Discharge Officer

NHS; Southampton; Hybrid; GBP 24,000 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Trust in Southampton is seeking a compassionate Discharge Officer to ensure safe and timely patient discharges from hospital. The role involves coordinating with clinical teams, managing a caseload, and advocating for patients and their families. Strong organizational, communication, and multitasking skills are essential. This full-time or part-time position offers competitive pay between £24,937 to £26,598 PA with flexible working options.

Benefits

Flexible working options

Full training and ongoing support

Learning and development opportunities

Qualifications

• Demonstrable literacy and numeracy skills.
• Experience in an administrative role, ideally in a healthcare setting.
• Basic knowledge of medical terminology.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate patient discharge ensuring plans are safe and timely.
• Work alongside multidisciplinary teams to document and deliver discharge plans.
• Monitor discharge information on hospital systems and liaise with care agencies.

Skills

Organisational skills

Communication skills

Multitasking

Compassion

Education

Good standard of secondary education (GCSE grade C or equivalent)

NVQ 3 Qualification or relevant experience

Tools

Microsoft Office

Hospital computerised patient systems

Job description

Overview

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us.

Please see below for detailed job description of the role.

About the role

Are you passionate about making a real difference to patients' journeys through hospital care? Join our friendly and dedicated team, The Complex Discharge Team, as a Discharge Officer, where you'll play a key role in helping patients leave hospital safely, smoothly, and on time.

In this rewarding role, you'll work closely with a wide range of professionals nurses, doctors, therapists, social workers, and community teams to coordinate discharge plans from the very start of a patient's admission. You'll be the vital link between the ward, patients and families, and partner organisations, ensuring every discharge is planned, communicated, and completed efficiently.

Your work will have a direct impact on improving patient flow, reducing delays, and supporting the Trust's goal of providing exceptional, patient-centred care. No two days will be the same you'll be managing your own caseload, problem-solving in real time, and seeing the positive results of your efforts as patients safely return home or move on to the next stage of their care.

You'll be part of a supportive and proactive team, working alongside and reporting to Advanced Discharge Officers, Complex Discharge Practitioners and other senior leaders. Together, you'll help ensure every patient's discharge is safe, timely, and well-coordinated.

If you're organised, compassionate, and thrive in a busy environment where teamwork truly makes a difference, we'd love to hear from you.

About us

University Hospital Southampton is one of England's largest acute teaching Trusts, offering a wide range of learning and development opportunities to support your career aspirations.

Located on the south coast with an international airport and direct rail links to London, Southampton offers an ideal setting to live and work, with the New Forest, South Downs and Jurassic Coast.

We believe that using technology wisely shows strong time management and commitment to innovation. However, personalizing your recruitment application to highlight your unique skills and experiences is crucial. Relying too heavily on generic, AI-generated content instead of drawing from your own strengths and accomplishments may lead to your application being rejected if multiple candidates present identical or similar information.

At UHS we're committed to providing a flexible working environment where possible. Whether you are balancing family, study, or your wellbeing with your career, we want to support you so you can help our patients.

At UHS, we proudly champion individuality, recognizing that outstanding care is only possible with a diverse, inclusive team. We're committed to creating an anti-racist, anti-discriminatory environment where everyone feels valued, safe, and empowered to make a meaningful impact in our communities. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences to join us in building a healthcare community where everyone can belong, thrive, and contribute.

Responsibilities

As a Discharge Officer, you'll be at the heart of our patient flow and discharge process supporting patients, families, and the multidisciplinary team (MDT) to ensure every discharge is safe, timely, and well-coordinated.

You'll manage a caseload of patients across designated wards, working in partnership with clinical and community teams to help patients transition smoothly from hospital to home or ongoing care. This is an exciting opportunity to make a real difference to patient experience and service efficiency every single day.

• Coordinate and support the safe discharge of patients from the point of admission, ensuring plans are realistic, proactive, and person-centred.
• Work closely with nurses, doctors, therapists, social workers, and community partners to ensure discharge plans are communicated, documented, and delivered on time.
• Monitor and update patient discharge information on the hospitals digital systems (UHS Apps), escalating any issues or delays to the appropriate teams.
• Liaise with care agencies, care homes, and social services to arrange assessments, confirm placements, and restart care packages.
• Act as an advocate for patients and their families, providing clear discharge information and ensuring their voices are heard in decision-making.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for someone who is organised, compassionate, and confident communicating across multiple teams. The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate:

• Strong organisational and multitasking skills, with the ability to prioritise a busy workload and meet deadlines.
• Excellent communication and teamwork, with the confidence to liaise effectively with staff at all levels and external partners.
• Experience in an administrative or patient-facing role, ideally within a hospital or healthcare setting.
• Good IT skills and confidence using Microsoft Office and hospital systems.
• A proactive and empathetic approach to supporting patients and their families during their hospital stay.

Person Specification

Trust Values

• Patient First
• Always Improving
• Working Together

Qualifications, Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Good standard of secondary education with literacy and numeracy skills demonstrable to GCSE grade C or equivalent standard
• NVQ 3 Qualification or relevant equivalent experience
• Basic knowledge of medical terminology
• Experience working in an administrative capacity in a customer focused environment
• Proven ability to work to deadlines, prioritise and multitask

Desirable

• Courses / further study attended to demonstrate evidence of personal development
• Diploma level qualification or equivalent experience
• RSA 2 word processing/typing or equivalent experience
• Proficient in the use of all hospital computerised patient systems
• Experience in medical or patient services administrative role

Additional Information

You’ll work as part of a rota, which includes weekdays, weekends, and bank holidays as eRostered.

The role is based at Southampton General Hospital.

Full training and ongoing support will be provided, with opportunities to develop your knowledge at UHS.

This post is subject to standard NHS employment checks, including references and right-to-work verification.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check: 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 (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship: Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab). From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab)

Employment details

Posted 30 December 2025

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 3

Salary: £24,937 to £26,598 a year Per Annum (PA) Pro Rata

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working

Reference number: 188-THQ071225

Job location: University Hospital Southampton, Tremona Road, Southampton, SO16 6YD

Employer details

Employer name: University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust

Address: University Hospital Southampton Tremona Road Southampton SO16 6YD

Website: https://www.uhs.nhs.uk/home.aspx