Rowhedge and University of Essex Medical Practice

05/08/2025

26/06/2025

Telling your GP you’ve served in the Armed Forces can help them better understand your health needs. It doesn’t matter when or how long you served — just say you served.

25/06/2025

This also applies to our Rowhedge and University of Essex patients.

Update: 2 May 2025 New Weight Management and Complex Obesity Service for patients in Suffolk (excluding Waveney) and north east Essex   Find your local integrated care board (ICB) – NHS (opens in new window) Patients in Suffolk and north east Essex who are eligible for specialist dietary advic...

16/05/2025

The Colte Partnership are seeking an office manager to join Rowhedge and University of Essex Medical Practice to provide administrative support and services to the practice team. This position is offered on a full-time basis - the role will be recruited to on a fixed term contract basis to cover maternity leave.

The practice is looking for an excellent manager who can lead and provide direction in a rapidly changing NHS environment. The post holder will work closely with the practice manager and operations manager to maintain and deliver the partnership strategic goals and vision.

Key responsibilities will include:
Oversee the day-to-day management of the administrative team and to ensure administrative and clerical duties within the practice are carried out within the practice’s guidelines and policies.
Organise the admin team rotas and admin team and secretarial annual leave.
Provide administrative support to members of the primary health care team.
Carry out audits and work with clinicians, management and outside agencies.
Carry out searches/ collate information etc to process monthly and quarterly claims.
Arrange and take minutes at palliative care meetings.
Produce data and statistics.
Monitor and maintain the training website.
Monitor and book external courses for staff.
In participation with the practice manager carry out staff appraisals.
Deal with problems reported by other members of the admin team.
Monitor workload and skills of the team against changes in procedures and duties.
Encourage and support personal development of members of the admin team, provide training as an ongoing item.
Maintain self and team professionalism.
Keep the admin team informed of any matters arising as necessary, or as requested by other members of the health care team.
Keep the practice manager informed of any matters arising or problems/potential problems.
About the Candidate
If you are an experienced office manager looking for a new challenge, then we would love to hear from you.

All applicants should have the following skills and experience:
Experience working within a GP practice.
Previous experience working in a management role.
Team management experience.
Motivation and diplomacy.
Methodical and accurate.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Excellent time management and organisation skills.
Ability to work under pressure.

If you would like to apply for the role please email your CV to rowhedge.surgery@nhs.net

14/05/2025

Vacancy at Rowhedge Surgery

Job title: Medical Secretary

Salary TBC

Hours per week 15 hours per week across 2 days

Contract type Permanent/Fixed term

About the role

Rowhedge Medical Practice are currently looking for a Medical Secretary to join our friendly and hard-working secretary team. The ideal candidate will be able to undertake all secretarial duties.

About the candidate
The post holder’s responsibilities will include:
• To carry out the processes for eReferral / Choose and Book (or any future e-referral software) ensuring referrals are sent to the correct services as quickly as possible. Ensuring that ghost appointments are booked where necessary.
• To chase up any referrals that have not been processed within the expected timescale.
• To chase any patients who have not actioned their referrals or collected their paperwork.
• To complete any tasks sent by the clinical staff relating to letters and referrals or clinic attendances.
• To provide cover for members of the referral team during periods of sickness and annual
• To receive incoming and initiate outgoing telephone calls in order to facilitate timely and appropriate communications with others, taking messages and dealing with appropriate queries.
• To assist in any in-house data analysis of referral processed.
• To be aware of referral pathways and assist the clinicians in ensuring referrals are made to the most cost-effective service.
Knowledge and experience of using medical terminology would be an advantage but is not an essential. Experience of working within Primary Care would be preferred. Use of Systm1 would be an advantage but not essential as training can be provided to the right candidate.

Interviews will be carried out for successful applicants on receipt of CV and covering letter, and we reserve the right to retract the advert if a suitable person is found before the end date.

About us
Rowhedge is part of The Colte Partnership, a GP super-partnership, formed in June 2017. It has brought together 8 local GP surgeries across Colchester and Tendring, serving approx. 98,000 patients. With the combined workforce, skills and knowledge, we are in a unique position to assist our patients across the county.
Rowhedge offers a unique opportunity to develop expertise in student health alongside general practice. Rowhedge is a split site practice with a campus-based health centre and a dispensing village practice and is a pilot site for Pride in Practice. The practice consists of an established team of 4 partners and 5 salaried GP’s.

As well as General Practice, we offer Extended Access appointments to enable all our patients to access medical care at evening and weekends; we work collaboratively with external agencies to provide in home services and Social Prescribing; we are working to be at the forefront of Clinical Research; and have many more exciting ventures on the horizon.
We also work as a collaborative Primary Care Networks (PCN’s) which span across Colchester and Tendring:
• Riverside Medical Centre, Ardleigh Surgery, Walton Medical Centre and Colne Medical Centre.
• Mersea Island Medical Practice, Tiptree Medical Centre, Rowhedge Medical Centre & Wivenhoe Medical Centre.
There is a wide socio-economic and demographic served within this area which will provide an interesting and varied case mix. You will be joining an enthusiastic team of clinicians and administrators. You will be well supported with on-going professional development (training support, CPD and peer support). The role will contribute to the improving quality of care of our patients across the network of practices.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
Please note this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Job title: Medical Secretary

Salary TBC

Hours per week 15 hours per week across 2 days

Contract type Permanent/Fixed term

About the role

Rowhedge Medical Practice are currently looking for a Medical Secretary to join our friendly and hard-working secretary team. The ideal candidate will be able to undertake all secretarial duties.

About the candidate
The post holder’s responsibilities will include:
• To carry out the processes for eReferral / Choose and Book (or any future e-referral software) ensuring referrals are sent to the correct services as quickly as possible. Ensuring that ghost appointments are booked where necessary.
• To chase up any referrals that have not been processed within the expected timescale.
• To chase any patients who have not actioned their referrals or collected their paperwork.
• To complete any tasks sent by the clinical staff relating to letters and referrals or clinic attendances.
• To provide cover for members of the referral team during periods of sickness and annual
• To receive incoming and initiate outgoing telephone calls in order to facilitate timely and appropriate communications with others, taking messages and dealing with appropriate queries.
• To assist in any in-house data analysis of referral processed.
• To be aware of referral pathways and assist the clinicians in ensuring referrals are made to the most cost-effective service.
Knowledge and experience of using medical terminology would be an advantage but is not an essential. Experience of working within Primary Care would be preferred. Use of Systm1 would be an advantage but not essential as training can be provided to the right candidate.

Interviews will be carried out for successful applicants on receipt of CV and covering letter, and we reserve the right to retract the advert if a suitable person is found before the end date.

About us
Rowhedge is part of The Colte Partnership, a GP super-partnership, formed in June 2017. It has brought together 8 local GP surgeries across Colchester and Tendring, serving approx. 98,000 patients. With the combined workforce, skills and knowledge, we are in a unique position to assist our patients across the county.
Rowhedge offers a unique opportunity to develop expertise in student health alongside general practice. Rowhedge is a split site practice with a campus-based health centre and a dispensing village practice and is a pilot site for Pride in Practice. The practice consists of an established team of 4 partners and 5 salaried GP’s.

As well as General Practice, we offer Extended Access appointments to enable all our patients to access medical care at evening and weekends; we work collaboratively with external agencies to provide in home services and Social Prescribing; we are working to be at the forefront of Clinical Research; and have many more exciting ventures on the horizon.
We also work as a collaborative Primary Care Networks (PCN’s) which span across Colchester and Tendring:
• Riverside Medical Centre, Ardleigh Surgery, Walton Medical Centre and Colne Medical Centre.
• Mersea Island Medical Practice, Tiptree Medical Centre, Rowhedge Medical Centre & Wivenhoe Medical Centre.
There is a wide socio-economic and demographic served within this area which will provide an interesting and varied case mix. You will be joining an enthusiastic team of clinicians and administrators. You will be well supported with on-going professional development (training support, CPD and peer support). The role will contribute to the improving quality of care of our patients across the network of practices.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
Please note this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Job title: Medical Secretary

Salary TBC

Hours per week 15 hours per week across 2 days

Contract type Permanent/Fixed term

About the role

Rowhedge Medical Practice are currently looking for a Medical Secretary to join our friendly and hard-working secretary team. The ideal candidate will be able to undertake all secretarial duties.

About the candidate
The post holder’s responsibilities will include:
• To carry out the processes for eReferral / Choose and Book (or any future e-referral software) ensuring referrals are sent to the correct services as quickly as possible. Ensuring that ghost appointments are booked where necessary.
• To chase up any referrals that have not been processed within the expected timescale.
• To chase any patients who have not actioned their referrals or collected their paperwork.
• To complete any tasks sent by the clinical staff relating to letters and referrals or clinic attendances.
• To provide cover for members of the referral team during periods of sickness and annual
• To receive incoming and initiate outgoing telephone calls in order to facilitate timely and appropriate communications with others, taking messages and dealing with appropriate queries.
• To assist in any in-house data analysis of referral processed.
• To be aware of referral pathways and assist the clinicians in ensuring referrals are made to the most cost-effective service.
Knowledge and experience of using medical terminology would be an advantage but is not an essential. Experience of working within Primary Care would be preferred. Use of Systm1 would be an advantage but not essential as training can be provided to the right candidate.

Interviews will be carried out for successful applicants on receipt of CV and covering letter, and we reserve the right to retract the advert if a suitable person is found before the end date.

About us
Rowhedge is part of The Colte Partnership, a GP super-partnership, formed in June 2017. It has brought together 8 local GP surgeries across Colchester and Tendring, serving approx. 98,000 patients. With the combined workforce, skills and knowledge, we are in a unique position to assist our patients across the county.
Rowhedge offers a unique opportunity to develop expertise in student health alongside general practice. Rowhedge is a split site practice with a campus-based health centre and a dispensing village practice and is a pilot site for Pride in Practice. The practice consists of an established team of 4 partners and 5 salaried GP’s.

As well as General Practice, we offer Extended Access appointments to enable all our patients to access medical care at evening and weekends; we work collaboratively with external agencies to provide in home services and Social Prescribing; we are working to be at the forefront of Clinical Research; and have many more exciting ventures on the horizon.
We also work as a collaborative Primary Care Networks (PCN’s) which span across Colchester and Tendring:
• Riverside Medical Centre, Ardleigh Surgery, Walton Medical Centre and Colne Medical Centre.
• Mersea Island Medical Practice, Tiptree Medical Centre, Rowhedge Medical Centre & Wivenhoe Medical Centre.
There is a wide socio-economic and demographic served within this area which will provide an interesting and varied case mix. You will be joining an enthusiastic team of clinicians and administrators. You will be well supported with on-going professional development (training support, CPD and peer support). The role will contribute to the improving quality of care of our patients across the network of practices.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
Please note this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

15/04/2025

Come and give 'Parkwalk' a go on Saturday 26th April, Parkrun are aiming to get the most amount of walkers on this date. A perfect time to come and try it!!

04/04/2025

Rowhedge and the University of Essex are looking to recruit an Administrator. If you have the following skills, and are looking for 18 hours work per week, please send your CV to colne.colte-hr@nhs.net

20/03/2025

Please be advised

18/02/2025

JOB DESCRIPTION – ADMIN ASSISTANT - ROWHEDGE - 26.5hrs per week over 4 days

REPORTS TO: OFFICE MANAGER

Job Summary:

The practice is moving towards becoming a paper-light environment, and one of the main responsibilities of the post-holder will be to summarise and read code relevant information from patient’s clinical records, hospital correspondence and other sources into the practice computer system, working strictly in accordance with the practice notes summarising and read code protocols.

Main Duties/Key Tasks:

• Reviewing medical records and producing an accurate summary of the patient’s medical history
• Read Coding patient information into the practice clinical system
• Identify relevant clinical information contained in patient correspondence
• Code or free text the clinical information on to the patient record
• Deal with queries relating to coding
• Monitoring progress of notes summarising against practice targets
• Auditing data collection standards in the practice
• Monitoring patient call and recall systems
• Scanning of letters and relevant correspondence into patient’s notes.
• Summarisation of patient’s notes when requested.
• To ensure the efficient running of the practice computer system, carrying out searches, audits and recalls as required by the doctors, nurses and manager.
• Set up and run clinical searches
• Assisting Managers and clinicians with various administrative duties.
• Assist on reception during times of staff sickness if required.

Competencies

Sound knowledge of Windows and MS Office

Awareness of data security requirements

IT literate

Good verbal and written communication skills

Flexible approach, team player, good sense of humour

Able to work at either the Rowhedge or University of Essex Medical Centre

Confidentiality:

• In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately
• In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential
• Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data

Health & Safety:

The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others’ health, safety and security as defined in the practice Health & Safety policy, the practice Health & Safety manual, and the practice Infection Control policy and published procedures. This will include:

• Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines
• Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks
• Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills
• Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards
• Actively reporting of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
• Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas generally clean, assisting in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness consistent with the scope of the job holder’s role
• Reporting potential risks identified
• Demonstrate due regard for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

Equality and Diversity:

The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:
• Acting in a way that recognises the importance of people’s rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current legislation
• Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues
• Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.

Personal/Professional Development:

The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, such training to include:
• Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development
• Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work

Quality:

The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will:
• Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk
• Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision
• Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the team’s performance
• Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs
• Effectively manage own time, workload and resources

Communication:

The post-holder should recognise the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:
• Communicate effectively with other team members
• Communicate effectively with patients and carers
• Recognise people’s needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly

Contribution to the Implementation of Services:

The post-holder will:
• Apply practice policies, standards and guidance
• Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work
• Participate in audit where appropriate

Please send your CV into the practice