# Virtual Medical Assistants > Reliable, confidential and accurate medical secretarial support for consultants and private practices, with more time for patient care. VMA is a UK medical secretarial and practice administration business, founded in 2021. It provides outsourced administrative support for consultants and private practices, rather than medical advice or clinical treatment. Packages build from day-to-day secretarial support to clinic coordination and comprehensive practice management. Service enquiries: enquiries@vmasecretary.co.uk; telephone +442031503191. The links below lead to the public website pages. They are the source for current service information, testimonials, contact details and policies. **Can you answer our practice telephone?** Yes. We provide a professional telephone answering service, manage patient enquiries, take messages and escalate urgent matters where appropriate. **Can you manage our practice emails?** Absolutely. We can manage shared inboxes, deal with routine administrative enquiries and ensure anything requiring the consultant's attention is prioritised. **Can you provide annual leave or sickness cover?** Yes. We can provide planned annual leave and sickness cover to help maintain continuity for your practice. **Can you work with our existing systems?** Yes. Our team is familiar with a wide range of Practice Management Systems and can quickly adapt to different software and workflows. **How do I receive the onboarding questionnaire?** During our initial discussion, we'll agree how to send you our short onboarding questionnaire and how you should return it. We'll then share it with you using the agreed method. The website enquiry form is just for getting in touch; onboarding information and system access are arranged separately. Please don't send passwords, login details or patient records through the enquiry form. **What do we need to get started?** Our onboarding questionnaire covers five areas: consultant and practice details, including specialty, GMC number where applicable, address and preferred contacts; hospitals and clinics, including clinic times, procedure locations and hospital contacts; telephone and email arrangements, including answering preferences, out-of-hours instructions and urgent-enquiry escalation; systems and access requirements, including practice software, dictation, hospital portals and referrals; and practice workflows, including appointment types, referral pathways, letter templates, billing, insurers and existing procedures. You don't need to gather these for your initial enquiry. **How quickly can support begin?** After our initial discussion and your completed questionnaire, we agree the relevant access arrangements and familiarise ourselves with your systems and workflows. Support can begin once these steps are complete; we'll discuss the timing with you during onboarding. **Do I have to employ a secretary directly?** No. Virtual Medical Assistants provides flexible outsourced support, allowing consultants to access experienced medical secretarial services without the commitment of employing a full-time member of staff. **Is the service confidential?** Absolutely. Confidentiality and data protection are at the heart of everything we do. We follow strict procedures to ensure patient and practice information is handled securely at all times. **Can the service grow with my practice?** Yes. Our support is designed to be flexible, meaning we can increase our level of support as your clinics, patient numbers and administrative workload grow. ## Services - [Our Service Packages](https://vmasecretary.co.uk/services): Explore Essential Support, Practice Support and Complete Practice Management: flexible medical secretarial services tailored to your practice. - [Essential Support](https://vmasecretary.co.uk/services/essential-support): Dependable day-to-day medical secretarial support for consultants, from as little as 5 hours per week. Services include: Dedicated medical secretary; Professional telephone answering; Email management; Appointment booking and diary management; Clinic correspondence; Patient communication; Referral management; Liaison with GPs and hospitals; General practice administration. - [Practice Support](https://vmasecretary.co.uk/services/practice-support): Broader medical secretarial and administrative support for busy consultants whose practices are growing. Everything in Essential Support, plus: Clinic preparation and post-clinic administration; Theatre and procedure bookings; Waiting list and follow-up appointment coordination; Insurance documentation administration; Multidisciplinary team (MDT) coordination; Investigation and results administration; Administrative workflow management; Administrative system implementation; Coordination of clinic workflows with practice staff and healthcare providers. - [Complete Practice Management](https://vmasecretary.co.uk/services/complete-practice-management): Comprehensive administrative and operational support tailored to established consultants and private practices. Everything in Essential and Practice Support, plus: Ongoing practice and office management support; Assistance setting up new private practices; Development and improvement of practice-wide administrative processes; Project research and implementation; Business administration support; Holiday and sickness cover; Multi-secretary continuity where required; Operational support as your practice grows; Liaison with third-party business and service providers. VMA can also introduce consultants to trusted independent professionals for accountancy and financial support or website design and digital presence. These services are delivered independently and are not included in VMA packages. Request an introduction through the Services page enquiry form. ## About and contact - [Professional Medical Secretarial Support](https://vmasecretary.co.uk/): Reliable, confidential and accurate medical secretarial support for consultants and private practices, with more time for patient care. - [About Us](https://vmasecretary.co.uk/about-us): Meet Virtual Medical Assistants and discover the experience, care and story behind our medical secretarial support. - [Contact Us](https://vmasecretary.co.uk/contact-us): Get in touch with Virtual Medical Assistants to discuss medical secretarial support tailored to your practice. ## Optional - [Testimonials](https://vmasecretary.co.uk/testimonials): Read how Virtual Medical Assistants helps clinicians and their practices. - [Privacy Policy](https://vmasecretary.co.uk/privacy-policy): Read the Virtual Medical Assistants privacy policy and learn how we handle personal information. - [Terms & Conditions](https://vmasecretary.co.uk/terms-and-conditions): Read the terms and conditions for using the Virtual Medical Assistants website and our medical secretarial services.