Patient Experience Officer

Job summary

The successful candidate will have recent and relevant knowledge of complaints handling and experience of managing difficult situations. They will need to be a highly experienced, self-motivated and an enthusiastic individual with exemplary written skills and have the ability to interpret complex information to produce written correspondence of a high quality. Candidates will need to demonstrate an adaptable and professional written style.

Interpersonal, prioritisation, investigation and management skills are also essential to the role.

The successful applicant will form part of the Patient Experience team based at Trust Headquarters, Exeter, delivering an outstanding, responsive and flexible service for patients, carers and members of the public who want to make a complaint, raise a concern, provide feedback or access advice relating to the service they have received. They will also provide guidance to Investigating Officers, including ensuring the highest levels of quality assurance for investigations across the organisation to maximise learning.

Main duties of the job

Actively listen to feedback from individuals, including those who are bereaved, emotionally distressed, or exhibiting challenging behaviours like agitation or aggression. Respond to them in a professional, supportive, and sensitive manner.

Collect necessary information, documents, recordings, and statements that may contain distressing content for thorough investigation.

Provide expert advice and ensure the quality of completed investigation reports.

Draft high-quality, complex response letters that comprehensively address all areas of feedback. This involves handling complex, sensitive, and contentious information.

Organise and facilitate local resolution meetings in response to patient feedback, which may involve delivering emotionally charged, complex, and sensitive information in potentially hostile or highly charged atmospheres.

Prepare and present detailed briefing papers to relevant Committees and Groups concerning issues related to patient experience feedback. This includes making judgements based on the analysis of conflicting and complex facts, information, and various options, requiring significant concentration. The reports will be complex and may contain sensitive or contentious information, necessitating well-developed persuasive, negotiating, empathetic, or reassurance skills, especially where agreement or cooperation is crucial in developing solutions to address the recommendations made.

Liaise as needed with the Health Service Ombudsman office.

About us

At South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) we have a culture where everyone is valued for being themselves. Our aim is to work together to promote the most inclusive environment possible, which attracts people from the widest range of backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work that we do together, for the benefit of all of our employees, our patients and the communities we serve. We offer flexible working opportunities, inclusive policies and a range of feedback mechanisms to support individuals and to enable a positive, welcoming environment where our people and their careers can thrive in.

We employ over 6,000 employees mainly clinical, operational and emergency response staff as well as supporting roles. We also employ Doctors and volunteers which include community first responders and fire co-responders.

We take all the steps needed to provide the most compassionate patient care possible whilst also providing an enjoyable and safe place to work. We actively promote a positive set of behaviours as being key to our performance both individually and collectively. Our recruitment, selection and screening processes are designed to uphold these standards and we invite all our candidates to actively share with us through these processes how they will bring these behaviours to life.

Employer details

Employer name

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

Address

South Western Ambulance Service

Sowton Industrial Estate

Exeter

EX2 7HY

Employer's website

https://www.swast.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)

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Employer details

Employer name

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

Address

South Western Ambulance Service

Sowton Industrial Estate

Exeter

EX2 7HY

Employer's website

https://www.swast.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)

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