Job summary
- Main area
- Admin & Clerical
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 4
- Contract
- 6 months (Fixed Term for 6 months)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Monday to Friday 9-5)
- Job ref
- 382-COR26-26
- Employer
- Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Blackpool Victoria Hospital
- Town
- Blackpool
- Salary
- £28,392 - £31,157 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 28/04/2026 23:59
Employer heading
PALS Officer
NHS AfC: Band 4
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is situated on the west coast of Lancashire, with services covering the local authority areas of Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre. The Trust is part of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System (ICS) supporting a population of around 1.6 million people.
We have three main hospitals providing acute services to around 330,000 local residents. The organisation also provides specialist tertiary care for cardiac and haematology services, delivers community health services to over 445,000 residents including those in North Lancashire and hosts the National Artificial Eye Service across England. Plus, we provide urgent and emergency care services to an estimated 18 million people who visit the seaside resort each year. We employ over 7000 people from 68 different countries.
We welcome and encourage application from anyone with protected characteristics, as well as supporting reservists and Veterans who are looking for a rewarding and challenging career within the NHS.
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals encourages flexible working in all our roles to support staff in maintaining healthy home-life balance. Working patterns such as: part time working, self-rostering, compressed hours, annualised hours, term time, reverse term time and flexitime working can be explored.
Job overview
We are seeking a compassionate, professional and highly-motivated person to respond to all patient and public enquiries the Trust receives.
Main duties of the job
The Patient and Family Relations Team deal with all concerns about care and treatment that are raised by patients, their family members, carers,
MPs and regulators such as the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman. Working on the phone, by email and face to face, you will be dealing with highly sensitive, emotive and complex issues. Under the guidance of the Patient Relations Manager and Patient Relations Officers, you will develop your customer service skills and learn how to resolve conflicts, keep thorough records and share good practice.
Working for our organisation
You will provide a rapid response to general concerns and offer an early resolution of complaints, embedding any learning with the clinical teams
and on the Ulysses Safeguard System. You will have a passion for improving patient care through learning from general concerns and complaints supporting a learning and improvement culture.
To apply for this role you will need to be well-organised and a committed team player, you will have some experience in a customer care role,
ideally in a healthcare context. Knowledge of the NHS Complaints procedure and basic relevant legislation such as the Data Protection Act is essential.
Interested applicants should ideally be seeking the opportunity to become involved in what can be, at times, a very challenging role but one that also provides a personal satisfaction that the job you have done has really helped someone
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The post holder will:
• Manage individual informal concerns and general enquiries and which can, at times, be difficult and contentious
• Act as the first point of contact to service users. Listen to and record telephone messages, monitor the teams email inboxes at times providing ‘on the spot’ support and advice face to face or/and liaising with the Patient Relation Officer/Manager to secure appropriate management of the case.
To work collaboratively with investigating divisions to resolve concerns and enquiries
• To draft correspondence as required
• On receipt of complaint letters/e-mails to advise complainants of the different methods available to manage their complaint and "triage"
complaints appropriately.
• To signpost service users to other services, such as advocacy support, where appropriate.
• Copy medical files and complaint files for Ombudsman cases – email to the Ombudsman in the Administrative Officers absence
Person specification
Desirable
Essential criteria
- Ability to analyse information and identify themes or trends
Desirable criteria
- Ability to analyse information and identify themes or trends
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Used to dealing with conflict.
- Experience of working in a changing environment
- Experience of working in the NHS or a health care setting
Desirable criteria
- Experience of organising events small events and delivering delivering presentations to small groups
- Experience of handling patient concerns or complaints in a healthcare or public‑facing setting
- Demonstrable ability to communicate calmly and compassionately with distressed individuals
Essential
Essential criteria
- Ability to communicate effectively with patients, relatives, and staff
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
This post will require a submission for Disclosure to be made to check for any unspent criminal convictions.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Kirsty Davies
- Job title
- Patient Relations Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01253 951197
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