Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Senior Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) & Complaints Officer

The closing date is 17 July 2025

Job summary

This role providesday-to-day leadership and operational management of the PALS and Complaints Team, ensuring the service is well-staffed, responsive, and aligned with Trust policies and national standards. The post holder acts as avisible leader and expert advisor, supporting the PALS & Complaints Manager in delivering a high-quality, patient-focused service.

Key responsibilities include:

Supervising and supporting team members, managing caseloads, and ensuring timely and accurate handling of concerns and complaints.

Deputising for the manager in meetings and strategic discussions.

Leading on performance monitoring, data audits, and reporting.

Supporting staff development, maintaining HR records, and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.

Liaising with patients, families, and staff to resolve issues and promote learning from feedback.

Contributing to service improvement, policy development, and cross-team collaboration.

This role is pivotal in ensuring that patient voices are heard, concerns are addressed effectively, and the Trust continuously learns and improves from feedback.

Main duties of the job

This role supports the Patient Experience, Complaints and PALS team by providing leadership, managing sensitive cases, and ensuring high standards in complaint resolution and patient liaison services.

Provide day-to-day leadership and supervision of the PALS team, ensuring appropriate staffing and support.

Deputise for the PALS/Complaints Manager in meetings and strategic discussions.

Manage a caseload of PALS enquiries and complaints, ensuring timely and policy-compliant responses.

Support staff in handling sensitive and complex cases, and promote a culture of learning and improvement.

Liaise with patients, carers, and staff to resolve concerns and provide high-quality support and advise.

Conduct audits, maintain accurate records, and support performance monitoring and reporting.

Promote the PALS and Complaints service across the Trust and contribute to service development initiatives.

Escalate concerns appropriately and ensure compliance with NHS Complaints Regulations and Trust policies.

Collaborate with external bodies such as the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and advocacy services.

Support training, rota management, and staff development within the team.

Contribute to the production of patient information and ensure effective communication with stakeholders.

Work flexibly across sites as required and uphold Trust values and data protection standards.

About us

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides hospital services to a growing population of around 700,000 people living across Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas across two busy hospital sites in Bedford and Luton. Both hospital sites offer key services such as A&E, Obstetrics-led Maternity and Paediatrics. You will be joining a friendly, high performing Trust committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff. As one of the largest NHS Trusts in our region you will have access to a programme of high quality training and development to help you grow your career. The Trust continues to be committed to delivering the best patient care using the best clinical knowledge and technology available.

Our values

We not only recruit based on qualifications and experience - we recruit individuals who demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. We achieve this by using values based recruitment. We are dedicated to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone, we are committed to promoting equality and diversity, and creating a culture that values differences.

Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date when sufficient number of applications have been received. All new staff will be subject to a probationary period covering first 6 months in post. Travel between hospital sites may be required. Please review all documents attached to ensure you familiarize yourself with all requirements of the job

Date posted

04 July 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£37,338 to £44,962 a year Per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

418-CORP2500-EH

Job locations

Luton and Dunstable Hospital

Lewsey Road

Luton

LU3 0QZ

Job description

Job responsibilities

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

To work as a senior member of the Patient Experience, Complaints and PALS (Patient Advise Liaison Service) team and assist the Patient Experience Lead/PALS/Complaints Manager to further develop and promote the Complaint and PALS services. Focus on patients, relatives, carers and visitors to the Trust:

The post holder will use initiative and discretion in their day to day working as they will be handling sensitive and sometimes contentious issues with people that may be angry or upset. They will:

Be responsible for listening, understanding and analysing problems being presented by patients, relatives and carers and assessing individual situations to identify the most appropriate way of resolving the problem ensuring that they are handled confidentially and confidently in a professional manner.

Ensure that investigations undertaken and written complaints responses provided are appropriate, thorough and compliant with both trust and national policies

Ensure information is disseminated to relevant departments work closely with staff and managers to resolve PALS enquiries/complaints/comments in a timely and efficient way.

Asses the most appropriate approach to a solution through negotiation with the patient and staff involved using knowledge of the trust structures and operational procedures whilst aiming to achieve timely local resolution.

Support the line manager in the assessment of individual situations to differentiate between issues that can be resolved informally and those that warrant further formal investigations.

Contribute new ideas to developing patient feedback review and management within the trust and the work of the wider team.

Share management of the teams complaints caseload, liaising with CSL staff who are responsible for providing investigation reports and complaints responses. This involves supporting staff and reviewing responses to ensure that cover all aspects of the original complaint, including any statutory requirements

Provide non-clinical advice to patients/clients and be responsible for escalating a concern or complaint where patient safety appears to be at risk.

Support line manager to log complex data relating to complaints and PALS activity.

Exercise initiative and discretion on a day to day basis, working with issues which are likely to be sensitive or contentious, or whilst dealing with angry and upset service users.

Monitor and advise on staffing rotas, ensuring appropriate levels of cover are maintained within the corporate Complaints office, and PALS team.

Lead and advice team members in the handling of highly emotive and occasionally distressing interactions with upset, angry or grieving service users.

Liaise with representatives from the parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and other Ombudsmen services (PHSO), special service, general professional councils, advocacy services and other relevant external parties as necessary.

Actively promote the work and role of the complaints and PALS team within the trust through design, development, and dissemination of publicity materials.

Maintain records of complaints, concerns, compliments and comments using the trust Inphase risk management system.

Understand when there is a need to escalate any concerns to the Patient Experience & Engagement and PALS/Complaints Manager.

Provide advise and support directly to patients and service users, ensuring that they are directed on to the appropriate clinical departments as required.

Offer practical support and advice to team members providing PALS Services when required.

Contribute to the production of high quality information about trust services, care and treatments, etc. and provide information to patients, services users and/or carers and the public relation to support and other organisations as appropriate.

Understand when there is a need to escalate PALS matters to the complaints and PALS team leader, or the complaints and legal services manager.

In order to meet the need of the service you may be required to work on the Bedford site

Communication

Develop and maintain effective working relationships with clinical and non-clinical staff across Clinical Service Lines (CSL) and departments.

Demonstrate a helpful and proactive approach to cross cover and team work so that patients and visitors are provided with a helpful, compassionate and sensitive service across all aspects of the PALS team.

Build and maintain constructive working relationships with other PALS services, statutory organisations, advocacy services, voluntary services and other stakeholders in the local health economy

Work with the wider patient experience team on developing patient information based on the themes elicited from the activities and issues raised through the PALS/Complaints service.

Alert the Communications team, the Head of Patient, Carer and Public Engagement and the PALS Manager of any matters raised through PALS that might attract adverse media coverage.

Analysis and management reporting

Contribute to collecting, reporting, monitoring analysis and evaluation of complaints clusters. Themes, trends and concerns, social media concerns raised on Twitter and Facebook, highlighting problem or apparent risk areas and any subsequent changes in or improvement practice that have taken place. This will include monthly report writing and dashboards for the clinical service governance, Quality and safety meetings.

Contribute to weekly, monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, and annual reports for the attention of the trust executive board, including trend analysis, highlighting risk and influencing service improvement.

Respond to, and support with Legal Services queries, including claims and FOI requests.

Management

To liaise with the CSLs with PALS and Complaints caseloads.

To provide sound leadership and motivation for staff. Be actively involved in recruitment and staff development reviews. Facilitate orientation and training programmes.

To act as team representative at local and wider meetings.

Support the PALS and Complaint manager with maintaining staff records e.g. sickness, appraisal and annual leave.

Work within the boundaries of governance as defined by the Trust.

To respond appropriately to a rapidly changing environment whilst maintaining the status quo

Accountability for all actions and recognise limitations of the role

Attend and actively contribute to team meetings.

Service Development

To be a catalyst for change and improvement by providing feedback on issues raised to influence the development of more patient centred services.

Professional Responsibility

To be approachable and available for staff to discuss any personal/professional problems

To participate in service training/continuing education

To undertake managing performance process with staff under supervision from PALs and Complaints manager.