Complaints & PALS Officer

Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust; Guildford; On-site; GBP 34,000 - 41,000; Full time

Job summary

Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Complaints & PALS Officer in Guildford. The role focuses on handling formal complaints and PALS contacts with accuracy, professionalism and timely response, in line with Trust policy.

We are looking for a well-organised, team-oriented candidate with good communication and IT skills. The position supports a busy NHS team and offers opportunities within a compassionate, clinically-led Trust.

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or equivalent level of experience.
• Experience in a public-facing role or NHS setting is desirable.
• Knowledge of NHS complaints process and data handling.

Responsibilities

• Log, acknowledge and close complaints & PALS contacts; arrange meetings; take minutes; maintain databases and spreadsheets.
• Liaise with staff across the organisation and attend meetings with complainants and relatives.
• Provide administrative support for Complaints & PALS handling per national guidance and Trust policies.

Skills

Telephone manners

Attention to detail

IT knowledge

Communication

Education

Degree or equivalent experience

Tools

Datix

Job description

Employer Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust Town Guildford Salary £33,677 - £40,996 per annum including High Cost Area Supplement Salary period Yearly Closing 14/10/2026 23:59

Complaints & PALS Officer

AFC Band 5

Job overview

The Complaints & PALS Team are looking for a well-motivated, friendly and hardworking individual to join the team in the role of the Complaints & PALS Officer. We are looking for someone who pays great attention to detail, has an excellent telephone manner and has previous experience of working in an office environment. The focus of the job is to ensure that all formal complaints & PALS contacts are handled in line with Trust policy

This key position will require excellent communication and organisation skills with knowledge of basic IT. Previous complaints experience is desirable. You must have a methodical approach to work and be able to work independently as well as in a team whilst remaining calm under pressure.

Main duties of the job

Duties will include logging, acknowledging and closing complaints & PALS contacts, arranging meetings, taking minutes, answering telephone calls, maintaining databases and spreadsheets and liaising with staff across the organisation. You will also attend meetings with complainants and their relatives and will be someone who is confident in interacting with a variety of different people.

This is an excellent opportunity to join a friendly and supportive team whilst working in a fast-paced and interesting department within the Trust.

Working for our organisation

Royal Surrey is a compassionate and collaborative acute and community Trust. Recognising that our 5,000 colleagues are our greatest strength, we offer a comprehensive health and wellbeing programme alongside a strong commitment to developing your career. Our diverse and welcoming Royal Surrey family ensures you feel valued from your initial interview and throughout your time with us.

We are clinically led and provide joined-up care by bridging hospital and community services, alongside delivering regional specialist cancer care. Our main acute hospital site is in Guildford, with community sites at Milford, Haslemere and Cranleigh, and services delivered in patients’ homes across Guildford and Waverley.

We work in partnership with Ashford & St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust through a collaborative Group Model, supporting joined-up services, workforce flexibility and development opportunities.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated us as Outstanding. We are proud of our achievements and continue to invest in our people and infrastructure.

To learn more about life at Royal Surrey, please watch our short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R96pMboIYdo

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Complaints & PALS Officer is responsible for supporting the Complaints & PALS Lead in the development, implementation and maintenance of the Trust’s Complaints and Concerns Policy, including meeting the deadlines outlined in the policy and ensuring compliance with the requirements of any new guidance for NHS complaints.

The post holder will deal directly with service users and the public, Trust staff and others through face to face meetings, telephone conversations and formal written correspondence. The post holder will ensure all feedback is handled appropriately and undertake the administrative support for Complaints & PALS handling in line with national guidance and the Trust’s policies and procedures

Person specification

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or equivalent level of experience

Knowledge

• Demonstrate 1-2 years working in a public facing role
• Significant experience in working in an office environment
• Experience of dealing with staff at all levels of an organisation
• Experience in the NHS in a customer focused role, in particular a PALS or Complaints role
• Experience of working in the NHS
• Knowledge of the NHS complaints process
• Knowledge of Datix able to use the data to produce trends

Employer certification / accreditation badges

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 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.

Name Geraldine Wilcox Job title Complaints and PALS Lead Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 01483 571122 Additional information

To arrange an informal discussion about the role, please contact Geraldine Wilcock Complaints & PALS Lead [e-mail]