Patient Flow Coordinator

NHS Scotland; Greater London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

NHS Forth Valley is seeking an experienced Patient Flow Coordinator to oversee real-time hospital capacity, bed status and discharge planning across acute and community settings. You will lead operational decisions, liaise with clinical teams and external partners, and drive strategies to improve patient flow and safety.

The role requires strong leadership, decision-making and communication skills, with a focus on delivering timely patient care and strengthening service resilience during periods

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse, Midwife or Allied Health Professional with current registration.
• Degree level qualification or equivalent knowledge and experience.
• Evidence of ongoing professional development.

Responsibilities

• Maintain a real-time overview of hospital capacity and bed availability.
• Coordinate patient flow across hospital and community settings.
• Facilitate timely discharge and resolve barriers to discharge.
• Lead operational decision-making during periods of escalation.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to optimise patient placement and safety.

Skills

Leadership and decision making

Communication

Multidisciplinary collaboration

Problem solving under pressure

Education

Nursing degree or equivalent

Tools

Electronic patient management systems

Job description

Make a Difference to Patient Flow Across NHS Forth Valley

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and highly motivated healthcare professional to join the Patient Flow Team at NHS Forth Valley.

The Patient Flow Coordinator plays a pivotal role in ensuring patients receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time. Working at the centre of operational flow management, you will coordinate patient movement across acute and community settings, manage capacity and bed availability, support timely discharge, and provide visible operational leadership during periods of significant system pressure.

This is a challenging but rewarding role requiring exceptional decision-making, communication and leadership skills. You will work closely with clinical teams, senior managers, Health and Social Care Partnerships and external agencies to support the effective delivery of patient care and optimise hospital capacity.

The post directly supports NHS Scotland's vision for Home First, Discharge Without Delay, and the Scottish Government Improving Flow Programme, helping to reduce delays, improve patient experience and ensure patients spend only the time they need in hospital.

As a Patient Flow Coordinator, You Will

• Maintain a real-time overview of hospital capacity, admissions, discharges and bed availability.
• Coordinate patient flow across Forth Valley Royal Hospital.
• Facilitate timely discharge and support resolution of delays and barriers to discharge.
• Manage capacity pressures and lead operational decision-making using professional judgement and experience.
• Work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams to optimise patient placement and maintain patient safety.
• Provide operational leadership during evenings, weekends and out-of-hours periods.
• Support achievement of organisational performance targets, including Emergency Department access standards.
• Coordinate staffing resources and support safe workforce deployment during periods of escalation.
• Act as a key point of contact for operational issues, incidents and service pressures.
• Participate in major incident responses and business continuity arrangements where required.
• Support service improvement initiatives designed to enhance patient flow and operational efficiency.

Person Specification

Essential

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse, Midwife or Allied Health Professional with current professional registration.
• Degree level qualification or equivalent knowledge and experience.
• Evidence of ongoing professional development.

Experience

• Significant experience within an acute healthcare environment.
• Experience of patient flow, bed management, discharge planning or operational site management.
• Experience of multidisciplinary working across hospital and community services.
• Experience of managing competing priorities and operational pressures.

Knowledge and Skills

• Knowledge of patient flow, capacity management and discharge processes.
• Understanding of Home First and Discharge Without Delay principles.
• Strong leadership, communication and influencing skills.
• Ability to make complex decisions under pressure.
• Excellent organisational and problem-solving abilities.
• Competent in electronic patient management and tracking systems.
• Ability to work autonomously whilst building effective working relationships.

Personal Attributes

• Calm, resilient and adaptable.
• Professional, accountable and approachable.
• Committed to improving patient outcomes and experience.
• Demonstrates compassionate and values-based leadership.

Desirable

• Previous experience within a Patient Flow, Site Management, Capacity Management or Discharge Coordination role.
• Leadership or management qualification.
• Experience of quality improvement and service redesign.
• Knowledge of the Scottish Government Improving Flow Programme.
• Shift Pattern and Rostering, ensuring there is a fair distribution of social and unsocial hours worked across the month.

All Team Members Are Expected To

• Contribute equitably to social and unsocial hours.
• Participate in self-rostering arrangements.
• Support service resilience through flexible working arrangements.

The expectation is that staff work a fair and equitable balance of shift types throughout each 4 or 8-week roster cycle, ensuring consistent service provision and fairness across the team.

The duties of this post require the successful candidate to be a member of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme. More information on this scheme can be found at www.disclosurescotland.co.uk

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applicants who require sponsorship to work in the UK are advised to carefully review the eligibility criteria for the Skilled Worker or Health and Care Worker visa routes. NHS Forth Valley may be able to offer sponsorship for certain roles, provided the post meets the minimum salary threshold and any other required criteria. If you are currently working in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa, transitional arrangements may apply. Please note that sponsorship is not guaranteed and is assessed on a case-by-case basis following interview and at the commencement of pre-employment checks. For further information on visa requirements and sponsorship eligibility, please refer to the UK Government guidance.

It is also recommend that anyone applying for health and social care jobs in the UK from abroad read the following guidance: Applying for health and social care jobs in the UK from abroad - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Candidates should provide original and authentic responses to all questions within the application form. The use of artificial intelligence (AI), automated tools, or other third‑party assistance to generate, draft, or significantly modify responses is strongly discouraged. By submitting your application, you confirm that all answers are your own work, reflect your personal knowledge, skills and experience, and have not been solely produced or altered by AI or similar technologies. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in your application being withdrawn from the application process.

Please note that the majority of correspondence is sent by e-mail, therefore please check your e-mail regularly (including junk folders) and your Jobtrain account for updates.

NHS Forth Valley is positive about disabled people and is committed to offering an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the job. Please contact the Recruitment Office on 0330 041 4694 if there are any reasonable adjustments, we can make to assist you with your application and/or interview.