Job responsibilities
JOB DESCRIPTION AND PERSON SPECIFICATION
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1. JOB DETAILS
Job Title: PALS Officer
Reports to: PALS Service Co-ordinator
Band: 4
Department: Patient Experience (Patient Advice and
liaison)
Location St James Hospital
AfC Job No: AFC 4092
2. JOB PURPOSE/SUMMARY
An
exciting opportunity has arisen in our small and friendly team for an
enthusiastic, compassionate, hardworking individual to join the Trust within
Patient Experience, Patient advice and liaison Team as a PALS Officer. This
role involves providing support, guidance and advice for people who wish to
raise concerns about various aspects of care or who want general information
about our Trust services.
This
is fast paced and challenging, but rewarding post, within a supportive team,
focused on improving the experiences of people visiting our Trust.
3. ORGANISATIONAL CHART
4. PRINCIPAL DUTIES & AREAS OF
RESPONSIBILITY
To
be supportive, accessible and responsive to patients, service users, carers
and members of the public, to enable them to express their views and raise
concerns easily while following CQC requirements,
Be
responsible for listening to, understanding, and analysing problems,
questions or requests being presented by patients and their representatives,
the public and the staff. To assess
individual situations
and
be able to differentiate between issues that can be resolved on the spot and
those that warrant further investigation or resolution.
Delivery
of the PALS service with minimal supervision including acting as an independent facilitator to
help patients, their families and carers resolve problems or concerns
quickly, and ensuring that lessons learned from feedback contribute to
improving patient care.
Be
responsible for the handling of the generic Patient Experience email account,
including managing the PALS Inbox.
To
help individuals to access the formal complaints process if they wish to do
so.
Exercise
high levels of concentration given the unpredictable nature of the work. The
post holder must be able to prioritise and manage the competing demands of
their workload.
Manage
the PALS database, ensuring that requests for information are correctly
entered and maintained, that reports on requests are run and trends analysed
and acted upon.
To
support and understand the consent process following contact from Local MPs
and to provide advice to those who wish to have an independent advocate to
support with their contact.
Work
as an integral member of the PALS team covering for other team members, as
necessary, and assisting in the induction and development of staff, providing
support and guidance, as appropriate.
To
contribute to and deliver individual CSU training on the PALS process,
customer services and frontline resolution of concerns. To ensure that CSU
colleagues and staff are supported and enabled to meet patients needs in
practice when investigating and resolving concerns.
To
provide comprehensive information or signposting to patients, their
representatives and the general public about Trust services generally,
specific information about the services they access and about health- related
issues generally including access to other health related agencies and
services.
To
provide high quality responses to compliments received into Leeds Teaching
Hospitals.
5.
THE LEEDS WAY VALUES
Our
values are part of what make us different from other trusts, so we see this
as a strength, as well as a responsibility. They have been developed by our
staff and set out what they see as important to how we work. Our five values are:
Patient-centred
Collaborative
Fair
Accountable
Empowered
All
our actions and endeavours will be guided and evaluated through these values
Additionally,
the following are core values which relate specifically to this post:
- Patient, person and complainant
centred, considering the needs of different complainants (as per the Equality
and Diversity Policy).
- Demonstrates the value of patient,
carer and public feedback as the key to improving the patient experience and
services.
- Demonstrates a commitment to ensure
a thorough and responsive PALS service.
- Values the protection of patient
and complainant confidentiality.
- Values partnership working with
other agencies to the benefit of complainants.
- Commitment to carrying out the
Trusts statutory responsibilities within the context of the PALS NHS
Procedure
6. WEST YORKSHIRE ASSOCIATION OF ACUTE
TRUSTS (WYAAT)
Leeds
Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is part of the West Yorkshire Association of
Acute Trusts (WYAAT), a collaborative of the NHS hospital trusts from across
West Yorkshire and Harrogate working together to provide the best possible
care for our patients.
By
bringing together the wide range of skills and expertise across West
Yorkshire and Harrogate we are working differently, innovating and driving
forward change to deliver the highest quality care. By working for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS
Trust this is your opportunity to be a part of that change.
7. INFECTION CONTROL
The
jobholder must comply at all times with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS
Trust Infection Control policies, in particular by practising Universal
Infection Control Precautions. Hand hygiene must be performed before and
after contact with patients and their environment.
8. HEALTH AND SAFETY / RISK MANAGEMENT
All
staff are responsible for working with their colleagues to maintain and
improve the quality of services provided to our patients and other service
users. This includes complying at all
times with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Policies, including Health
and Safety policies, in particular by following agreed security and safer
working procedures, and reporting incidents using the Trust Incident
Reporting system
9. EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY
The
jobholder must comply with all policies and procedures designed to ensure
equality of employment and that services are delivered in ways that meet the
individual needs of patients and their families. No person whether they are staff, patient
or visitor should receive less favourable treatment because of their gender,
ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion etc.
10. TRAINING AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The
jobholder must take responsibility in agreement with his/her line manager for
his/her own personal development by ensuring that Continuous Professional
Development remains a priority. The
jobholder will undertake all mandatory training required for the role.
11. COMMUNICATION & WORKING
RELATIONSHIPS
Key
communication and working relationships include:
- Internal
Deputy
PCPI Manager
Complaints
and PALS team
CSU
management teams
Consultants
Risk
management
- External
Leeds
and York Partnerships Trust
Leeds
ICB
Leeds
City Council
NHS
England
Leeds
Community Care
Advocacy
agencies
Yorkshire
Ambulance Service
12. SPECIAL WORKING CONDITIONS
i)
PHYSICAL EFFORT:
A combination of sitting,
standing, walking with little requirement for physical effort. Infrequent
requirement to move and handle equipment eg. office supplies.
ii) MENTAL EFFORT:
Frequent
concentration; work pattern unpredictable. Concentration for eg. enquiries,
complaints, devising action plans, changing patient/client requirements.
iii)
EMOTIONAL EFFORT:
Frequent
exposure to distressing or emotional circumstances through email, telephone,
and written communication. Talking
and listening to patients and relatives on a daily basis who have concerns
with Leeds Teaching Hospitals. Face to
Face meetings with patients and their families where cases are/can be
particularly difficult or complex and complainants may be angry.
iv)
WORKING CONDITIONS:
Working
environment - shared office. Regular contact with patients and families by
telephone who may be angry. Infrequent contact with angry and abusive
complainants who visit the department.
Regular
contact with staff members in teaching and learning environments.
