Pals Officer

The Trust’s Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS), are currently recruiting for a PALS Officer to join their team.

As part of the Patient Experience Team, PALS supports patients and service users with any issues or concerns they may have which are related to services provided by West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust.

The post holder will be the first point of contact, offering advice, information and resolution, ensuring that all enquiries are recorded and dealt with appropriately.

The post holder will also be responsible for processing interpreter and translation bookings and dealing with related enquiries.

The PALS Officer will provide support to the Patient Experience Manager and will work closely with colleagues in the PALS and wider Patient Experience Team, ensuring a joined-up approach in improving the experience of patients and their loved ones at the Trust.

**Key requirements for this role include**:

- Excellent organisational skills
- Experience of dealing with patients or customers in a face to face environment
- Experience of dealing with distressed or upset patients or customers
- Experience of defusing problematic situations
- Experience in using databases and reporting systems
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Excellent interpersonal skills

Part time and flexible hours will be considered.

You will be required to manage your own caseload by escalating enquiries to members of staff across the Trust, updating service users with progress and resolving complex cases. You will be supported by the PALS team lead

PALS are responsible to manage enquiries relating to lost property and work closely with wards to resolve issues.

You will also be responsible to work in the front PALS office and manage any face to face enquiries from patients or members of the public that need assistance.

BeKnown at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. By us. By our patients. By our community

We are a busy, friendly, rural NHS Trust providing high-quality care and compassion to more than a quarter of a million people across west Suffolk. We care for, treat and support people in hospital, at home and in various community settings.

The West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds provides acute and secondary care services (emergency department, maternity and neonatal services, day surgery unit, eye treatment centre, Macmillan unit and children's ward). It has 500+ beds and is a partner teaching hospital of the University of Cambridge.

Adult and paediatric community services, provided in collaboration with West Suffolk Alliance partners, include a range of nursing, therapy, specialist, and ongoing temporary care and rehabilitation, some at our Newmarket Community Hospital.

We do our utmost to achieve outstanding clinical outcomes for patients and our values of fairness, inclusivity, respect, safety and team work guide how we work and behave as a team.

With nearly 5,000 staff, from all over the world, we strive to make our organisation a great place to work. Whatever your role or ambition, we want to help you be the best you can be.

We promote a diverse and inclusive community where everyones voice counts and you can #BeKnown for whoever you are.

Join us. What will you #BeKnown for?

**Job summary**:
The post holder will be the first point of contact for the Trust’s Patient Advice & Liaison Service, offering advice, information and resolution to patients and service users on their concerns and enquiries. The PALS Officer will provide administrative support to the PALS & Complaints Manager ensuring enquiries are recorded and dealt with appropriately. The post holder will also be required to support the team’s Keeping in Touch activity.

**Job responsibilities**:
**Key Tasks & Responsibilities**:

- To receive, investigate and satisfactorily resolve patient and service user enquiries received via PALS with the assistance of the PALS team and the PALS Team Lead.
- To provide an empathetic and responsive advice service to patients and service users.
- To frequently communicate with patients and service users in person, on the telephone and viawritten communication.
- To record and maintain PALS enquiries on the Datix database system, escalating issues where necessary.
- To support the Keeping in Touch service by responding to enquiries and arranging communications including video calls and card writing for patients and their loved ones.
- To work as part of a team, communicating with the Patient Experience team and ensuring a joined-up approach to improve the experience of patients and their families at the Trust.
- To escalate enquiries to the PALS & Complaints Manager when appropriate.
- To be aware of the difference between PALS and formal complaints and escalate cases to colleagues when appropriate.
- To assist with collecting organisation-wide patient feedback.
- To manage enquiries related to lost property and work closely with wards to resolve issues.

**1. Communication**:

- Provide feed