There are two main aspects to the role: To support the secretaries in the transcription of clinical reports dictated by ORLAU clinical staff, and to provide cover in the busy Reception office where this post is based. You will therefore need to be able to produce typing to a high standard and be able to concentrate and multitask in a very busy office. You will also need to demonstrate mature communication skills - the Reception team are the first staff that patients and visitors come into contact with and a warm and welcoming but professional approach is important., 1. The principal element of the role is to form part of the secretarial team, providing support with typing and processing patient reports dictated by ORLAU clinical staff. This involves a significant use of word processing software (BigHand) and the Trust's computer systems including our CareFlow Patient Administration System and Electronic Patient Record together with Microsoft Office and online reference search engines. Reports can be lengthy with specialised clinical and technical terminology due to the complex nature of patients' musculoskeletal/neuromuscular conditions and the presence of other medical conditions in many cases. The post holder will need to develop an awareness of relevant medical conditions, treatments and terminology in order to make sense of the dictation and ensure that it transcription is completed to a high standard - training will be given where necessary. 2. Undertake corrections to transcripts as indicated by clinicians, ensure letters are signed off before sending out, scan documents into the electronic patient record and manage the patient 'skinny file'. 3. Compose and generate correspondence for members of the multidisciplinary team either from standard templates or independently. 4. Listen and respond to queries via telephone, e-mail and face to face contact, from clinical and non-clinical NHS staff, patients and the general public, in an articulate and sympathetic manner, exercising judgement and taking appropriate action effectively and efficiently. Empathy is required particularly when dealing with patients and families/carers in difficult circumstances e.g. those caring for children or adults with complex long term, degenerative and occasionally terminal conditions. 5. Provide cover as part of the Reception team. This involves greeting patients/visitors, checking patient details and calling patients who do not attend. There is a significant percentage of patients whose first language may not be English, together with a number of patients with communication difficulties e.g. suffering from dementia or brain injury. There will therefore be barriers to understanding both via the telephone and face to face. 6. Check that the next stage on the patient pathway as detailed in dictations has been actioned or updated on departmental systems to ensure future actions are taken. 7. Be aware of RTT (Referral to Treatment) guidelines and rules for both English and Welsh patients and take prompt action to ensure patients with or without an open RTT pathway are treated efficiently and fairly. 8. Attend ORLAU Admin Team meetings and other team meetings as appropriate, contributing opinions and ideas on areas of service development and improvement. 9. Ensure that any issues of concern outside own areas of responsibility are brought to the attention of the Reception Team Lead or a manager without delay. 10. Participate in achievement of departmental objectives following ORLAU/Trust policies, NHS guidelines and protocols. 11. Carry out day to day maintenance of office equipment e.g. replacing printer toners, clearing paper jams, referring faults to appropriate staff. 12. Ensure safekeeping of items delivered via courier or by patients themselves e.g. splints/footwear for repair. Look after bags e.g. for patients who have travelled for their appointment and had an overnight stay or visitors who wish to leave items in safe keeping during their visit. Deal with lost property left in waiting area. 13. Assist in the training of new admin staff, demonstrating work tasks. 14. Maintain all patient records to national standards and ensure patient demographics are up to date. 15. Ensure that all data entered onto/accessed via Trust patient information systems and ORLAU patient pathway spreadsheets are accurate and complete. 16. Daily use of the various ORLAU Excel spreadsheets which are used to record and monitor patient pathways in ORLAU. This will involve both checking and updating data. 17. Assist in collecting data on an ad hoc basis (possibly once or twice a year) for clinical audit or research projects. 18. Undertake any other general administrative tasks as part of the wider admin team. 19. The post holder will share an office with their supervisor but would generally decide how to schedule their workload over the course of the day, referring back to supervisor or manager only to clarify, for example, unfamiliar terminology, poor quality dictation or departmental procedures. Additional Information 20. The Reception office acts as a hub for the whole MDT team. Consequently there is a great deal of interaction with staff of all grades with a wide variety of queries and requests on a constant basis throughout the day. Whilst the post holder would be expected to step in if other team members are not available, for a large part of their day the post holder will need to be able to focus on their work despite these distractions; concentration is required when transcribing sometimes difficult to interpret dictations. Longer dictations can take 30 minutes or more to transcribe. 21. There is a daily requirement for manual handling tasks such as receiving deliveries of patient splints and footwear. There will be an occasional requirement (once a week or less) to retrieve archived files from the Healthcare Records storage shed. All tasks would all be undertaken within safe manual handling limits and trollies would be used for heavier loads. Retrieval of files from the shed involves the use of a stepladder, stretching and crouching in a confined space between filing bays. 22. Occasional (two or three times a week) exposure to distressing sounds e.g. loud screams and crying from children in the waiting area, clinic rooms and patients presenting with severe disabilities or in discomfort or distress. 23. Occasional (approximately once a week) exposure to distressing information about a patient either in person, by telephone or through typing clinical reports. 24. Occasional (once or twice a month) exposure to unpleasant odours when patients have been incontinent. Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled Worker Sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. Job seekers should be aware that not all roles will be eligible for Skilled Worker Sponsorship. For further information visit UK Visas and Immigration - GOV.UK (
The successful candidate will demonstrate a good standard of spelling and grammar, together with accurate high quality audio typing skills to a minimum RSA 2 standard or equivalent. Excellent communication and team working skills are essential because the role involves working with all members of the multidisciplinary team on a daily basis.
The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic NHS Trust (RJAH) is one of the leading orthopaedic hospitals in the country, with some of the highest levels of staff and patient satisfaction, as well as a strong reputation for research and innovation. Joining RJAH is more than just a job - we want our people to have the best opportunities to thrive in their role. We have a range of fantastic staff benefits on offer to everyone who joins RJAH and you'll have access to outstanding professional development opportunities and state-of-the-art facilities - including our recently-opened £6 million Headley Court Veterans' Orthopaedic Centre (the first unit of its kind in the UK). RJAH has strong links with a range of universities including Staffordshire, Keele, Glyndwr, Chester and Birmingham. The hospital is located on a site outside Oswestry in Oswestry, just off the A5. The nearest train station is in Gobowen, approximately two miles from the hospital. The station is part of the Chester to Birmingham line. We are based in North Shropshire, close to the border with North and Mid Wales. It is one of the most attractive parts of the country, with a rich historic culture and excellent transport links. It offers outstanding opportunities for anyone who enjoys an outdoor lifestyle or is looking to raise a family.
You will join the ORLAU (Orthotic Research & Locomotor Assessment Unit) Team that offers specialised services including three dimensional gait analysis and provision of complex orthotic devices and walking systems for patients with a wide range of mobility disorders. The department also carries out research, development and educational activities. The multidisciplinary team of 30 comprises Orthopaedic Surgeons, Physiotherapists, Orthotists, Clinical Scientists, Engineers, Technicians and Admin staff. The department is highly regarded for the quality of its work and patient satisfaction scores are consistently high. Main tasks for the role:- To undertake administration and reception tasks as part of the wider admin team to support the efficient management of patient pathways and the optimum care for our patients. To undertake transcription of clinical reports to a high standard for ORLAU clinicians - on the job training in specialised terminology will be given. The 15 hours will be worked over a Friday (roughly 9am- 4pm) with the days for remaining hours negotiable. Occasional flexibility to help cover periods of leave would be ideal and of course this flexible approach works both ways.
* Pay banding subject to Agenda for Change evaluation
INTERVIEW DATE: Wednesday 27th November