Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a dynamic, motivated and professional individual to join the PALS, Complaints and Bereavement Team at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust.
If you are able to work well under pressure and enjoy dealing directly with people, we would like to hear from you. You will need to have experience of working in a busy customer focused role, which includes handling difficult and varied enquiries. In return we can offer you a role where no two days are the same and the opportunity to improve the experience of patients, visitors and carers who use our services.
Main duties of the job
The PALS, Complaints and Bereavement Team is a very busy team handling all PALS enquiries, formal complaints and bereavement for the Weston Management Team. PALS provides a liaison service between enquirers and various departments, resolving issues quickly either face to face, by email or by telephone. The Complaints process is a more formal way of registering concerns from patients, their families or members of the public, where a full investigation is undertaken with a formal written response. The team is committed to providing timely and detailed responses to all enquiries, keeping complainants fully up to date with the progress of their concerns raised.
The Bereavement service handles enquiries of a sensitive nature with bereaved relatives and follows an administrative process to provide documentation in a timely manner. This includes liaising with doctors, medical examiners, mortuary staff, coroner officers, funeral directors, registrars, crematorium staff and GPs.
The role of the PALS, Complaints and Bereavement Support Officer is an interesting and varied role in a busy unpredictable environment. The post holder will require excellent communication and organisational skills with the ability to manage a variety of tasks throughout the working day. This is a challenging, but rewarding, post focusing on improving the experiences of people visiting our hospitals.
About us
University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is one of the largest acute Trusts in the country, bringing together a combined workforce of over 13,000 staff and over 100 different clinical services across 10 different sites, serving a core population of more than 500,000 people across South West England. UHBW has been rated by the CQC as 'Good' overall and our staff are proud to deliver excellent care to the people of Bristol, Weston and beyond. As a forward-thinking multi-award winning Trust and a digital exemplar committed to improving patient care, our world-leading research and innovations are having a positive local and global impact. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone's throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer. UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we're meeting our pledge.
Job description
Job responsibilities
For a more detailed job description and main responsibilities, please refer to the job description document attached to this vacancy.
Job description
Job responsibilities
For a more detailed job description and main responsibilities, please refer to the job description document attached to this vacancy.
Person Specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential
- Minimum NVQ Level 3 or equivalent
Desirable
- Diploma or Certificate in grief and bereavement counselling
- NAFD Diploma in Funeral Arranging and Administration or equivalent
- Full driving licence
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Awareness of key issues affecting people in bereavement and loss
- Strong operational understanding of the death registration process and associated requirements
- Familiarity with differing cultural and religious preferences regarding the death of a patient
- Previous experience of working in a bereavement service or similar environment
- Experience in dealing with complaints and concerns or with people who may be highly distressed and who need to express their emotions in a safe environment
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
- Able to meet deadlines whilst working under pressure
- Excellent organisational skills and ability to prioritise tasks to meet deadlines
- Excellent computer skills and able to work with a variety of computer-based systems
- Ability to work alone and to make independent decisions whilst working as part of a supportive team
- Willingness to work flexibly to achieve the best outcomes for all and to maintain the service
- Able to work in co-operation with and alongside many other people including colleagues, other staff, external professional agencies and grieving families
- Excellent telephone skills and manner
Aptitudes
Essential
- Able to maintain a professional, calm, sensitive and compassionate manner in a busy office environment when dealing with grieving people (even if they display challenging behaviours), professional staff and organisations surrounding the death of a patient
- Able to communicate clearly and sensitively when under pressure
- Able to concentrate in a busy office environment with constant interruptions to complete tasks in an expeditious and accurate way
Person Specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential
- Minimum NVQ Level 3 or equivalent
Desirable
- Diploma or Certificate in grief and bereavement counselling
- NAFD Diploma in Funeral Arranging and Administration or equivalent
- Full driving licence
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Awareness of key issues affecting people in bereavement and loss
- Strong operational understanding of the death registration process and associated requirements
- Familiarity with differing cultural and religious preferences regarding the death of a patient
- Previous experience of working in a bereavement service or similar environment
- Experience in dealing with complaints and concerns or with people who may be highly distressed and who need to express their emotions in a safe environment
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
- Able to meet deadlines whilst working under pressure
- Excellent organisational skills and ability to prioritise tasks to meet deadlines
- Excellent computer skills and able to work with a variety of computer-based systems
- Ability to work alone and to make independent decisions whilst working as part of a supportive team
- Willingness to work flexibly to achieve the best outcomes for all and to maintain the service
- Able to work in co-operation with and alongside many other people including colleagues, other staff, external professional agencies and grieving families
- Excellent telephone skills and manner
Aptitudes
Essential
- Able to maintain a professional, calm, sensitive and compassionate manner in a busy office environment when dealing with grieving people (even if they display challenging behaviours), professional staff and organisations surrounding the death of a patient
- Able to communicate clearly and sensitively when under pressure
- Able to concentrate in a busy office environment with constant interruptions to complete tasks in an expeditious and accurate way
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.
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.
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
University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW)
Address
Weston General Hospital
Grange Road, Uphill
Weston-super-Mare
BS23 4TQ
Employer's website
https://www.uhbw.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)
