PALS Officer

If you do, we would welcome your application for the post of Patient Advice and Liaison (PALS) Officer. The post is for 37.5 hours Monday to Friday 8-4 / 8.30-4.30.

You need to be able to organise yourself to co-ordinate a wide range of tasks within tight timescales, to work under pressure and show initiative. We would love to hear from positive people who are flexible, helpful and enjoy being part of a team. As part of the role you will be responsible for accurately recording and resolving informal queries received by the Trust or sign posting patients and their families to the correct agencies. You will ensure PALS received are addressed appropriately. This provides you with the opportunity to identify concerns and to enable them to be effectively addressed in a professional, caring and efficient way. The team also provides an important role in the Trust in identifying what we can change to make our services better for the future.

The PALS team support the Complaints, PALS and Bereavement Service to develop and maintain a positive and effective service and to capture and improve the experience of our patients and their families. The PALS team are friendly and supportive, working well together. We are looking for a resilient team player who is passionate about helping people.

The successful candidate will work closely with our PALS team to deliver a high quality customer service and provide well managed administration on a day to day basis. Working within a supportive team, you will ensure that PALS queries are thoroughly understood and responded to within the Trust’s timescales.

If you are a hardworking, empathetic, organised and confident individual, with excellent

administration/IT skills, we would love to hear from you.

We will offer you training and support so you can become a first point of contact for patients,

their relatives or carers seeking immediate information. You will also offer guidance on how to make a formal complaint and will be able to assist in resolving concerns before they escalate into formal complaints.

Person Specification (Essential)

Inputting client information on to a database.

Experience in a customer service role.

Ability to work with people in stressful or difficult situations and be equipped to manage such challenges.

Excellent keyboard skills and proficient is using Microsoft Office, particularly Word, Outlook and Excel.

Problem solving skills

Ability to work independently and to prioritise and work in a methodical manner.

Good written and verbal communication skills, able to accurately listen to or read an event to record and respond appropriately.

For an informal discussion please contact Laura Gorvin, Team Leader for Patient Resolution, on 01227 868679

(Monday to Friday 08.30-14.30).

We are one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five hospitals and community clinics serving a local population of around 695,000 people.

Our vision is ‘great healthcare from great people’. Everything we do is guided by our values: ‘People feel cared for, safe, respected and confident that we are making a difference’.

We have a new way of working at East Kent Hospitals, called ‘We care’. It’s about empowering frontline staff to lead improvements day-to-day. We’re looking for compassionate people to be part of our improvement journey for the patients, families and carers we care for every day.”

Please note that if you require a Certificate of Sponsorship to work in the UK you must declare this on your application form, even if you currently have a certificate of sponsorship or a work permit for another role and are already working in the country. Please note we are only able to sponsor candidates on a Skilled Worker Visa applying for roles Band 5 and above.

PLEASE NOTE – SPONSORSHIP CANNOT BE PROVIDED FOR THIS ROLE

For further details / informal visits contact: Name: Laura Gorvin Job title: Team Leader for Patient Resolution Services Email address: [email protected] Telephone number: 01227 868679