PALS Officer

The Methodist Church in Britain; Chesterfield; On-site; GBP 17,000 - 25,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Supervision and personal development

Supportive team environment

Job summary

Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a part-time PALS officer to join the Patient Experience and Complaints Team. The role handles frontline queries from patients, relatives and staff, guiding issues to resolution in line with Trust policy.

This temporary post (up to six months) is 15 hours per week with supervision and development on offer. Interviews are held in person at the hospital, and the vacancy may close early if applications are high.

Qualifications

• GCSE English Language or equivalent
• GCSE Maths or equivalent
• Experience resolving issues and problems with the public
• Ability to communicate in sensitive situations and work in a fast-paced office

Responsibilities

• Act as a compassionate frontline point of contact for patients and service users
• Take details of complaints and concerns and route to resolution per Trust policy
• Listen to concerns, explain options for resolution and clarify outcomes sought
• Obtain information, investigate and follow up on service users' behalf
• Respond to issues promptly within Trust policy timescales
• Record enquiries on the Trust's Risk Management System
• Liaise with divisions to secure timely, appropriate resolution for complainants
• Support data quality checks, analysis and reporting on overdue responses
• Provide tracker reports and assist divisions to review complaints
• Assist patients, carers and families to access advocacy and interpreting services
• Escalate safeguarding or police concerns when needed
• Support continuous improvement and staff training related to complaints

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Active listening

Verbal & written communication

Telephone manner

MS Office

Record keeping

Prioritisation

NHS knowledge

Education

GCSE English

GCSE Maths

Tools

Risk Management System

Patient Administration Systems

Microsoft Teams

Job description

This temporary post, capped at six months, sits in the Patient Experience and Complaints Team within the Quality Governance function at Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. The officer runs the frontline PALS service, taking queries and complaints from patients, relatives and staff and steering them to resolution in line with Trust policy. It is a part-time post of 15 hours a week, with supervision and development offered. Interviews are held in person at the hospital, and the vacancy may close early if applications are high.

What the job involves

• Act as a compassionate point of contact and operate a frontline service for patients and other service users
• Take details of complaints and concerns, raise them with relevant staff and handle them in line with Trust policy
• Listen to concerns, explain the options for resolution and clarify the outcomes sought
• Obtain detailed information, investigate and follow up on service users' behalf
• Respond to issues promptly within Trust policy timescales
• Record enquiries on the Trust's Risk Management System
• Liaise with divisions to secure timely, appropriate resolution for complainants
• Carry out data quality checks, analysis and reporting, including on overdue responses
• Support divisions to review and track complaints, including providing tracker reports
• Help patients, carers and families access advocacy, support services and interpreting
• Escalate safeguarding or potential police concerns to the Complaints Team Leader, Quality Lead and/or Quality Delivery Manager/Head of Quality Governance
• Support continuous improvement, education and training, and the Trust's peer review process for complaints

What’s required

Qualifications

• GCSE English Language or equivalent
• GCSE Maths or equivalent

Experience

• Working with the public, including resolving issues and problems
• Customer care
• Communicating in sensitive situations
• Working in a fast-paced office environment

Skills & knowledge

• Good understanding of the NHS
• Strong interpersonal and active listening skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication and telephone manner
• Communicating with staff at all levels and with patients from all backgrounds
• Microsoft Office experience (Outlook, Word, Excel) and good IT skills
• Accurate record keeping, attention to detail and prioritising workload to meet deadlines

Other

• Compassionate, polite and patient under pressure
• Reliable, trustworthy, resilient and non-judgemental
• Professional appearance and flexibility to meet service needs
• Working as part of a team and on own initiative

Nice to have

• Experience in a healthcare environment
• Experience of complaints management or record systems, databases or Patient Administration Systems
• Understanding of the NHS Complaints Procedure and NHS Complaints Regulations (2009)
• Negotiation and mediation skills
• Awareness of consent processes
• Microsoft Office or administration training
• Experience of Microsoft Teams

What’s offered

• Supervision and personal development
• Supportive team environment