PALS and Experience Facilitator

Job description

Job responsibilities

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES - Main duties and responsibilities

To act as a point of contact for Trust Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) for patients, carers, relatives, service users and members of the public. Liaising with the enquirer to clarify their request and determine the appropriate action required e.g. providing complex and sensitive advice and solutions for their queries/concerns, drafting responses or identifying the most suitable respondent/individual to resolve the query, using contacts and networks within and outside the organisation to facilitate a prompt response.

• To provide accurate and impartial information about services provided by the Trust, and the wider health community such as specialist advocacy to staff, patients, service users, their carers and relatives, where appropriate. This may include discussing issues that may be contentious and sensitive and where there may be communication difficulties and barriers to understanding.
• To act as a first point of contact for patients, carers, relatives, service users and members of the public who wish to make a complaint, guiding and supporting them through a PALS concern.
• Monitor PALS enquiries when they are dealt with by local care team staff, ensuring that responses are scrutinised.
• Promote and encourage service user/carer involvement and influence service delivery from recent experiences and support networks where wide service user/carer consultation is required around planning of services.
• Develop and deliver training for staff around PALS and service user and carer experience including staff induction.
• Provide support to operational staff when responding to concerns raised, providing advice and guidance throughout the process.
• To ensure that the views of hard to reach groups are actively sought out and responded to
• Ensure that themes arising from feedback are reported to the care group and that systems are in place to collect lessons learnt as a result.
• Ensure that action plans are monitored and collate assurance evidence of the improvements made
• Provide advice and support to wards and departments to develop a programme of local patient surveys and audits of patient views
• Support the development of the Trusts survey system and provide guidance and training for staff
• To be responsible for advising on, and implementing a Trust-wide response to national patient feedback systems such as NHS Choices and national patient surveys
• Respond to interest, arrange meetings and act as coordinator to other parts of the service.
• To provide a professional, caring, compassionate and supportive service to patients, carers, relatives and service users who contact the Involvement and Experience Team ensuring they feel listened to and that their concerns are taken seriously.
• To process patient information and ad-hoc data relating to PALS/patient experience, ensuring clear and up to date records of all PALS enquiries are maintained and dealt with in accordance with the Team processes and policies.
• Provide support to the PALS and Experience Manager in the day to day management of the PALS service, assisting with the investigation of certain concerns as required and, where appropriate, assisting with drafting responses for review.
• Responsible for participating in the setting of quality standards for the service working with managers to make improvements where required.
• Ensure databases are maintained and collate information and contribute to producing monthly, quarterly and ad-hoc reports for the Trust specific to the PALS and Experience agenda. This will include the interpretation, and monitoring of all PALS comments and survey responses extracted from the PALS and survey database to comply with contracts and regular requirements.
• Ensure the PALS and Experience databases are kept up to date by leading by example in relation to the administrative roles within the team.
• Support the PALS and Experience Team in the delivery of meetings related to PALS and Experience related activity
• Work closely with staff champions in the different localities to ensure regular meetings occur and issues raised are concluded with action plans where required.
• Report themes to the PALS and Experience Manager from the PALS contacts and liaise with and support staff where required.
• To support the PALS and Experience Manager in undertaking analytical projects such as audits and satisfaction questionnaires to monitor patient experience and to comply with contractual obligations.
• Participate/support in the development of the service to ensure clinical governance processes are actively implemented at team level.
• Provide input, where requested into the development of an Involvement and Experience Strategy, Policy and Standard Operating Procedures along with the PALS and Experience and Involvement Managers.
• To provide advice, support and assist managers with PALS and Experience related activity that is timely and ensure that complainants are kept up to date on the progress of their complaint.
• Ensure that concerns raised by patients, carers, relatives service users and members of the public are fully understood and are answered fairly, openly and honestly.
• Explore Experience Groups in all services with the aim of developing a governance structure whereby all PALS and Experience within the Trust feeds into the Involvement and Experience Team, developing a database and dashboard of the information collected.
• Promotion of the PALS and Experience Service at internal and external events including review of promotional material.
• Set up regular PALS Clinics in in-patient, forensic and community settings and maintain a visible presence in areas of high footfall.
• Identify patients, service users and carers to present their patient story at Trust Board, Council of Governors and other meetings.

Person Specification

Qualifications and Experience

Essential

• Educated to degree level or equivalent experience
• Analysing data and report writing.
• Experience of working with service users and carers in involvement and experience projects and facilitating meetings.

Desirable

• Range of Interpersonal skills, (communication, listening, working collaboratively) maintaining good working relationships with service users/carers, other service providers and agencies.
• Customer Services Qualification.

SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE & ABILITIES

Essential

• Experience of working with people who have complex needs and the ability to manage conflict.

Desirable

• Clear communicator with excellent written skills.

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Trust Head Quarters

Corporation Street

Stafford

ST16 3SR

Employer's website

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