What is a consultant’s secretary?
Hospital consultants have a secretary to help them. It’s important to know the name, telephone number and email address of your consultant’s secretary.
This is because consultants are very busy, with responsibilities for teaching, research and management. This is as well as looking after you of course, their main task.
Secretaries can do lots of things for you, e.g.
- Check you are on a waiting list (and how long you will wait for something)
- Bring forward or delay an outpatient appointment
- Pass a message to your consultant, asking them to ring you.
This is better than emailing a consultant, because they are not allowed to respond to questions via email. But you can email a secretary.
If they help you, sending them the odd ‘thank you card’ might benefit your care!
Summary
We have explained what is a consultant’s secretary. We hope you understand them and their role better now.
Last Reviewed on 12 March 2024