Patient Flow Lead: Hospital Capacity & Discharge

NHS National Services Scotland; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

NHS Forth Valley is seeking an experienced Patient Flow Coordinator to manage hospital capacity and patient movement across acute and community settings, ensuring timely discharge and safe bed management.

You will lead on operational decision-making during evenings and weekends, work with multidisciplinary teams, and drive improvements in patient flow in line with Home First and Discharge Without Delay initiatives.

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.

Responsibilities

• Maintain 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.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Decision-making

Organisational skills

Problem solving

Autonomous working

Education

NMC/HCPC registration

Degree or equivalent

Tools

Electronic patient management systems

Job description

NHS Forth Valley is seeking an experienced Patient Flow Coordinator to manage hospital capacity and patient movement across acute and community settings, ensuring timely discharge and safe bed management.

You will lead on operational decision-making during evenings and weekends, work with multidisciplinary teams, and drive improvements in patient flow in line with Home First and Discharge Without Delay initiatives.