PALS Officer

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic, resourceful and self-motivated Patient Advice and Liaison (PALS) Officer to join our Patient Experience and Complaints Team. 

Working as part of the Quality Governance Team, you will be responsible for ensuring an impartial, personal and effective PALS service is provided to patients, service users, relatives, carers, and Trust staff.

Advert

The PALS team provides an accessible and responsive service by offering on the spot support, signposting and resolution for patients, relatives and members of the public who wish to raise queries or concerns about their care.  

In this challenging post, you will join a team that aims to resolve complaints quickly and efficiently and uses the feedback obtained to influence and improve the patient experience.  You will work with patients, relatives and staff to ensure that complaints are resolved and improvement is embedded.

We recognise that some situations you may be involved with are sensitive, complex and demanding, and we offer a supportive team environment within which you can expect supervision and personal development.

You will be educated to GCSE standard (or equivalent) in English Language & Maths with excellent communication, customer care, IT and organisational skills alongside outstanding interpersonal skills, a good telephone manner and the ability to work as part of a large multidisciplinary team.

You will have a good understanding of the NHS and experience of working with the public, including resolving issues and problems.  Experience of working with complaints management systems is desirable.

The post-holder will be expected to work five days a week.

Interviews will be held face to face at Chesterfield Royal Hospital.

Working for our organisation

CRH offers a wide range of exciting and rewarding opportunities for people who are passionate about providing exceptional patient care.  Our People Plan shows how and why Chesterfield Royal Hospital is a great place to work, our 'Together as One' strategy ensures everything we do aligns to our Trust strategic priorities, and the Trust's CARE values illustrate our commitment to compassion, ambition, respect and encouragement - in everything we do for our patients and each other every day.

The Trust is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from all sections of the community.  Everybody is to be treated with dignity and respect; and we aim for our workforce to be representative of the population we serve and the wider community from which we recruit.  See our Equality Diversity and Inclusion page.

We offer a range of attractive benefits:

• Health and Wellbeing Support: including access to our Employee Assistance Programme.
• Wellbeing Hub: An onsite facility, including a fully equipped gym, showers, classes, and counselling.
• Learning and development: A range of courses to help you grow in your career
• Discounts: Including Health Service Discounts and Blue Light Card.
• NHS Fleet Solutions: A cost-effective car leasing scheme including electric vehicles.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key Result Areas

1.  To act as a compassionate point of contact for patients and other users of Trust services.
2. To operate a frontline, patient facing service, taking details of complaints and raising these with relevant staff, to ensure they are dealt with in accordance with Trust Policy.
3.     To listen and respond to the concerns of service users relating to their experience of the Trust, explaining the options available for resolution and clarifying the outcomes sought.
4. To obtain detailed information from service users, paying due care and attention to the sensitivity of their concerns, and to undertake investigation and follow-up action on their behalf.
5. To ensure that issues raised with the PALS are responded to promptly and in accordance with timescales set out in Trust Policy.
6. To use the Trust’s Risk Management System to record details of enquiries from service users.
7. To liaise with divisions to ensure a timely and appropriate resolution is provided for complainants.
8. To attend meetings as appropriate to the role.
9. To undertake regular data quality checks on own work, so that the service can produce robust and detailed reports.
10. To undertake data analysis and reporting as appropriate to the role, including in relation to overdue responses.
11. To support divisions to review and track complaints as appropriate, including providing tracker reports.
12. To support patients, carers and families access specialist advocacy, other voluntary or support services, including interpreting, as appropriate.
13. To support the Complaints Coordinator with continuous improvement, including review of processes and tasks.
14. To support the Assistance and Complaints Team to deliver education and training to key induction and education modules within the Trust.
15. To actively promote the service to contribute to a learning culture and improve patient experience and safety.
16. To support the Trust’s peer review process for complaints.
17. To take comments from service users, ensure that they are acknowledged and recorded appropriately, and relayed to the relevant staff, service or division.
18. To ensure that leaflets and other sources of information regarding sources of advice and support are available across the Trust.
19. To ensure that issues which may involve a safeguarding concern or potential Police involvement are communicated to the Complaints Team Leader and Quality Lead for Patient Experience and Complaints and/or Quality Delivery Manager/Head of Quality Governance.
20. To act as an ambassador for the Trust, maintaining a professional and calm demeanour.

Flexible Working

If you're looking for flexible or predictable working arrangements, please speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate this. If it works for our service and patients, we will do our best to make it work for you.

COVID19 Vaccination

Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is committed to ensuring the safety of all our staff and patients therefore encourages and supports staff to be vaccinated against COVID19 as this remains the best line of defence against the virus.

 UK Points-based immigration system

Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the United Kingdom (UK) are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.  Please note that from 1 January 2021, to work in the UK all candidates who are not UK or Republic of Ireland (RoI) nationals require sponsorship unless you have permission to work via another route.  Non UK / RoI candidates wishing to apply can self-assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship here Work in the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

It is vital that you provide full and accurate details of your current immigration status on the application form.  Overseas applicants applying for entry clearance into the UK must present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided in continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years.  Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If you are applying for a vacancy in health or adult social care, you may be  eligible to apply for the Health and Care Worker visa instead, which is cheaper to apply for and you do not need to pay the annual immigration health surcharge.

Communications 

Communications throughout the application process will be via e-mail therefore please check your e-mail account and Trac account regularly. References are also requested by email (where possible). Therefore to speed up the recruitment process please provide an email address for all referees when completing your application form.

If you require any support in completing the application form, please do not hesitate to contact the HR Support Services team on 01246 513177 and we will be happy to provide assistance.

Please see the attached documents and links in relation to working for Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. In particular, the general conditions of employment and benefits of working for the trust.

This role is part of the integrated health and social care community across Derbyshire, where there are many opportunities to work across different locations and providers developing new and different skills. Whilst this role is initially based in Chesterfield there may be future opportunities to be based at different locations within the health and social care community which we may talk to you about in the future.

Follow us on Facebook and on Twitter: @CRHCareers @WellbeingCRH @royalhospital