Job responsibilities
JOB PURPOSE
The
Complaints Case Handler is a key member of the Complaints and wider Patient
Experience Team, ensuring that complaints are handled in accordance with
local and national policies and guidance.
This role plays an important part in the organisation, ensuring
complaints are investigated fairly, thoroughly, and within clear timeframes,
with the aim of resolving and responding to complaints wherever possible
locally and promptly.
The
postholder will be required to manage the receipt of complaints and liaise
with patients and family members. The
postholder will work in collaboration with clinical and operational teams to
achieve an appropriate resolution and will remain the single point of contact
for the person raising the concern throughout the process.
To
provide support, advice, and guidance to all levels of staff, ensuring that
statutory and organisational requirements are met, and that formal complaint
handling delivers the best outcome for the enquirer and the service.
To
facilitate effective, efficient, and confidential handling of formal
complaints across the Trust using discretion, initiative, tact and diplomacy.
This will include the maintenance of appropriate administrative systems
including the central formal complaints database, the checking of responses
to the enquirer, and to assist in the collation of reports and delivery of
training sessions.
3. JOB DIMENSIONS
The
Patient Experience Team comprises of a number of services including,
complaints, PALS, Friends and Family (FFT), Partners Programme, Patient Carer
and Public Involvement (PCPI), Volunteering and Interpreting Services. The PET delivers the Trust complaints,
PALS, patient involvement, national survey , patient feedback,
interpreting, volunteering, and
patient equality and diversity functions.
4. ORGANISATIONAL CHART
5. PRINCIPAL DUTIES & AREAS OF
RESPONSIBILITY
The
successful candidate will be confident with IT systems, an excellent
communicator and have a keen eye for detail. They will be expected to use
their initiative, working both independently and as part of a team, managing
their workload and working to deadlines.
Organisational
skills
Arrange virtual and face to face
meetings in a timely manner, which on occasion may be complex, requiring
manipulation of diaries and rearranging existing diary appointments.
Coordinate careful planning of
complaint resolution meetings with Clinical Service Units (CSU) and
complainants, including ensuring the correct materials and equipment are
available in advance, providing additional support as requested.
Assist team members with
preparation for presentations/training meetings/briefings to CSUs, compiling
relevant promotional pieces and documents where appropriate.
Respond to incoming emails,
ensuring urgent items are dealt with in a timely manner.
Answer queries regarding complaints
progress, using judgement to resolve or escalate as appropriate and in a
timely manner.
Respond quickly to provide ongoing
support to clinical colleagues in relation to formal complaints management.
Respond quickly to requests for
access to information relating to complaints, enabling CSU colleagues to
access the services to support patient care.
Maintain accurate records of all
complaint interactions with team members, complainants, Risk Management, or
associated CSU`s.
Provide cross cover for colleagues
during periods of absence, when required.
Undertake any necessary skills,
training, updates, and mandatory training as appropriate.
Support with welcoming, inducting,
training, mentoring of new staff into the team as required.
Organise and prioritise workload
and work flexibly in response to competing demands and is adaptable.
Receive, record and facilitate
investigation of all formal complaints.
Be prepared to deal with difficult
situations face to face and by telephone and to deal appropriately with very
upset and challenging enquirers.
Review and prepare the Trusts
response to formal complaints. This will include reviewing the issues and
deciding upon the right response, with guidance from the Complaints Case
Manager
Providing solutions for queries and
concerns of mixed complexity, for example, triaging incoming
complaints/concerns and making assessments for which service (PALS or
Complaints) will be best placed to offer a response.
Assist with identifying any themes
/ trends from our data to help identify any potential future workstreams.
Work collaboratively as part of a
team and be sensitive to the characteristics of working in an open plan
office environment.
Attend and contribute to regular
team meetings.
Technical
Train and supervise new or junior
team members and arrange access to relevant IT systems.
Respond to technical queries about
equipment used for meeting recordings, signposting colleagues to support via
the intranet or escalation to senior complaint team staff.
Data
and Reporting
Monitor weekly complaint report and
maintain own activity data to support management of caseload and complaint
target times.
Ensure complaints are updated and
all interactions recorded.
Work with senior team members to
produce monthly dashboards, checking and approving the detail as relates to
own caseload.
Other
Computer skills
Use of internet search skills and
ability to query databases using a selection of criteria and data sorting.
Assist in creating and maintaining
SOPs and guides.
Support the ongoing development of
complaints resources on the intranet and LTHT website.
Ability to use a variety of
database applications including Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and
PowerPoint.
Responsible for data entry and
ability to maintain and keep up to date records on a variety of databases.
Ensure documents and files are up
to date. This post is recognised as a DSE user and comes under the DSE
policy.
Working with people
Act as the first point of contact
within the complaints team when assigned a new complaint and dealing with
routine and specialist enquiries in a pleasant and professional manner.
Participate in relevant internal
and external working groups and projects.
Assist the complaints management
team to host complaint forums / marketing stalls and to attend external
providers networking events.
Promote good patient experience to
ensure the Trust meets its obligations to its regulators and to legislation
involving patient and public involvement.
Trust
policies
Demonstrate a strong understanding
of confidentiality and have an awareness of the Data Protection Act 1984.
Follow the Trusts policies and
procedures which are relevant to the role.
Uphold the Trusts values and
behaviours.
Adhere to locally adopted policies
and procedures.
Other duties as appropriate within
the grade and role, as agreed with line manager.
6. WEST YORKSHIRE ASSOCIATION OF ACUTE
TRUSTS (WYAAT)
Leeds
Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is part of the West Yorkshire Association of
Acute Trusts (WYAAT), a collaborative of the NHS hospital trusts from across
West Yorkshire and Harrogate working together to provide the best possible
care for our patients.
By
bringing together the wide range of skills and expertise across West
Yorkshire and Harrogate we are working differently, innovating and driving
forward change to deliver the highest quality care. By working for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS
Trust this is your opportunity to be a part of that change.
WYAAT
is the acute sector arm of the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care
Partnership, one of the largest integrated care systems in the country. The
Partnerships ambition is for everyone to have the best possible health and
wellbeing, and the work of WYAAT, and each individual trust, supports that
ambition.
7. INFECTION CONTROL
The
jobholder must comply at all times with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS
Trust Infection Control policies, in particular by practising Universal
Infection Control Precautions. Hand hygiene must be performed before and
after contact with patients and their environment.
8. HEALTH AND SAFETY / RISK MANAGEMENT
All
staff are responsible for working with their colleagues to maintain and
improve the quality of services provided to our patients and other service
users. This includes complying at all
times with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Policies, including Health
and Safety policies, in particular by following agreed security and safer
working procedures, and reporting incidents using the Trust Incident
Reporting system.
9. EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY
The
jobholder must comply with all policies and procedures designed to ensure
equality of employment and that services are delivered in ways that meet the
individual needs of patients and their families. No person whether they are staff, patient
or visitor should receive less favourable treatment because of their gender,
ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion etc.
10. TRAINING AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The
jobholder must take responsibility in agreement with his/her line manager for
his/her own personal development by ensuring that Continuous Professional
Development remains a priority. The
jobholder will undertake all mandatory training required for the role.
11. COMMUNICATION & WORKING
RELATIONSHIPS
The post holder will be confident,
caring and have excellent communication skills.
To communicate sensitively and with
care and compassion with patients, their representatives and the people who
matter to them, the public and staff involved.
Responds positively, in a courteous
