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Job summary

Main area
Complaints and PALs
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 5
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
392-RNOH-1226
Employer
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital
Town
Stanmore
Salary
£34,521 - £41,956 Per Annum inclusive of HCAs
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
11/07/2025 23:59
Interview date
16/07/2025

Employer heading

Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust logo

Patient Advice & Liaison (PALs) Complaints Co ordinator

NHS AfC: Band 5

Please note in order to progress your application, your data will be processed by our 3rd party recruitment providers – North London Partners Shared Service, who conduct recruitment activities on behalf of Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust. 

The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust is the largest orthopaedic hospital in the UK and a global leader in our field.  We provide a dynamic working environment where we support frontline staff to implement improvements so that we can realise our vision of being a world leading neuro musculoskeletal hospital providing the best patient care and staff experience in the NHS, delivering world leading research, and offering a strong foundation of education, training and career progression. Our dedicated staff come from diverse backgrounds, and our patients benefit from the wide range of experience they bring to the Trust. The RNOH brings unrivalled expertise together in one place allowing us to deliver some of the world’s most complex and innovative care to our patients

  • Rated Good by the CQC
  • Two sites, one in central London and one in Stanmore - which has recently opened The Stanmore Building, a new, state-of-the-art inpatient facility
  • Our Research and Innovation Centre works closely with our main academic partner, University College London
  • Recognised as a centre of excellence,  leading on national initiatives, such as the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Programme
  • Further major redevelopment underway across the Stanmore site – improving and modernising our facilities to maintain our position as the UK’s leading centre for orthopaedic medicine
  • In the NHS staff survey, over 90% of our staff were satisfied with the quality of care they are able to give to patients - the best result of any NHS Trust in the country
  • Our staff also indicated that they had the best experience of appraisals as compared to all other NHS Trusts.

This is a great time to join us and play a critical role in the next stage of RNOH’s journey to achieving an outstanding CQC rating.

Our aim is to remain a world-leading orthopaedic hospital with the best patient care and staff experience in the NHS. To do this, we have four core values that underpin everything that we do. We use our values to help ensure that we are always focused on the things that our staff and patients believe are most important:

  • Patients first, always
  • Excellence, in all we do
  • Trust, honesty and respect, for each other
  • Equality, for all

Our annual staff survey results have been improving year on year, with our staff telling us that their experience of working at the Trust is getting better and better. They also indicate that our staff feel very loyal to the RNOH and committed to its role in providing the very best care to our complex patient group. We hope that we can welcome you to our growing team soon.

Job overview

 We are seeking to recruit a Complaints and Patient Advice and Liaison (PALS) Coordinator to join our team. The successful applicant will be the first point of contact for patients, their families, carers and members of the public.

 

You will possess excellent listening and interpersonal skills including the ability to effectively manage relationships internally and externally, demonstrate empathy, impartiality and tact when dealing with calls from patients or their representatives relating to health service concerns. 

 

The successful applicant must also be able to recognise the needs of patients, their families and carers and be able to communicate complex, sensitive information with tact, diplomacy and understanding.

 

You must have good listening skills, and be aware of the need for discretion and high levels of confidentiality. The role also demands organisational and time management skills, and the ability to manage competing priorities against deadlines.

 

The post holder will continue to build on our learning and improvement in all aspects of complaints handling and provide a patient advice and liaison service. As a first point of contact for the team you will advise staff and the public as appropriate on complaints resolution process, signposting and making judgments to ensure appropriate outcomes.

 

Higher level interpersonal skills are crucial for this role as well as the ability to communicate clearly and succinctly both verbally and in writing

Main duties of the job

The PALS & Complaints Co-ordinator provides a visible and effective service by ensuring patients, their families, carers and representatives, visitors and the public have access to and receive high quality and timely information and signposting about the Trust, related health and social care services, and their own personal information. 

The post holder is an essential point of contact in working closely with front line staff to receive, manage and respond to formal and informal enquiries and complaints in line with Trust policy and procedure and NHS Complaints Regulations.

This role provides the main interface with complainants, some of whom may be challenging. It is vital the post holder is a good listener and effective team player and will need to be able to communicate information effectively to patients and their carers or families, members of the public, staff and volunteers and provide support to them as required. A professional, caring and respectful manner must be demonstrated at all times.

The Post holder will need to be able to prepare and assist in the provision of data for reports . 

Post holders may come into contact with patients, their carers / family, with advocates and with staff who may express a range of emotions including distress or anger as a result of an incident, breach of confidentiality or alleged failing in care. The ability to act with diplomacy, empathy and professionalism is expected at all time

Working for our organisation

RNOH Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust (RNOH) is the largest orthopaedic hospital in the UK and a global leader in our field. We provide a dynamic working environment where we support frontline staff to implement improvements so that we can realise our vision of being a world leading neuro-musculoskeletal hospital providing the best patient care and staff experience in the NHS, delivering world leading research, and offering a strong foundation of education, training and career progression. Our dedicated staff come from diverse backgrounds, and our patients benefit from the wide range of experience they bring to the trust. RNOH brings unrivalled expertise together in one place allowing us to deliver some of the world’s most complex and innovative care to our patients. RNOH is rated good by the CQC and covers two sites, one in central London and one in Stanmore - which has recently opened The Stanmore Building, a new, state-of-the-art inpatient facility. For more information, please access the following link: https://www.rnoh.nhs.uk/

Home :Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital

The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust aims to be a world-leading orthopaedic hospital with the best patient care and staff experience in the NHS.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Complaints

Provide compassionate and impartial support for patients or families who wish to make a formal complaint. This may include documentation of a verbal complaint or assistance in writing a formal complaint letter.

Responsible for managing and responding to complaints and enquiries, and ensuring that they are handled in a timely and appropriate manner.

Communicate verbally and in writing with complainants to discuss the management of their complaint and offer information on the process that will be followed

Recognise and escalate concerns or risks appropriate to senior staff or the Safeguarding team as appropriate

Assist in the provision of data and reports in relation to complaints trends

Ensure that complainants are kept informed at all stages of the progress of their complaint including when changes or delays occur within the agreed timescale

Liaise with all levels of staff across the organisation to ensure that complaints are handled speedily and effectively

Contribute to learning lessons events so that local actions can be implemented across the Trust

Support the KO41 process, ensuring that all required information is in place

 Communication 

To communicate with staff, service users, carers and members of the public regarding the NHS Complaints Procedure and Trust’s Complaints Procedure using a range of media.

To communicate complex, sensitive and what may sometimes be contentious information regarding complaints. On occasion this will entail conveying information in a hostile, antagonistic or highly emotive atmosphere, or overcoming barriers to understanding and acceptance.

To present information to large groups, including presentation at staff meetings.

To ensure that telephone and written enquiries are dealt with efficiently and appropriately and ensure that confidentiality is maintained in accordance with relevant legislation and Trust policies and procedures.

PALS Service

Acting as a point of contact for patients, their carers or families, visitors or members of the public raising queries or concerns on the phone, via email or in person.  This may include attending the ward to discuss issues with inpatients and their families.

Providing impartial and compassionate support for those  involved in the PALS process.

Build and maintain good relationships with clinical and non-clinical staff across the Trust to help resolve patients’ concerns quickly and efficiently, negotiate solutions on their behalf and ensure they receive practical advice and support in a sensitive, appropriate and effective way

Ensuring that concerns are escalated to relevant staff within the hospital if they cannot be resolved within set timescales

Manage a caseload of individual concerns from initial contact to liaising with unit managers who are responsible for providing the response. This will include administrative logging on Ulysses identify the key issues to be addressed and the reviewing of response to ensure they cover all aspects of the concern raised.

Maintaining accurate and detailed records of concerns and queries raised by patients and their families and the outcome of local resolution.

Identify and produce reports of themes highlighted through PALS and Complaints indicating any subsequent changes in practice for inclusion in departmental/quality reports.

Exercise high levels of concentration given the unpredictable nature of the work. The post holder must be able to prioritise and manage the competing demands of their workload

Provide non-clinical advice to patients/service users or carers and be responsible for escalating a concern or complaint where patient safety appears to be at risk.

Friends & Family Test

Prepare Friends and Family data for the monthly Quality report to ensure the trust is aware of reported patient experience.  

Legal Services

Assist the Patient Experience Lead in providing information as requested to the Trust solicitors.

Recording the claims on Ulysses

Attending inquests if and when required on a support basis.

Improving Patient Experience

Provide information and data to staff who wish to measure the impact of their quality improvement projects on patient experience

Use your knowledge of patient concerns to identify possible patient experience improvement projects

Participate actively in identified projects to improve patient experience including helping to develop patient stories

Provide training for other staff in the Trust in providing high quality patient experience

Provide administrative support for identified Trust wide patient experience projects

Work collaboratively with all members of the Quality Team and other members of the Trust.

The role is based at the Stanmore site but the post holder may be required to attend the Bolsover street site on occasion. 

 

This role is office based.

Person specification

Essential

Essential criteria
  • A minimum of two years’ relevant experience of working in a frontline customer-facing role. Good knowledge and experience in a customer services environment of 2 years relevant experience in a healthcare setting
  • Strong administration skills in a client/customer services environment.
  • Educated to degree level or equivalent experience
  • Customer services/complaints handling administration
  • Ability to analyse information and make decisions within appropriate procedural and policy framework.
Desirable criteria
  • Good knowledge and experience of legislation, developments and precedent in one or more of the areas of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.
  • Experience of case management information systems.
  • Experience of working within the public sector.
  • Routinely reviews targets/goals and takes appropriate action to ensure results are achieved

Desirable

Essential criteria
  • Effectively balances competing priorities
  • Manages time economically and efficiently
  • Uses plain language and avoids jargon. Is articulate and communicates promptly and clearly
Desirable criteria
  • Promotes and projects a positive image of the organisation
  • Delivers on time and to the agreed level of quality

Desirable

Essential criteria
  • Weighs up evidence to reach supportable conclusions.
  • Demonstrates a clear and logical approach to analysing problems
Desirable criteria
  • Shows the ability to understand and interpret complex data.
  • Listens actively and checks for clarification and mutual understanding

Employer certification / accreditation badges

NHS Pastoral Care Quality AwardApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyInvestors in People: GoldImproving working livesCare quality commission - GoodMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerNHS Rainbow badgeNational Preceptorship for Nursing Quality MarkBronze Trailblazer by Race Equality MattersDefence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) - GoldAccredited Menopause Friendly EmployerRoyal College of Anaesthetists AccreditedCareLeaver Covenant

Applicant requirements

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Helen Amendt
Job title
PALs and Complaints Coordinator
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
02089095383
Additional information

8am to 4pm Monday to Friday

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