PALS Administrator

Wye Valley NHS Trust; Hereford; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

A reputable NHS Trust in Hereford is looking for a Patient Liaison Officer to support patient feedback and improve service quality. The role involves communicating with patients and families, documenting concerns, and providing impartial advice. Applicants should hold 5 GCSEs, ideally possess customer service qualifications, and have experience in a public-facing role. Proficiency in Microsoft Office and effective communication skills are essential. This position requires resilience, empathy, and the ability to manage conflict in a healthcare environment.

Benefits

Work-life balance

Professional development opportunities

Qualifications

• Ability to communicate with diverse audiences, overcoming barriers.
• Experience in a public/patient-facing role.
• Proficient in administrative IT systems and maintaining databases.

Responsibilities

• Receive and record feedback and concerns from patients and visitors.
• Provide impartial advice and promote PALS services.
• Collaborate with Trust staff for effective problem resolution.

Skills

Effective verbal and written communication

Time and workload management

Conflict resolution

Data input and Microsoft Office proficiency

Education

5 GCSEs including English and Maths (level 4-9) or equivalent

NVQ level 3 business admin or customer service

Customer Service/conflict resolution training

Tools

Microsoft Office applications

Job description

EXTERNAL to NHS staff across Herefordshire & Worcestershire only.

This role will be based within the PALS (Patient Advice & Liaison Service) on the County Hospital site. PALS sits within the wider patient experience team which includes volunteering and interpreting services. The patient experience team forms part of the wider quality and safety team.

The PALS team act as an initial point of contact for receiving patient, carer and family enquiries regarding NHS services as well as feedback on WVT services. The PALS team signpost and liaise with wider hospital teams as required. Enquiries may be received by email, telephone or face to face and are logged as utilising the Ideagen Healthcare Guardian feedback module.

Main duties of the job

To receive, acknowledge and accurately record concerns, compliments and feedback from patients, carers and visitors to the Trust, listening to concerns raised, acting quickly to liaise with Trust staff to facilitate early resolution where possible. To provide impartial non-clinical advice and information to patients, carers and visitors to the Trust supporting frontline problem-solving and signposting as appropriate.

To promote the Patient Advice and Liaison Service throughout the Trust ensuring that information about the service is widely available and up to date to ensure service users are aware of the routes they can use to engage with and feedback to the Trust.

About us

Wye Valley NHS Trust is a member of an NHS Foundation Group with South WarwickshireUniversity NHS FT, George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust and Worcestershire Acute NHS Hospitals Trust.

Located on the border with Wales in the shadow of the Black Mountains, we provide acute and community services across Herefordshire and into parts of Powys and run Hereford County Hospital and the community hospitals in Bromyard, Leominster and Ross-on-Wye.

We are a progressive and forward looking trust with ambitious plans to improve quality and integrate patient pathways through close collaborative working with our partners to deliver the quality of care wed want for our family and friends.

More than 3,000 people work for the Trust they tell us its a great place to work, blending the busyness of a DGH with the benefits of working in a beautiful rural and unspoilt county like Herefordshire.

We can offer a great work-life balance and have a fine tradition of working with staff to help them achieve their full potential.

Russell Hardy, Trust Chairman: "The strength of the Trust is its amazing staff; a great place to work, a great place to develop your career and a great place to reach your potential."

Our values -Care, Accountability, Respect and Excellence - are at the heart of all we do. We believe in providing the right care in the right place at the right time.

Job responsibilities

For more information about the role and responsibilities please see the attached job description and person specification.

Person Specification

Education & Qualifications

• 5 GCSE to include English and Maths (level 4-9) or equivalent
• NVQ level 3 business admin or customer service or equivalent experience
• Evidence of commitment to continuing professional development in a relevant field
• Customer Service/ conflict resolution training
• Listening and Communication skills training

Skills, Knowledge & Abilities

• Ability to effectively communicate both verbally and in writing to a wide range of people, recognising and adjusting for any potential barriers to communication
• Able to organise own time and workload
• Able to derive information from complex or contentious sources such as letters, emails or telephone calls
• Ability to communicate effectively with colleagues at all levels, including at a senior level
• Able to handle and defuse conflict situations and react calmly
• Keyboard skills for data input, form creation and completion
• Knowledge of the NHS Complaints process

Experience

• Experience in a public/ patient-facing role
• Experience in, and proficiency with, administrative IT systems, maintaining accurate databases, running reports, use of Microsoft Office applications particularly Outlook/ Word/ Excel
• Knowledge of administrative procedures and systems; acquired through training and experience
• Experience of working in a customer service/complaints role

Personal Attributes

• Demonstrates a compassionate and competent approach
• Tactful, empathic and sensitive in dealing with the general public and colleagues
• Telephone and face to face confidence when meeting with the public and staff
• Resilient and able to protect own physical and emotional wellbeing
• Ability to work unsupervised and prioritise workload

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.