Pals and Bereavement Officer

An opportunity has arisen to join the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) and Bereavement Team at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. The PALS and Bereavement Team is part of the Patient Safety and Clinical Assurance department and supports The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in delivering a high-quality service. This is a unique and rewarding opportunity to make a meaningful difference to patients and their families during some of their most difficult times.
The post holder will provide a public-facing service and will contribute to an efficient, compassionate, professional and comprehensive service for patients, relatives, carers and staff. The post holder will also work to ensure that the processes following the death of a patient are completed respectfully, correctly and in a timely manner. This will involve acting as a point of contact and source of advice for relatives of deceased patients, healthcare professionals, the coroner’s office, registration services and providing support to the Medical Examiner Office.
The post holder will play a key role in the provision of the Trust-wide Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). They will contribute to an efficient, compassionate, professional and comprehensive service for patients, relatives, carers and staff. The post holder will also work to ensure that the processes following the death of a patient are completed respectfully, correctly and in a timely manner. This will involve acting as a point of contact and source of advice for relatives of deceased patients, healthcare professionals, coroner and registration services and providing support to the Medical Examiner Office.
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is a world-leading cancer centre. Our role is to offer our patients the best cancer care available anywhere in the world, and to continue to make a global contribution to finding better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer. We employ over 4,500 staff in a diverse range of careers including nursing, medical, science, radiography, pharmacy, occupational therapy, finance and administrative services. We have two hospitals - one in Chelsea, London, and one in Sutton, Surrey - as well as a Medical Daycare Unit in Kingston Hospital.
At The Royal Marsden, we deal with cancer every day, so we understand how valuable life is. When people entrust their lives to us, they have the right to demand the very best. That's why the pursuit of excellence lies at the heart of everything we do.
At the heart of the hospital is our dedicated team. We offer a stimulating and dynamic working environment, a wide range of staff benefits, learning and development opportunities and clear career pathways. There are opportunities to work flexibly across a range of areas and specialities and we welcome flexible working requests from point of hire to support employees work life balance. We are looking for employees who aspire to excellence, share our values and can play a crucial role in our on-going achievements.
For further information on this role, please see the attached detailed Job Description and Person Specification.
Assess patients and others who access the service to determine their needs
Handle and process concerns, including complex cases
Communicate with patients, relatives and/or carers in a polite, sympathetic and empathetic way, giving reassurances that all enquiries will be handled in confidence
Provide a confidential service for people who wish to discuss aspects of their illness or their treatment, and where appropriate support them in the decision-making process.
Handle and deal with contentious issues that may arise from handling some concerns
Respond to matters of concern which patients/carers may wish to raise and to act as a facilitator, providing advice, support and direction, ensuring that issues are resolved as quickly and efficiently as possible
Ensure that patient/carer views are recorded and forwarded to senior management as appropriate