Job summary
- Main area
- Legal Services
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 5
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 297-7567966
- Employer
- Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Queen Elizabeth Hospital
- Town
- Gateshead
- Salary
- £31,049 - £37,796 pa
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 20/11/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Legal Services Facilitator
NHS AfC: Band 5
In the event of excessive applications being received this vacancy may close earlier than the stated closing date, you are encouraged to submit your application as soon as possible
IMPORTANT NOTE ON COMPLETION OF REFERENCE SECTION OF APPLICATION FORM
All references from current and previous employers will be sought and MUST cover a minimum of 3 years employment. Therefore, when completing the reference section of your application form, please give the address, telephone number and work email address of each of your current/previous line managers that cover 3 years employment. Where possible this should be from two separate employers. Failure to complete this section may result in your application not being processed.
PLEASE NOTE it is a requirement of this Trust that all successful applicants pay for their DBS certificate if a check is required for the post. This will be done through deduction from your monthly pay over a maximum of three months. It is also a requirement that all successful applicants register or are registered with the DBS update service where a DBS is required.
All new entrants to the NHS will be appointed on the minimum of the pay scale in line with Terms & Conditions.
Job overview
An opportunity has arisen for a Legal Services Facilitator (Band 5) within the Legal Services Department.
Main duties of the job
The main purpose of the facilitator role is to provide an efficient and comprehensive support service to the Legal Services team in preparing, typing and creating documents and support documentation for Court and Inquest proceedings and assisting in the Clinical Claims, Employment Liability claims, Public Liability claims, Inquests, Duty of Candour, Consent and Audit processes.
Working for our organisation
Based in the North East of England we provide a range of hospital and community health services from our leading facilities, including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Blaydon urgent care centre and Bensham Hospital, all within Gateshead.
Established in 2005, we were one of the first foundation trusts in the country and since then have consistently achieved the highest levels of care for patients.
We now employ around 4,800 staff and currently provide 444 hospital beds across the Gateshead region.
Our values should be the ‘golden thread’ which runs through everything we do – they are the core of who we are. Our five values can easily be remembered by the simple acronym ICORE; Innovation, Care, Openness, Respect, Engagement.
We have a number of staff networks including the Global Ethnic Majority (GEM) network, D-Ability network, LGBTQ+ Network and the Women’s Network, to challenge us and help us to constantly improve. Our Armed Forces network is one of our emerging networks.
The health and wellbeing of our staff is one of our highest priorities, and we offer a range of support and initiatives as part of our ‘Balance’ programme balancegateshead.com to cater for our diverse workforce, so that your individual needs can be supported, allowing you a happy and healthy working experience with us.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
- Manage (with support and supervision) their own caseload of Inquests, Clinical claims, and Employer’s Liability and Public Liability claims
- Support and guide staff through claims and inquest processes.
- Report new claims to NHS Resolution via their portal in line with reporting guidelines.
- Prepare legal documents and associated papers and arrange circulation of information to relevant parties.
- Attend internal and external meetings and hearings in relation to claims and inquests as a representative of the Legal Services team.
- Monitor Duty of Candour compliance across the Trust and provide support to colleagues in relation to completion of duty of candour notifications.
- Identify and highlight any learning from claims, inquests and duty of candour.
- Assist in the preparation of written updates and reports to Divisional and Trust wide groups in relation to claims, inquests, duty of candour.
- Attend Divisional and Trust wide meetings to present reports and updates, and provide feedback from meetings to the Legal Services team.
- Co-manage, supervise and support the Legal Services Administrator.
- Assist in the process of disclosure of patient records, including the collation, checking and redacting of patient records to ensure confidentiality is observed.
- Deal with ad hoc legal queries and provide advice and support to staff in relation to a wide range of legal issues.
- Assist in the collation of information in connection with Freedom of Information requests.
- Coordinate and provide training to a range of Trust staff.
- Participate in consent and audit processes.
- Assist in the drafting and updating of Policies and Guidelines where appropriate .
- Analyse data from NHS Resolution Scorecards and GIRFT data provided by external bodies.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- NVQ Level 4 or equivalent experience
Desirable criteria
- Law A-level / degree
Skills
Essential criteria
- Familiarity with legal and medical terminology and procedures
- Enhanced IT skills – databases, Excel, Word, Outlook, internet and electronic data management system
- Good written skills, ability to write letters and reports
- Excellent organisational skills
- Familiarity with Duty of Candour and Consent processes
Desirable criteria
- Detailed knowledge of legal and medical terminology and procedures
- Detailed knowledge of the Data Protection Act, Access to Health Records Act, Civil Procedure Rules, Pre-action Protocols, NHS Resolution processes, Duty of Candour and Consent processes
Experience
Essential criteria
- Evidence of an ability to prioritise workload, work under pressure and to tight timescales
- Ability to produce reports of high standard and enhanced analysis of data
Desirable criteria
- Experience in delivering training to individuals and groups
- Managerial skills
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Steven Wade
- Job title
- Legal Services Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0191 445 2216
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