PALS Officer

Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust

This job is now closed

Job summary

An opportunity has arisen to join our Patient Advice Liaison Service team as a PALS Officer. This is an exciting post that will make a real difference to the experience of our patients and their families.

Ensuring our patients have the best possible experience when they come into hospital is our absolute priority. This is achieved by providing a high standard of customer care service.

To work in the friendly PALS Team, you will be a good team player, organised and proactive with excellent communication skills and good attention to detail. You will need good IT skills and be confident using Microsoft Word, Outlook, Teams and Excel and databases along with proven experience of working within a team and with the public.

Main duties of the job

To have responsibility for the day to day management of PALS concerns and formal complaints, ensuring the provision of a high standard customer care service.
Provide advice and support to patients, relatives, visitors, MPs, advocates, external NHS organisations as well as Trust staff on the handling of complaints and PALS concerns.
Provide support in the production of timely and accurate reports on PALS concerns and formal complaints, identifying any emerging trends or themes, and ensuring these are escalated to the PALS Manager.

4. Provide advice and support to all visitors and dealing with telephone and email enquiries.

About us

The Trust is committed to driving excellence in care for our patients and communities and was rated good by the Care Quality Commission report published 2020 and became a University Hospital. We are ranked as the third in the country for research; embedding education and training across the organisation and we continuously strive to achieve our core values which are at the heart of everything we do. The Trusts main hub is the Queen Alexandra Hospital, starting life as a military hospital over a century ago and now one of the largest hospitals on the south coast and you may have seen us on the TV series Nurses on the Ward. The Trust provides comprehensive secondary care and specialist services to a local population of 675,000 people across South East Hampshire. The Trust employs over 8,000 staff and are #ProudtobePHU; our patients come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds, not just because its the right thing to do, but because it makes our hospital stronger. If you share our values and our enthusiasm for providing outstanding care and support for patients, colleagues and our community you will find a home at PHU. In recruiting for our team, we welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of your education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veterans status, colour, religion, disability, sexual orientation and beliefs.

Date posted

30 November 2022

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£21,730 to £23,177 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

C8192-CS-22-1169

Job locations

Queen Alexandra Hospital

Southwick Hill Road

Cosham

Portsmouth

PO6 3LY

Job description

Job responsibilities

To manage a caseload of concerns and complaints, identifying the areas/departments of the Trust involved, clarifying the key questions/concerns and tailoring the Trusts response or referring to the formal complaints process when appropriate.

To prioritise all concerns/complaints for action and ensure patients or visitors are kept informed of progress at all times.

Provide assistance to all people presenting to the PALS area and needing support or information, ensuring excellent customer care and liaising as necessary with Trust colleagues.

To ensure accurate maintenance of database (DCIQ system) and computer (G drive) files to a consistently high standard allowing easy retrieval of information relating to all cases.

Support with the provision of accurate and timely reports and complying with Trust Information Governance policy and Data Protection Act.

Provide support at local resolution meetings between complainants and Trust staff to assist in the local resolution process, ensuring that recordings are made were appropriate and that a meeting is followed up with a formal letter of response.

Job description

Job responsibilities

To prioritise all concerns/complaints for action and ensure patients or visitors are kept informed of progress at all times.

Provide assistance to all people presenting to the PALS area and needing support or information, ensuring excellent customer care and liaising as necessary with Trust colleagues.

To ensure accurate maintenance of database (DCIQ system) and computer (G drive) files to a consistently high standard allowing easy retrieval of information relating to all cases.

Support with the provision of accurate and timely reports and complying with Trust Information Governance policy and Data Protection Act.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Educated to GCSE level or equivalent

Experience

Essential

Experience of working in a busy customer service environment
Experience of working within an NHS or Social Care environment
Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office programmes

Skills & Knowledge

Essential

Excellent verbal, telephone. and written communication skills
Knowledge of NHS Governance and Risk Management
Knowledge of Data Protection Act or Freedom of Information Act legislation
Demonstrate tact and diplomacy when dealing with highly sensitive issues and maintain confidentiality
Time management skills with the ability to prioritise own workload
Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Educated to GCSE level or equivalent

Experience

Essential

Experience of working in a busy customer service environment
Experience of working within an NHS or Social Care environment
Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office programmes

Skills & Knowledge

Essential

Excellent verbal, telephone. and written communication skills
Knowledge of NHS Governance and Risk Management
Knowledge of Data Protection Act or Freedom of Information Act legislation
Demonstrate tact and diplomacy when dealing with highly sensitive issues and maintain confidentiality
Time management skills with the ability to prioritise own workload
Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands

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.