Complaints and Pals Lead

An exciting opportunity has arisen to manage our Complaints and Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) Team. We are looking for an experienced and enthusiastic individual to lead on Complaints and PALS for Airedale NHS Foundation Trust.

We are seeking an individual who has the right values and behaviours to ensure we provide the best possible service for patients and families. Experience of working in a clinical health setting is highly desirable.

The post holder will work collaboratively with key stakeholders ensure that complaints and concerns are dealt with in line with agreed standards and that all users have a positive experience of the service.

The Complaints lead is responsible for ensuring that effective systems and processes are in place to manage complaints and evidence learning and that effective reporting structures are in place to provide robust governance and oversight.

Through ongoing improvement actions you will support people across the Trust to develop their awareness, confidence and local ownership in responding to and learning from complaints.

We are always looking for enterprising and innovative approaches to the way we provide our services. We are a national centre for telemedicine and introduced telehealth to the UK offender healthcare sector and also provide the service to patients in their care homes. Community matters to us and we are supported by 400 dedicated volunteers and have strong links with Bradford University, Craven College and Leeds City College to ensure we inspire the workforce of the future.

We want to attract staff who embrace our ‘Right Care’ behaviours of compassion, a commitment to quality of care and working together for patients - we want to make these part of our DNA.

The post holder will ensure that the complaints and PALS department is managed effectively by:

- Working collaboratively with key staff involved in the process.
- Implement, monitor and develop the trust’s complaints policy and ensure that all complaints are managed effectively in line with our policy and values and national requirements.
- Ensure that ANHSFT complaints policy and processes are in line with national standards.
- Liaise with and service managers, investigators and staff, across the trust, to ensure a seamless process for the management of complaints and a systematic process for learning and service improvement as a result of complaints and concerns raised
- Identify opportunities where complaints may be resolved by the PALS Officer to the satisfaction of the complainant/patient and conversely ensure that appropriate concerns are escalated to complaints where needed
- Develop and build strong relationships with investigators and with people who use our services, their families and carers; therefore gaining a better understanding and insight into their complaint.
- Manage the service across the organisation, providing leadership for the Complaints and PALS team, supporting and enabling your staff to deliver an empathetic, responsive and highly professional and efficient service.
- It is essential that the post holder has direct experience of handing concerns and complaints in accordance with NHS Complaints regulations. The post holder will be required to support the public, staff and organisations such as advocacy and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
- It is important that the applicant is able to build relationships, has excellent written and verbal communication skills, along with a thorough knowledge and first-hand experience of the NHS complaints process and an appreciation of the need to work to timescales in the interest of resolving complaints.
- Ensure the Trust learns from complaints, triangulates patient experience information to improve patient care and continuous improvement across its service provision
- To raise the confidence and competency of complaint leads to respond to complaints designing and delivering training as required.


Management
- Manage the Complaints-PALS team to ensure that all complaints and PALS concerns are dealt with as indicated by national recommendations and local policy.
- Monitor complaints to ensure that these are managed within the set timescales
- Communicate with patients and their representatives in relation to complaints and areas of concerns using highly developed communication, counselling and negotiation skills to effect resolution as early as possible in the process.
- Ensure the Assistant Director of Healthcare Governance and Associate Chief Nurse for Safety are made of any complaints that may meet the criteria for a serious incident.
- Liaise with the Patient Safety Manager (Legal Services) to advise of any complaints that may result in the complainant making a financial claim.
- Liaise with and supply information to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) when required.
- Liaise with local commissioners (Clinical Commissioning Groups) and other partner organisations when necessary.
- En