Job summary
Working Part time - 30 hours per week
Your main focus will be to provide a single point of contact for patients, families & the public who wish to raise complaints regarding the care, treatment or services delivered at the Countess.
You will link closely to the other Complaints Handler and Deputy Head of Complaints and PALS to ensure all contacts are dealt with appropriately and that statutory and regulatory requirements are met in full.
The list below is to outline the main duties involved; however this is subject to change and will vary within the given role. We ask all employees to be flexible in their role, to always ensure we are delivering Safe, Kind and Effective care.
Main duties of the job
Upon allocation of a complaint, you will prioritise and initiate an investigation with the appropriate staff within the Trust within agreed timescales. Ensuring your caseload remains within regulatory timeframes and escalating any potential breach in regulation to the Deputy Head of Complaints and PALs.
You will ensure that your allocated complaints are acknowledged within 3 working days.
You are responsible for ensuring that complainants are kept up to date with progress on the investigation through a number of forms of communication including telephone and face to face and that all progress is documented within the Datix Complaints system.
You will make objective analysis and assessment of complaints that could be of a complex and/or sensitive nature, make judgements on the best approach of how these should be addressed and, through liaison with staff, facilitate negotiations with all concerned to achieve a resolution.
You will use communication and negotiation skills to foster good relationships and gain the cooperation of clinical and non-clinical staff at all levels in the Trust to achieve the Trust's objectives with regards to complaints.
You will ensure that those accessing the Trust complaints process are advised and supported appropriately in line with National and Trust policy as well as best practice.
About us
The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provides services to West Cheshire and to Welsh patients covered by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership. Its services are provided from three locations:
- The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 438 general and acute beds.
- Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 56 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility.
- Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population.
The Trust employs over 6258 staff (headcount) which includes temporary bank staff and provides acute emergency and elective services, primary care direct access services and obstetric services to a population of approximately 407,000. This includes 357,000 residents in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire which has a population of approximately 50,000.
The Trust is a busy district general hospital and in 2022/2023, there were more than 503,342 patient attendances (inpatient, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery. This is an increase of nearly 10,000 compared to the previous year when there were 494,387 patient attendances.
Job description
Job responsibilities
See Job Description for further details.
Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values.
Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £23 (standard) or £43 (enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first three months of employment.
You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £13 per year applies.
New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.
Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.
Good luck with your application.
Job description
Job responsibilities
See Job Description for further details.
Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values.
Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £23 (standard) or £43 (enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first three months of employment.
You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £13 per year applies.
New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.
Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.
Good luck with your application.
Person Specification
Knowledge & Experience
Essential
- Able to manage own work load with an ability to work on own initiative to organise work with minimal supervision
- Demonstrate experience of communication with service users/general public and of working with staff of all grades
- Able to provide advice and support to patients, families and the wider public
- Knowledge and/or experience of the NHS complaints procedure
- Knowledge and/or experience of PALs and other forms of patient feedback Experience in information collection, collation and reporting and the development and use of databases
- Excellent organisational skills, selfmotivated and ability to meet deadlines
- An understanding of the general principles of Health and Safety
Desirable
- Knowledge of the Datix reporting system
- An understanding of NHS working practices
- Experience of working in the NHS with knowledge and understanding of current healthcare and patient safety issues
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to Degree level (or equivalent experience) in a relevant subject
Desirable
- ECDL
- Evidence of further education or training in relation to patient experience and/or Complaints
- Healthcare Qualification
Person Specification
Knowledge & Experience
Essential
- Able to manage own work load with an ability to work on own initiative to organise work with minimal supervision
- Demonstrate experience of communication with service users/general public and of working with staff of all grades
- Able to provide advice and support to patients, families and the wider public
- Knowledge and/or experience of the NHS complaints procedure
- Knowledge and/or experience of PALs and other forms of patient feedback Experience in information collection, collation and reporting and the development and use of databases
- Excellent organisational skills, selfmotivated and ability to meet deadlines
- An understanding of the general principles of Health and Safety
Desirable
- Knowledge of the Datix reporting system
- An understanding of NHS working practices
- Experience of working in the NHS with knowledge and understanding of current healthcare and patient safety issues
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to Degree level (or equivalent experience) in a relevant subject
Desirable
- ECDL
- Evidence of further education or training in relation to patient experience and/or Complaints
- Healthcare Qualification
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
