:00 (shift available 09:00 – 17:00).
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Main duties of the job
- To audio- and copy-type documents, correspondence and data for the department’s neuropathologists using Microsoft Office applications and to manage the organisation, printing, and accessibility of these electronic documents
- Maintaining patient records and generating diagnostic reports for both surgical and autopsy cases using the Department’s Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS)
- To receive, answer and action all telephone and email enquiries from medical and non-medical staff and to provide advice and information within defined guidelines
- Organising meetings
- To manage the booking arrangements and waiting lists for muscle and nerve biopsies, especially those performed by the Neuropathology Department’s medical staff
- Send out case materials (blocks & slides) by Royal Mail/Courier as requested by internal or external clinicians and maintain accurate records
- General office duties to include photocopying & scanning; sending emails; opening and sorting incoming mail; maintaining the office environment
- PA activities for consultant neuropathologists
- Using the Trust’s PAS system to access and update patient records
- Management of autopsy cases
- Financial activities
- Assisting in managing the department’s archives by:
- Organising and maintaining existing paper filing systems
- Retrieving microscope slides from storage for review and ensuring their subsequent return to storage
- To assist in the training of new members of the Department’s staff - both permanent and temporary
Working for our organisation
North Bristol NHS Trust employs over 12,000 staff providing healthcare to the residents of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset from our award-winning hospital building at Southmead. We are the regional Major Trauma Centre, and an internationally recognised centre of excellence in a range of services and major specialities. Our vision is that by enabling our teams to be the best that they can be, we will provide exceptional healthcare, personally delivered.
North Bristol NHS Trust values all people as individuals. We aim to be an anti-discriminatory organisation and are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We welcome applicants from all underrepresented groups.
Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities
Please refer to the BMS Job Description and Person Specification attached for more detailed information.
Person specification
Essential criteria
- Education/Training/Qualifications
- Work Experience
- Knowledge/Skills/Abilities
- Personal Qualities / Special Circumstances
Desirable criteria
- Education/Training/Qualifications
- Work Experience
We hope that you will decide to join us and become part of this exciting journey, helping us to shape our future together.
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As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.
The Trust is committed to investing in and caring for all our staff. We will support you in maintaining and improving your health and wellbeing, as well as your career development through management and training support - developing exceptional people for exceptional careers.
BFT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults.
To comply with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 all applicants must be able to speak fluent English to an appropriate standard which will be assessed at Interview.
If you require sponsorship for a visa to work in the UK, to avoid disappointment, please check to ensure you are eligible under the UKVI points based system.
The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.
By applying for this post, you are agreeing to Bristol NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.
Please be aware of scams – unless specified above, we will only communicate with you via @recruit.trac.jobs or nhs.net e-mails and we will never ask you for any payments.
Important
Please note that if you apply for a position with this Trust, you may be contacted via Trac or via email. This includes invites for job interviews. We therefore recommend that you regularly check your Trac account and email accounts. We may also contact you by texting the mobile number, if provided, on the application form.
Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts we may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date. Therefore, please apply for this post as soon as you can, if you are interested and you meet the requirements of the Person Specification.
Only those candidates who clearly demonstrate how they meet the person specification will be shortlisted for this job.
As a guide interviews should usually take place within 3 weeks of the closing date.
When providing employment reference details, please provide correct work-related email addresses so references can be sought promptly when we are looking to progress your application. Your referee must all be known to you in a line manager or professional lead capacity.
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