Job summary
Patient Advice and Liaison Service Advisor, Band 4 (30 hours a week)
Are you passionate about supporting our patients and carers to receive a positive patient experience? Then you may be interested in joining our dynamic, passionate, supportive and caring PALS team as a PALS Advisor. This is an exciting opportunity for the right individual to make a difference to the experiences of our patients, carers and visitors.
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is a large district general hospital located in the South West. Our Vision is to provide the best care for everyone in our community. As an organisation we are committed to providing Personalised care for our patients and carers in line with the NHS Long Term Plan. This role will be key in supporting the delivery of this ambition.
The post holder will be responsible for supporting the delivery of a high quality, personalised, Patient Advice and Liaison Service and will work with colleagues to respond to patient, carer and visitor concerns under the Public Health Service Ombudsman NHS Complaint Standards early resolution guidance.
The proposed interview date is 28th January
Main duties of the job
Reporting to the PALS Manager you will provide advice and support to NHS patients, their relatives and carers at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
As an interpersonal and administrative role, you will require excellent communication and problem solving skills to enable you to work to deliver an easily accessible service that listens, offers help, guidance and information to resolve concerns and enquiries as quickly and efficiently as possible. In addition, you will support staff to resolve issues relating to the experiences of patients, carers and visitors arising in real time.
You will be instrumental in helping to improve the experiences of our patients, carers and visitors.
About us
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the largest employer in the county and with over 9,000 staff, we are one of the largest NHS trusts in the UK. We offer a generous annual leave allowance, excellent bank rates, access to the excellent NHS Pension Scheme, discounts for local shops, restaurants and services, access to our health and well-being hub, access to our two on-site nurseries, flexible working options, discounted public transport, excellent reward and recognition schemes.
The Patient Experience Team is a diverse, supportive team that promotes a safe environment to enable a culture of continuous improvement. The team is part of the Quality team and is committed to improving the experiences of those using our services and supporting our Trust to realise its vision to provide the Best Care for Everyone.
Job description
Job responsibilities
As a PALS advisor you will be expected to:
- Provide an easily accessible service to ensure raising concerns or enquiries is as easy as possible
- Identify between concerns that can be resolved immediately and those that warrant further investigation
- Listen, understand and acknowledge concerns and enquiries being raised
- Gain consent as appropriate and maintain confidentiality standards
- Analyse the problems being presented and plan the best approach to bring resolution
- Work alongside staff to provide feedback and resolution
- Communicate by letter, email, telephone or face to face in order to acknowledge or respond to any concerns and enquires raised
- Use initiative, discretion and impartiality when communicating, in particular with cases of a sensitive or contentious nature. e.g., bereavement or safeguarding concerns
- Visit wards or departments to ensure patients, relatives and carers feel supported
- Maintain detailed and accurate records of concerns or enquires raised using the Trusts reporting system, Datix
- Signpost patients, relatives and carers to other services both internal and external, such as advocacy services or charities.
- Support the reporting of any themes, trends or risk areas which may impact on patient care or safety
- Ensure there is accurate and accessible information and literature available about PALS and key partners
- Work within recognised Trust policies and procedures
- Actively promoting the work of PALS and upholding the values of the service while on-site and during corporate and external events
- Develop PALS partnerships with specialist groups within the Trust to support specific groups of patients, such as Armed Forces Veterans
- Hold responsibility for your nominated PALS Champions
- Support and participate in quality improvement projects which improves the experiences of our patients, carers and visitors
- Promote the work of the Patient Experience team
- Undertake any other duties compatible with grade
Job description
Job responsibilities
As a PALS advisor you will be expected to:
- Provide an easily accessible service to ensure raising concerns or enquiries is as easy as possible
- Identify between concerns that can be resolved immediately and those that warrant further investigation
- Listen, understand and acknowledge concerns and enquiries being raised
- Gain consent as appropriate and maintain confidentiality standards
- Analyse the problems being presented and plan the best approach to bring resolution
- Work alongside staff to provide feedback and resolution
- Communicate by letter, email, telephone or face to face in order to acknowledge or respond to any concerns and enquires raised
- Use initiative, discretion and impartiality when communicating, in particular with cases of a sensitive or contentious nature. e.g., bereavement or safeguarding concerns
- Visit wards or departments to ensure patients, relatives and carers feel supported
- Maintain detailed and accurate records of concerns or enquires raised using the Trusts reporting system, Datix
- Signpost patients, relatives and carers to other services both internal and external, such as advocacy services or charities.
- Support the reporting of any themes, trends or risk areas which may impact on patient care or safety
- Ensure there is accurate and accessible information and literature available about PALS and key partners
- Work within recognised Trust policies and procedures
- Actively promoting the work of PALS and upholding the values of the service while on-site and during corporate and external events
- Develop PALS partnerships with specialist groups within the Trust to support specific groups of patients, such as Armed Forces Veterans
- Hold responsibility for your nominated PALS Champions
- Support and participate in quality improvement projects which improves the experiences of our patients, carers and visitors
- Promote the work of the Patient Experience team
- Undertake any other duties compatible with grade
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Knowledge of health and wellbeing issues and services, acquired through training and experience to NVQ3 level or equivalent plus knowledge and experience to diploma level equivalent.
- Evidence of recent appropriate years of sustained personal and professional development.
Experience
Essential
- Appropriate experience in customer care, mediation or in a patient-focused role
- Appropriate experience in dealing with concerns and/or complaints with mixed complexity
- Appropriate experience of dealing with complex and sensitive situations, with empathy and compassion
- Appropriate experience of regularly using databases e.g. Datix, patient administration systems
Desirable
- Appropriate experience of office-based administration role or equivalent
- Appropriate experience of working in the NHS
Knowledge/ Skills
Essential
- Excellent, demonstrable communication and interpersonal skills with an ability to communicate in a manner appropriate to the audience
- Excellent attention to detail and accuracy in work
- Excellent I.T. skills with broad experience using databases and all Microsoft Packages
- Knowledge and understanding of the key principles of patient experience and PALS
- Ability to prioritise and organise own work load with varying and unpredictable demands
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Knowledge of health and wellbeing issues and services, acquired through training and experience to NVQ3 level or equivalent plus knowledge and experience to diploma level equivalent.
- Evidence of recent appropriate years of sustained personal and professional development.
Experience
Essential
- Appropriate experience in customer care, mediation or in a patient-focused role
- Appropriate experience in dealing with concerns and/or complaints with mixed complexity
- Appropriate experience of dealing with complex and sensitive situations, with empathy and compassion
- Appropriate experience of regularly using databases e.g. Datix, patient administration systems
Desirable
- Appropriate experience of office-based administration role or equivalent
- Appropriate experience of working in the NHS
Knowledge/ Skills
Essential
- Excellent, demonstrable communication and interpersonal skills with an ability to communicate in a manner appropriate to the audience
- Excellent attention to detail and accuracy in work
- Excellent I.T. skills with broad experience using databases and all Microsoft Packages
- Knowledge and understanding of the key principles of patient experience and PALS
- Ability to prioritise and organise own work load with varying and unpredictable 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.
