Patient Relations Officer

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust; Wolverhampton; On-site; GBP 31,000 - 38,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Trust in the West Midlands is seeking a dedicated Patient Experience Coordinator to manage the Patient Advice and Liaison Services (PALS) and complaints process effectively. The successful candidate will coordinate responses, provide customer service, and gather patient feedback to enhance care quality. With responsibilities including compliance management and training for staff, this role requires strong communication skills and experience in a health or service environment. Salary ranges from £31,049 to £37,796 annually, pro rata.

Qualifications

• Experience in a co-ordination role in health or customer service.
• Knowledge of PALS and NHS complaints procedures.
• Experience of producing reports and presentations.
• Ability to manage and supervise staff in complaints management.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate complaints and responses according to national guidance.
• Facilitate resolution of low-level problems raised by service users.
• Spread the ethos of patient experience throughout the Trust.
• Provide guidance to those accessing the PALS and complaints service.
• Produce relevant reports and training materials.
• Monitor progress in complaint investigations.

Skills

Customer service

Communication skills

Interpersonal skills

Negotiation skills

Presentation skills

Education

Degree or equivalent professional qualification

Tools

Excel

Job description

To be the operational link with the relevant directorates and divisions to drive forward continuous improvement from the various methods of patient experience data.

To co-ordinate the Patient Advice and Liaison Services (PALS) and the Statutory complaints process and designated responses, ensuring that both operate in accordance with the Department of Health's vision for a patient centred NHS.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will need to have a positive and forward thinking approach with excellent customer service, communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to work flexibly as part of a dedicated team which includes Equality & Diversity.

They willliaise with staff from all departments across 3 hospital sites (RWT/Cannock/West Park) and will have personal and telephone interaction with colleagues, stakeholders and patients and/or their families or representatives.

The successful candidate needs to be passionate about the involvement of patients and carers and in the gathering and use of feedback to improve the experience and care of our patients.

The post holder will beresponsible for ensuring compliance with RWT policy and statutory regulations, manage the complaints and concerns process and provide easily accessible customer services to the local community, working closely withRWT and other team members.

About us

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust is one of the largest NHS trusts in the West Midlands providing primary, acute and community services and we are incredibly proud of the diversity of both our staff and the communities we serve. We are building a workforce that can help us to fulfil our values, improve quality of care for patients, and solve the health care problems of tomorrow. We're passionate about the value that diversity of thinking and lived experience brings in enabling us to become a learning organisation and leader in delivering compassionate care for our patients.

We are delighted that we have been rated as "Good" by CQC. We have achieved numerous awards; The Nursing Times Best Diversity and Inclusion Practice and Best UK Employer of the Year for Nursing Staff in 2020.

The Trust is a supportive working environment committed to creating flexible working arrangements that suit your needs and as such will consider all requests from applicants who wish to work flexibly.

Job responsibilities

Working closely with the RWT and other team members, the key areas of responsibility are:

• To effectively co-ordinate complaints and the Trusts response to complaints in accordance with national guidance and local Trust policies and procedures and relevant legislation.
• To facilitate speedy and informal resolution of low level problems and concerns raised by service users, their families and carers through liaison with Trust staff and other agencies
• To spread the ethos of the Patient Experience throughout the Trust by conducting awareness and patient feedback sessions to staff and taking part in any associated training sessions
• To offer appropriate guidance and support to those accessing the PALS and complaints service. To provide information about local services, including voluntary and statutory agencies and provide links to services where appropriate
• To provide high quality guidance and support to directorates on resolving complaints and concerns
• To produce complaints, PALS, PI reports. Policies or procedures, statistical information and training materials
• To participate in the development of appropriate information and technology and support to enable the preparation of the above
• To liaise with directorate staff to track and monitor progress in complaint investigations and offer guidance and support to bring to resolution
• To ensure that access to the complaints process and patient feedback is inclusive and embedded across divisions and drive forward continuous improvements.

To see full list of duties and main responsibilities, please refer to the full job description attached to the vacancy on the Trust website.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Education to degree standard or equivalent professional qualification
• Experience in a co-ordination role in health, customer service and/or advice setting

Experience

• Experience of complaints management and /or working in a customer service environment
• Demonstrate knowledge of PALS and the NHS complaints procedures and working with complaints management and experience in a customer service based role/contact with public and or patients
• Producing written reports for directorates, divisions and Board members. (including response letters and reports and presentations)
• Computer literate including collation of complaint data using Excel or related tools and the ability to produce monthly reports
• Able to work in an environment which leads to frequent indirect exposure to distressing and emotional events
• Manage the requirements of the post under own initiative while referring to Trust policies and national guidelines
• Deal tactfully and discreetly with matters of a confidential and sensitive nature
• Experience of managing staff, including delegation and supervision in relation to complaints or concerns management
• Able to communicate highly complex issues effectively both in writing and verbally to different audiences
• Able to communicate with staff at all levels in a range of organisations including role play/training junior staff in communication
• Able to communicate well with members of the public, often in contentious and difficult circumstances which can create a hostile or emotional atmosphere
• Excellent presentation skills
• Able to build rapport with members of the public and links with professional colleagues
• Strong negotiation and influencing skills

Judgement

• Self-motivation and time management
• Able to work to tight deadlines and work flexibly
• Able to act under own initiative
• An understanding of the patients' needs as service users
• Recognition of and willingness to be a team player but ability to work alone
• Able to frequently concentrate and able to deal with interruptions
• Energy and enthusiasm

Other

• Able to get to patients own homes and across Trust as required

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.

£31,049 to £37,796 a year pro rata per annum