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Complaints & Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS) Officer

Employer
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Location
Worthing, England
Salary
£25,655 - £31,534 per annum
Closing date
2 Feb 2022

View more

Sector
Healthcare
Function
Administration
Contract Type
Permanent
Hours
Full Time

Job Details

Welcome from our Chief Executive - Samantha Allen

Our organisation is expanding and we're looking for people with the right values, skills and/or potential to join us. We need people with energy, expertise, enthusiasm to help us provide the very best possible specialist NHS mental health and learning disability care. This involves helping us achieve our strategy to improve the quality of life for the communities we serve through People, Prevention and Partnerships.

So what can we offer you in return?

We're an organisation which puts people first. We'll do everything possible to help you feel respected, valued and included. We'll help you learn, acquire new skills and gain further experience to support your career development. And we'll provide the opportunity for you to bring your fresh ideas to work about how we can do things differently and continue improving.

You will also be joining a health and care system committed to working together to do the best we can for the communities we serve. Above all, at Sussex Partnership you'll have the chance to make a difference to the lives of the patients, carers and families across our communities.

If you like the sound of that, then come and join our team.

Samantha Allen

Chief Executive

Job overview

At Sussex Partnership we want to ensure our service users, carers & others who have a concern or complaint receive the best possible experience. Complaints & concerns are a vital tool in helping us learn and improve and we are looking for a Complaints & PALS Officer to contribute to this development.

Following a recent promotion within the team an exciting opportunity has arisen for a person who is enthusiastic & self-motivated & seeking a varied role. The individual we are looking for will have excellent communication skills both written and verbal as well as the ability to work collaboratively with a range of people. The post holder will have an understanding of the regulatory requirements relating to complaints.

In return, we can offer you developmental opportunities, access to training, support and supervision.

Main duties of the job

Please see attached Job Description for more details of the main duties and the job outline of the role.

The team currently has a hybrid model of working, so colleagues are working from both home and and in the office on a rota basis. This enables us to follow current guidance and also support colleagues wellbeing as we recognise the importance of peer support. We hope that the option of additional home working may be inviting for potential applicants across Sussex and we would welcome discussions at any time in the recruitment process.

Working for our organisation

We believe that staff who feel valued by their employers and are truly engaged, provide a better outcome for our service users. We are committed to investing in our staff in order to provide you with further training and development to enhance your professional skills.

To help our staff thrive in their roles we offer regular, good quality supervision, appraisals, in-depth training and development opportunities.

As a Trust we make a positive difference to thousands of peoples lives across Sussex and Hampshire, providing support so that they can fulfil their potential and enjoy healthy lives.

Our vision is to provide outstanding care and treatment you can be confident in. To achieve the highest standards we have already embarked on a programme to transform the culture of the Trust to one of continuous improvement, delivered through participation of all staff and with service users, carers and families at the heart of our efforts.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The post holder will:
  • Act as an effective, compassionate facilitator and mediator to resolve concerns and formal complaints in a timely and effective way, in order to achieve the best possible outcome for patients.

  • Advise patients and staff on the NHS complaints procedure and effectively manage all aspects of the informal and formal complaints process ensuring compliance with the NHS complaints regulations and the Trust's Complaints Policy.

  • Ensure that lessons learnt and changes in practice are recorded as a result of concerns raised by patients, relatives and carers.

  • Provide a high quality and responsive patient-centred PALS service for all.

  • Be an organised problem solver with excellent communication skills and initiative.

Person specification

Qualifications / Education
Essential criteria
  • Knowledge of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Six Principles
  • Knowledge of the NHS Complaints Regulations 2009, organisational policies and procedures and risk management procedures to post graduate diploma level of equivalent

Previous Experience
Essential criteria
  • Previous NHS Complaints experience.
  • Experience of working with people in distress.
  • Experience of working with a multi-disciplinary team and managing own workload

Desirable criteria
  • Experience of mental health or learning disability services.
  • Experience of managing complaints in an NHS setting
  • Experience of designing and delivery training

Skills / Knowledge / Ability
Essential criteria
  • Excellent interpersonal skills with an ability to work with people in stressful situations.
  • Ability to communicate complex and/or contentious information clearly and concisely.

Sussex Partnership NHS FT is committed to supporting a diverse workforce that reflects our communities. Our workforce is currently under-represented from Black and Minority, Ethnic and disabled communities and we would welcome applications from these communities.

We regret that we are unable to advise candidates if they have not been shortlisted. If you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date please assume that you have been unsuccessful on this occasion.

In the event of an excessive number of applicants the Trust reserves the right to close this vacancy earlier than indicated.

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust takes its responsibilities for the safeguarding and protection of children and young people and vulnerable adults very seriously and expects this of all its employees and bank workers. The Trust works with adult and children's social care to ensure that the integrated service has systems in place to equip staff and bank workers with the knowledge and skills to recognize abuse, and take action to safeguard and protect vulnerable adults and children and young people. It is expected that all staff and bank workers familiarise themselves with the appropriate structures and policies and with the Sussex child protection and safeguarding procedures and the Sussex multi-agency policy and procedures for safeguarding vulnerable adults and undertake the relevant essential training and further training appropriate to their role.

Successful candidates are normally offered salaries at the bottom of the relevant salary range. However, where previous or equivalent NHS experience in a similar role can be demonstrated and evidenced, this may be taken into consideration when setting the starting salary.

Company

SPFT Banner

Who we are

We provide specialist NHS mental health and learning disability services in south east England. People receive care, treatment and support from us in hospital, at home and from a range of community services. Our services are rated ‘good’ by the Care Quality Commission and ‘outstanding’ for caring.

Where we are

We provide services for people of all ages across Sussex and services for children and young people in Hampshire. There’s something for everyone in our local area, whether that’s the hustle and bustle of Brighton, the scenic South Downs or our wonderful coastline where you can chill out to the sound of the surf.

What we can offer you

When you join us, you’ll be coming to work in an organisation that puts people first. We’ll do everything we can to make you feel valued, respected and included. You will be given plenty of opportunities here for your career to flourish. We’re an organisation which is strong on innovation, research and learning, and we will support your development and help you learn new skills in whichever team or service you work in.

Check out the links below to view our key areas of recruitment

Nursing

Medical

Allied Health Professions

Phychology & PsychologicalTherapies

Social Work

Healthcare Support Workers 

Support Services

Check out our latest video below where we hear from our inspiring nurses why Sussex Partnership is such a great place to work.

Company info
Website
Telephone
01903843000
Location
Trust HQ
Swandean
Arundel Road
Worthing
BN13 3EP
GB

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