Patient Support and Complaints Officer

Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust; Bath; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS provider in Bath is seeking a Patient Experience Officer. You will be responsible for managing inquiries, complaints, and providing empathetic advice to patients and their families. The ideal candidate will possess excellent communication skills and the ability to remain calm under pressure. This role offers the opportunity to contribute to a compassionate healthcare environment and support staff well-being.

Benefits

Staff wellbeing programs

Supportive team culture

Opportunities for professional development

Qualifications

• Ability to communicate in a logical and clear manner with empathy.
• Knowledge of health and wellbeing issues and healthcare services.

Responsibilities

• Provide empathetic and responsive advice service to patients and their families.
• Receive and resolve complaints from patients or their families.
• Communicate frequently with patients and service users.

Skills

Excellent interpersonal skills

Calm under pressure

Excellent IT skills including Microsoft Office

Job description

Job Overview

You will be responsible for receiving, logging and investigating patient and family enquiries received email, phone and in person. Excellent communication skills and writing skills are vital in this role.

You will be required to manage your own caseload by escalating enquiries to members of staff across the Trust, updating Patients and Families with progress, resolving complex cases and processing formal complaints. The PSCT manager will support you.

PSCT are responsible to manage enquiries relating to lost property and work closely with wards to resolve issues.

You will also be responsible to work in the PSCT office and manage any face‑to‑face enquiries from patients, families or members of the public that need assistance.

Main duties of the job

• To provide an empathetic and responsive advice service to patients and their families.
• To receive complaints and concerns and agree with the patient or their family the best option for resolution (complaint, concern, feedback).
• To frequently communicate with patients and service users in person, on the telephone and via written communication.
• To record and maintain PSCT contacts on the Datix database system, escalating issues where necessary.
• To work as part of a team, communicating with the Patient Experience team and ensuring a joined‑up approach to improve the experience of patients and their families at the Trust.
• To elevate enquiries to the PSCT Manager when appropriate.
• To assist with collecting organisation‑wide patient feedback.
• To manage enquiries related to lost property and work closely with wards to resolve issues.

Working for our organisation

At the RUH we put people at the heart of what we do, working together as one team to make a difference for our patients, each other, and our community. No matter what your role is, we value everyone’s contribution in supporting the exceptional, person‑centred care we pride ourselves on.

We are proud to be in the top 20 best hospitals to work for in the country.

We are committed to creating a compassionate and inclusive environment. This can be seen in our growing community of staff networks – celebrating successes and creating opportunities to listen and learn. We value our differences, champion kindness and civility, and truly believe that diversity makes us stronger.

A culture of learning, developing and innovating is the thread that runs throughout our whole organisation. We want to support you to thrive, taking your career to its full potential.

We value staff wellbeing, with a well‑established programme of support. We believe in a holistic approach spanning all aspects of living a healthy life, including physical, emotional, spiritual and financial wellbeing. We’ve even got a pool!

We are committed to supporting you and hope you want to join our team. In the meantime, find out more about living and working the beautiful historic city of Bath, learn about our extensive package of staff benefits, and read about how we’re providing healthcare fit for the future with the landmark Dyson Cancer Centre and our passion for research.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

Please see the attached job description and person specification for more information about the role.

Person specification

Knowledge and experience

Essential criteria

• Excellent interpersonal skills in all forms of communication especially face‑to‑face and via the telephone; ability to communicate in a logical and clear manner with empathy.
• Knowledge of health and wellbeing issues and healthcare services acquired through experience.

Skills

Essential criteria

• Able to remain calm under pressure and communicate effectively with patients/carers who are angry/upset and highly emotional and on occasions challenging behaviours with distressed and angry individuals.

Skills

Essential criteria

• Excellent IT skills including Microsoft Office

Applicant requirements

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Documents to download

• PSCT (PDF, 440.0KB)
• Join the RUH (PDF, 1.1MB)

Further details / informal visits contact

Name Laura Davies
Job title Deputy Head of Patient Experience
Email address [e-mail]