Complaints jobs in United Kingdom

Are you an excellent communicator with good listening and people skills? Can you work on your own initiative and be tenacious yet tactful in solving problems? Are you comfortable talking to people who are emotionally distressed or angry?

We are seeking to recruit a PALS and Complaints officer to join our PALS and Complaints team. The successful applicant will be the first point of contact for patients, their families, and carers raising concerns about their health care.

You will possess excellent listening and interpersonal skills, including the ability to effectively manage relationships, demonstrate empathy and understanding, impartiality, and tact. The successful applicant must also be able to recognize the sensitive needs of patients and their carers and be able to communicate complex and sensitive or contentious information with tact, diplomacy, and understanding.

The role also requires the person to work closely with colleagues within the Trust and external agencies, have good organizational and time management skills, and the ability to manage competing priorities against tight deadlines.

You will also be the first point of contact for patients, carers, and staff to advise on the Trust's complaints process. The team is often the first point of contact for patients who want to make a complaint or raise a concern and work closely with the complaints team aiming to provide a highly visible service for patients.

To support the administration and response to concerns and complaints for a defined division across all Trust sites.

1. Support patients and the public in resolving their concerns and formal complaints and achieve resolution as early as possible while promoting the learning of lessons from complaints.
2. Administer and utilize a system of feedback on the concern and complaints process for patients and the public, and work on continuous improvement for the PALS and Complaints team.
3. Ensure high standards of record keeping in association with concerns and formal complaints.
4. Provide administrative support to the division on the management of concerns and complaints, including drafting and proofreading acknowledgment letters and the administration of the complaints process on the electronic system.
5. Support the PALS and Complaints Manager in the collection of data relating to concerns and complaints.

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of England's top-performing and safest trusts. We operate two main acute hospital sites--Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and West Middlesex University Hospital--along with award-winning clinics across North West London.

Our nearly 7,500 staff care for a diverse population of 1.5 million, providing full clinical services, including maternity, A&E, and children's services, plus specialist HIV and sexual health clinics. The Care Quality Commission rates us 'Good' in safety, effectiveness, care, and responsiveness, and 'Outstanding' in leadership and resource use.

We continually invest in our facilities, including a £30m expansion of critical care at Chelsea and Westminster and an £80m Ambulatory Diagnostic Centre at West Middlesex.

We welcome applications for flexible working arrangements, accommodating requests where possible to support our staff and patient needs.

The Trust is committed to equality and welcomes applications from all, regardless of background. Adjustments can be made for disabled candidates. Early application is advised as vacancies may close once sufficient applications are received. If you haven't heard from us within three weeks of the closing date, your application was likely unsuccessful. Employment is subject to a six-month probationary period.

Some roles may require weekend shifts at multiple sites.

• Be the first point of contact for patients and their representatives seeking information about the concern and complaint resolution process.
• Contact every complainant on receipt of a concern or complaint, preferably by telephone, to discuss the outcomes they are seeking from making a complaint and ensure all issues are captured.
• Support patients and their representatives to negotiate immediate solutions or resolutions of issues as speedily as possible. Assess the risk of the concern and ensure the immediate safety of the patient.
• Engage in face-to-face discussions with patients/carers about their experience of care and service, and if concerns are raised, work with the team to resolve these where possible at source.
• Support the divisional team in responding to concerns and formal complaints for an identified division within the Trust's agreed time frame and to a high standard.
• Be responsible for the pathway of individual concerns and complaints from receipt to response letter sign off, completing data entry on Datix as required.
• Signpost enquirers to appropriate alternative sources of information and advice, such as leaflets, support groups, websites, clinicians, or specialist nurses.
• Work closely with the Divisional Director of Nursing, Head of PALS & Complaints, and the PALS & Complaints Managers to ensure that concerns and complaints are monitored and progressed within agreed time scales.
• Collaborate with colleagues across the Trust, especially the other PALS & Complaints Officers, to support the process for the trust.
• Keep accurate records in line with the concerns and complaints policy and as required by the Trust.
• Ensure that the Datix database is kept up to date with the progress of each concern or complaint.
• Work within the Trust's complaint management policy/process.
• Be responsible for sending acknowledgment letters to complainants and ensuring they are kept up to date with the progress of their concern or complaint.
• Communicate complex and sensitive information to patients and their relatives.
• Escalate any issues in a timely way to the PALS & Complaints Managers.
• Assist in the development and circulation of trackers for the local concerns and complaints meetings.
• Support operational and clinical managers of the Trust when investigating concerns or complaints, e.g., obtaining medical records.
• Ensure compliance with information governance requirements, including obtaining consent, maintaining confidentiality, and appropriate information storage in line with Trust and national policy and legislation.
• Where appropriate, draft closing letters for resolved concerns and complaints.
• Work to ensure all responses are proofread and signed off by the CEO in line with Trust policy.
• Monitor and evaluate learning from concerns and complaints both at an individual level and through the monitoring of themes and trends for the division.

• Experience of working in the NHS.
• Worked in a public-facing customer services role in the past.
• Experience of using databases and MS packages.
• Experience with listening/dealing with angry/distressed people.
• Worked as part of a team.
• Demonstrable experience of working with confidential/sensitive information.

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.

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

£31,944 to £34,937 a year per annum inc HCAS