University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

Band 5 Patient Relations Officer Complaints

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Job summary

Join our dynamic Patient Relations Team, where you'll play a vital role in managing and resolving patient complaints with compassion and professionalism. As a key member of our team, you will directly support complainants and staff, ensuring that concerns are handled effectively while driving service improvements across the Trust.

This is an exciting opportunity to be at the forefront of patient experience, working closely with PALS, divisional teams, and senior leaders to shape how we respond to patient concerns. You'll develop expertise in NHS complaints handling, contribute to learning from feedback, and be part of a culture that values openness and continuous improvement.

If you are a strong communicator with a passion for patient advocacy, thrive in a fast-paced environment, and want to make a real difference in healthcare, we'd love to hear from you!

Main duties of the job

As a Patient Relations Officer, you will be responsible for managing complaints from receipt to resolution, ensuring a compassionate and professional approach. You will liaise with patients, families, and staff to facilitate thorough investigations, ensuring responses meet NHS complaints regulations and Trust policies.

Key responsibilities include:

Case managing complaints, ensuring timely responses and adherence to KPIs.

Liaising with complainants, providing support and clear communication throughout the process.

Working with clinical and operational teams to investigate concerns and drive service improvements.

Drafting professional complaint responses, ensuring clarity, accuracy, and sensitivity.

Supporting local resolution meetings, helping to de-escalate concerns and promote a learning culture.

Analysing complaints data, identifying trends, and contributing to service improvements.

We're looking for a highly organised, empathetic, and resilient professional with excellent communication and problem-solving skills. If you thrive in a fast-paced environment and have a passion for patient experience, apply now!

About us

We are recognised as one of the leading NHS Foundation Trusts in the UK. Our vision is to Build Healthier Lives, and we recognise that we need incredible staff to do this.

Our commitment to our staff is to create the best place for them to work, and we are dedicated to:

Investing in the health and wellbeing of our staff, including a commitment of offering flexible working where we can;Offer our staff a wide variety of training and development opportunities, to support their personal and career development objectives.

UHB is committed to ensuring that our staff are treated fairly and feel that they belong, by creating a kind and inclusive environment. This is about equity of opportunity; removing all barriers, including discrimination and ensuring each individual member of staff reach their true potential, achieve their ambitions and thrive in their work. This is more than words. We are taking action. Our commitment to an inclusive culture is embedded at all levels of the organisation where every voice is heard, driven by our diverse and active staff networks, and at Board level by the Fairness Taskforce led by our CEO. We nurture a culture which empowers staff to challenge discriminatory behaviours and to enable people to bring their 'whole self' to a kinder, more connected and bold place to work.

University Hospitals Birmingham is a Smoke-Free premises hospital.

Date posted

03 March 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 5

Salary

£29,970 to £36,483 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number

304-1092322

Job locations

Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Mindelsohn Way

Birmingham

West Midlands

B15 2TH

Job description

Job responsibilities

*Please Note : For a detailed job description for this vacancy, please see attached Job Description*

Job description

Job responsibilities

*Please Note : For a detailed job description for this vacancy, please see attached Job Description*

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

* Educated to Degree level or substantial experience at a comparable level * To have an understanding of the NHS national complaints regulations.
* Minimum English qualification -- GCSE grade A-C

Desirable

* To have an understanding of the NHS national complaints regulations

Experience

Essential

*Experience of working with patients and families, including handling complex issues and behaviours.
*Experience of working as part of a team.
*Experience of producing reports.
*Experience of negotiating with staff of all grades/ professional groups and members of the public.
*Experience of using Datix Web or similar database.
*Experience of structured letter writing in a professional style.
*Proven working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications: e.g.
Outlook/Word/Excel.
*Experience of managing own workload. * Experience of facilitating meetings.
*Experience of interrogating patient record systems.
*Specialist knowledge of PALS and complaints practice, policies and compliance requirements.
*Knowledge of the NHS Complaints
Regulations.
*Knowledge of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO).
*Understanding of the issues and policies around equality.
*Knowledge relating to GDPR, duty of confidentiality, safeguarding and consent.

Desirable

*Experience of managing a complaints caseload or equivalent case handling.
*Experience/knowledge of using and developing Datix.
*Experience/knowledge of mediation.

Additional Criteria

Essential

*Able to work and travel across all UHB sites as required by the role.
*Able to work without supervision in a challenging and busy environment while meeting tight deadlines.
*Able to think clearly under pressure, reach decisions and take appropriate actions.
*Ability to work with and engage staff at all levels.
*Empathetic, caring attitude towards patients and their carers, relatives and representatives.
*Proactive and innovative approach.
*Self-motivated.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

* Educated to Degree level or substantial experience at a comparable level * To have an understanding of the NHS national complaints regulations.
* Minimum English qualification -- GCSE grade A-C

Desirable

* To have an understanding of the NHS national complaints regulations

Experience

Essential

*Experience of working with patients and families, including handling complex issues and behaviours.
*Experience of working as part of a team.
*Experience of producing reports.
*Experience of negotiating with staff of all grades/ professional groups and members of the public.
*Experience of using Datix Web or similar database.
*Experience of structured letter writing in a professional style.
*Proven working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications: e.g.
Outlook/Word/Excel.
*Experience of managing own workload. * Experience of facilitating meetings.
*Experience of interrogating patient record systems.
*Specialist knowledge of PALS and complaints practice, policies and compliance requirements.
*Knowledge of the NHS Complaints
Regulations.
*Knowledge of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO).
*Understanding of the issues and policies around equality.
*Knowledge relating to GDPR, duty of confidentiality, safeguarding and consent.

Desirable

*Experience of managing a complaints caseload or equivalent case handling.
*Experience/knowledge of using and developing Datix.
*Experience/knowledge of mediation.

Additional Criteria

Essential

*Able to work and travel across all UHB sites as required by the role.
*Able to work without supervision in a challenging and busy environment while meeting tight deadlines.
*Able to think clearly under pressure, reach decisions and take appropriate actions.
*Ability to work with and engage staff at all levels.
*Empathetic, caring attitude towards patients and their carers, relatives and representatives.
*Proactive and innovative approach.
*Self-motivated.

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.

Employer details

Employer name

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Mindelsohn Way

Birmingham

West Midlands

B15 2TH

Employer's website

https://www.uhb.nhs.uk/jobs.htm (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Mindelsohn Way

Birmingham

West Midlands

B15 2TH

Employer's website

https://www.uhb.nhs.uk/jobs.htm (Opens in a new tab)