Job overview

This post provides professional administrative support on a 24/7 shift basis within the Emergency Department: co-ordinating all stages of a patient’s journey through ED from first attendance to discharge.

The post-holder is required to facilitate patient flow in the department and pro-actively support the work of multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs) in delivering the best outcome for the patient, informing and communicating assessment updates and discharge plans. All within the clinical area relating to patient flow, contributing to meeting the Emergency Care Access (ECA) standards.

This role is an advocate for promoting discharges and works closely with the MDT; comprised of a wide range of stakeholders both internally and externally, including Trust colleagues, Clinical Site Management, our patients and their families, clinical and non-clinical staff and on-call managers. The role will provide information and work to support ED Senior Leadership in implementing changes in practice to improve patient experience and flow.

The post-holder will, with minimal supervision, will be expected to identify and assisting in resolving barriers to discharge or flow escalating in line with the Emergency Department Surge Plan. The post-holder will be required to support the Nurse in Charge (NIC) but working on their own initiative, with frequent interruptions, in an adverse working environment.

Main duties of the job

To be responsible for supporting the discharge planning from the point of ED attendance, ensuring compliance with 4- and 12-hour standards within the department to avoid any unnecessary delays for patients. In cases where there are potential failures in performance and breaches of the ECA standards the post-holder must have a clear understanding of the escalation procedure.

To ensure all clinical systems are updated in real time, so appropriate parties have a clear and accurate view of the department to ensure that standards set by NHS England are being achieved (ECA standards). An hourly shift report will be produced where the post-holder and the ED NIC will collaborate to document any issues, alerts or breaches in performance that occur during the shift. Also recorded, will be the staffing information for adjacent staff groups (e.g. nursing, admin. colleagues etc.) to give a more thorough overview of the functionality of the department at that point in time. This data will be recorded in the ‘shift narrative’ section of said report and is included so that issues can be recalled.

To be involved in two-hourly board rounds, as well as an initial 07:45 team huddle, with all departmental NICs, site co-ordinators, consultants and, at times, on-call managers and executives. The purpose of which is to ensure all stakeholders are aware of the current situation; the current demand for services, to anticipate and plan for any increase in demand and to escalate issues identified. 

Working for our organisation

The Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT) is the main provider of acute and specialist care services in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. It serves a population of around 470,000 people, a figure that can increase significantly with visitors during the busiest times of the year. We employ approximately 6,700 staff and have a budget of approximately £740 million. 

RCHT is responsible for the provision of services at three main sites with approximately 780 inpatient beds: 

Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro 

St Michael’s Hospital in Hayle 

West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance 

We are a teaching hospital in partnership with the University of Exeter Medical School, University of Plymouth School of Nursing and Midwifery, and Peninsula Dental School. 

Keeping at the forefront of medical advances, we are continually developing our clinical services as well as our facilities, and are committed to maximising the range of specialist care that can be offered locally. Allied to this is a growing reputation for research and innovation. 

The Knowledge Spa on the Royal Cornwall Hospital site is the base for medical and nursing as well as ongoing education for health professions in clinical and non-clinical roles. This plays a vital part in attracting and retaining highly skilled teams of doctors, nurses and other health professionals who support the care of well over half a million people each year.