Complaints Investigating Officer

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust; Long Eaton; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust seeks an experienced Complaints Investigator to join the Patient Experience and Insight team. You will lead formal investigations, collaborate across divisions, and ensure learning is captured to drive compassionate, transparent service improvement.

You will oversee evidence collection, determine what happened, and provide balanced findings with clear recommendations, while maintaining timely updates to complainants and stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Experience leading formal complaint investigations.
• Ability to obtain, organise and critically appraise records and correspondence.

Responsibilities

• Lead a portfolio of formal complaint investigations from initial review to final draft response.
• Maintain compassionate, transparent communications with complainants and colleagues.
• Identify learning, escalate safety or governance concerns, and provide timely updates.

Job description

Are you an experienced and compassionate leader with a passion for patient advocacy and service improvement? We are seeking dynamic Complaints Investigators to join our wider Patient Experience and Insight team to lead and manage responding to formal complaints received into the organisation. The post holder will be supported as a senior leader in the Patient Experience, Advice and Support Services (PE-ASS) and their expertise will ensure the voice of our service users is at the heart of positive change and service transformation within the Trust. The post holder will work collaboratively with the Divisions to ensure compassionate and transparent complaint investigations are completed, identifying learning at all opportunities. The post holder will assure compliance with the national requirements and standards for complaints set by the Care Quality Commission, NHSLA and other regulators. Therefore, acting as an expert resource, the post holder will provide senior leadership for Complaint investigation and reporting across the organisation. Main duties of the job Lead a portfolio of allocated formal complaint investigations from initial review to completed draft response, agreeing scope, outcomes sought, communication arrangements, evidence requirements and realistic milestones. Establish what happened and what should have happened by obtaining, organising and critically appraising relevant records, statements, policies, correspondence and specialist advice. Maintain compassionate, transparent and timely communication with complainants and representatives, providing progress updates, managing expectations and arranging reasonable adjustments. Analyse complex evidence, reconcile inconsistencies and formulate balanced findings and recommendations, seeking independent clinical or professional advice where required. Identify safety, safeguarding, legal, conduct, information-governance or reputational concerns and escalated promptly through the appropriate pathway without duplicating parallel investigations. Develop proportionate action plans for upheld and partially upheld complaints, agreeing ownership and timescales with Divisional teams and ensuring learning is recorded and shared. Maintain complete, contemporaneous and auditable electronic case records; monitor deadlines, escalated barriers and provide accurate workload, timeliness, quality and outcome information.

As a trusted organisation at the heart of our communities, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting the public, patients, our own people and local partners in achieving the best of health for the local population and the communities in which they live by providing Exceptional Care Together Our fundamental Values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence underpin how we intend to work as a Trust and the associated behaviours are becoming embedded in all aspects of how we work. In return we will offer:

• Development opportunities, both professional and leadership development
• On-going support from recruitment to when you join our team and beyond.
• Staff benefits including employee assistance programme, discounted gym membership, onsite fitness classes, car schemes

Key Facts:

• We see on average 4810 OP appointments a day.
• We are the 4th busiest Trauma & Orthopaedic outpatients department in England - an average of 2077 per week.
• An average of 1115 patients are seen in A&Es across our network every day - 3rd largest in the country.
• Our hospitals admit an average of 195 emergency patients daily.
• Last year we undertook almost 33,700 planned surgical operations in our 57 operating theatres.
• We are one of only 7 Trusts nationally with more than 50 operating theatres.
• We carry out more than 140 elective procedures each working day.
• UHDB is a research active University Hospital with a large and varied portfolio of clinical trials and research opportunities for all staff.