PALS Advisor

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Information:

This job is now closed

Job summary

Working Full time - 37.5 hours per week

We are looking for an enthusiastic Complaints Administrator to join our Team. The post involves providing an efficient and comprehensive secretarial and administrative support to the Complaints and PALs Team.

The post holder will assist in the handling of verbal and informal complaints from the public , their advocate and through liaison with other staff and take action to ensure that they achieve an early and effective resolution

Main duties of the job

  • To act as the first point of contact for the Complaints and PALs Team via telephone, email, or written correspondence and for visitors.
  • The post holder will work systematically with colleagues in the Complaints and PALs teams in the management of all aspects of the complaint's procedure and provide accurate information on all aspects of the services the Trust provides, including how to raise a concern or make a complaint in line with Trust procedure.

About us

The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provides services to West Cheshire and to Welsh patients covered by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership. Its services are provided from three locations:

  • The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 438 general and acute beds
  • Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 56 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility
  • Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population.

The Trust employs over 6258 staff (headcount) which includes temporary bank staff and provides acute emergency and elective services, primary care direct access services and obstetric services to a population of approximately 407,000. This includes 357,000 residents in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire which has a population of approximately 50,000.

The Trust is a busy district general hospital and in 2022/2023, there were more than 503,342 patient attendances (inpatient, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery. This is an increase of nearly 10,000 compared to the previous year when there were 494,387 patient attendances.

Date posted

20 December 2023

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£25,147 to £27,596 a year pa

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

210-2023-1132

Job locations

Countess of Chester Hospital

Liverpool Road

Chester

CH2 1UL


Job description

Job responsibilities

See Job Description for further details.

Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values.

Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £23 (standard) or £43 (enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first three months of employment.

You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £13 per year applies.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.

Good luck with your application.

Job description

Job responsibilities

See Job Description for further details.

Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values.

Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £23 (standard) or £43 (enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first three months of employment.

You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £13 per year applies.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.

Good luck with your application.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Educated to NVQ 3 level (or diploma level equivalent) in relevant subject

Desirable

  • Evidence of further education or training in relation to patient experience and/or PALs

Knowledge and experience

Essential

  • Able to manage own work load and supervise less experienced staff
  • Able to deal with complex communication and/or situations
  • Able to provide advice and support to patients, families and the wider public
  • Knowledge and/or experience of PALs and the national patient experience agenda

Desirable

  • Knowledge and/or experience of the NHS complaints procedure
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Educated to NVQ 3 level (or diploma level equivalent) in relevant subject

Desirable

  • Evidence of further education or training in relation to patient experience and/or PALs

Knowledge and experience

Essential

  • Able to manage own work load and supervise less experienced staff
  • Able to deal with complex communication and/or situations
  • Able to provide advice and support to patients, families and the wider public
  • Knowledge and/or experience of PALs and the national patient experience agenda

Desirable

  • Knowledge and/or experience of the NHS complaints procedure

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Additional information

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Countess of Chester Hospital

Liverpool Road

Chester

CH2 1UL


Employer's website

https://www.coch.nhs.uk/working-with-us.aspx (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Countess of Chester Hospital

Liverpool Road

Chester

CH2 1UL


Employer's website

https://www.coch.nhs.uk/working-with-us.aspx (Opens in a new tab)

For questions about the job, contact:

Deputy Head of Complaints and PALS

Jonathan Roberts

jonathanroberts2@nhs.net

01244366326

Date posted

20 December 2023

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£25,147 to £27,596 a year pa

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

210-2023-1132

Job locations

Countess of Chester Hospital

Liverpool Road

Chester

CH2 1UL


Supporting documents

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