Patient Care Advisor in Newcastle upon Tyne

Main area Emergency Surgery and Elective Care Business Unit Grade NHS AfC: Band 3 Contract Permanent Hours

• Full time
• Part time
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week Job ref 319-8361840GH

Site Northumbria House Town Newcastle Upon Tyne Salary £25,760 - £27,476 pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 03/11/2026 23:59

Do you want to work in one of the best performing NHS organisations in England? Work for an organisation that was voted the best acute and combined acute and community trust in the country, based on the experience of its staff (NHS Staff Survey 2022). Work in an organisation that supports its staff and focuses on staff experience as much as it does the experience of its patients? You can live and breathe in an area that has the cleanest air, cost effective living, great nightlife, some of the best schools with a wealth of history available on your doorstep. Sound too good to be true? Well it isn’t, this is what you get when you work for Northumbria Healthcare and, this is… the Northumbria Way!

What the Northumbria Way means for you:

• Extensive staff health and well-being programme including access to our specialist Wellbeing Hub
• Support and connection through a variety of Staff Network groups
• A range of flexible working opportunities
• Generous annual leave and pension scheme
• Access to lease car and home electronics scheme (qualifying criteria applies)
• Opportunities to improve your professional development through our vast training programmes
• Access to savings scheme via salary sacrifice with Northumberland Community Bank

We work closely with Kids First Nurseries that are based within our trust grounds at Wansbeck, North Tyneside and Hexham hospitals to care for our Trust family's children, they offer care for children from 6 weeks old up to 4 years. There are a number of funding options run by the government to help working parents, including Early Years Funding and Tax Free Childcare.

Flexible working offers choice in where, when, and how we work, ensuring patients remain at the heart of all we do. It’s open to everyone, and we aim to find solutions that work for both you and the organisation. All arrangements must be reasonable and balanced to maintain safe and effective patient care.

We are proud to be one of the country’s top performing NHS trusts – rated ‘outstanding’ overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). We provide a range of health and care services to support more than 500,000 people living in Northumberland and North Tyneside across the largest geographical area of any NHS Trust in England. Our teams deliver care from hospitals, a range of community venues and people’s homes. Our hospitals include a specialist emergency care hospital (the first of its kind in England), three general hospitals and community hospitals. In the community we deliver a wide range of community and public health services.

We lead in innovation and quality, having opened the Northumbria Healthcare Manufacturing and Innovation Hub during the Covid-19 pandemic and have recently launched our Community Promise – a pledge to make a real impact not just in healthcare but on the wider factors that affect people’s lives, such as education, employment and the economy.

If Northumbria Healthcare sounds like somewhere you could belong we would love to hear from you. Visit our website to catch up on our latest news.

Whilst Northumbria Healthcare are a highly innovative organisation, the use of Third Party Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents a risk to the integrity of our Recruitment & Selection processes. If you use AI, and it poses a risk to the integrity your individual recruitment process, we may withdraw your application at any stage of the process.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a patient care advisor to join the Contact Centre team to provide the first point of contact to capture all interactions between Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust and patients.

We are looking for a highly motivated, enthusiastic, and conscientious individual to join the team and deliver an efficient, accurate service for our patients.

The department has multiple teams covering a variety of service needs, including outpatient, inpatient and diagnostic booking, validation and tracking, and referral services.

Full time or part time hours may be considered

Please note we reserve the right to close this vacancy prior to the closing date once the required number of suitable applications have been received

Please note, for Secondment roles before an application is submitted, please ensure you have received the appropriate approval and completed documentation required beforehand, as this may delay the process if an offer was to be made.

Main duties of the job

As the primary point of contact for the Trust, you will engage with patients and staff in an informed manner, ensuring that patients receive accessible information.

Engage via phone and email with Trust staff, including secretaries, ward clerks, receptionists, and clinicians.

Communicate with other departments, as well as external teams such as GP and other hospitals.

Attend meetings, either in-person or virtually, with other Trust staff, including managers and clinicians, as needed based on team or service requirements.

Work collaboratively with department members to support patient care.

Manage workload according to the rota while prioritising tasks effectively.

Implement changes to clinic schedules, including cancellations or adjustments, as directed by clinicians, and inform patients empathetically.

Uphold the Trust's values to provide the best possible service and care to patients.

Support timely patient scheduling in line with local and national standards.

This post is a variable role which may consist of a significant amount of telephone calls internally and externally to the Trust and administrative duties.

Working for our organisation

We manage three major locality hospitals at North Tyneside, Wansbeck and Hexham, plus a number of smaller community hospitals and clinics from Tynemouth to Berwick on Tweed, covering one of the largest geographical areas of any NHS trust in the country. Leading in innovation and quality – opening a state of the art Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, the first of its kind in England. Do you want to work in one of the best performing NHS organisations in England? Work in an organisation that supports its staff and focuses on staff experience as much as it does the experience of its patients? You can live and breathe in an area that has the cleanest air, cost effective living, great nightlife, some of the best schools with a wealth of history available on your doorstep. Sound too good to be true? Well it isn’t, this is what you get when you work for Northumbria Healthcare, this is the Northumbria Way! Please read ‘applicant guidance notes’ before submitting your application.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To work as a member of a flexible team, acting as the first point of contact for supporting patients throughout their pathway in booking outpatient appointments, inpatient procedures, and tracking services in accordance with NHS targets, while maintaining a knowledgeable and courteous manner
• Many teams receive a high volume of phone calls from patients, relatives, and carers. Common inquiries include chasing or changing appointments, requesting procedure details, seeking directions, and addressing general questions.
• Communicate effectively with patients who have hearing difficulties, communication challenges, or where English is not their first language. Some patients may also be anxious, distressed, or frustrated.
• Utilise digital communication with patients through our Patient Portal.
• Engage in phone and email communication with other Trust staff, such as secretaries, ward clerks, receptionists, and clinicians.
• Handle phone or email inquiries from external teams, including GP and dental practices, PALS, and other hospitals.
• Attend meetings (either face-to-face or virtual) with Trust staff, including administrative teams, managers, and clinicians, as needed based on the team's requirements.
• Identify and elevate capacity or booking issues to the team leader.
• Support tracking, validation, and reporting within the department.
• Assist or guide callers by locating the necessary information, even when details may be limited or unclear.
• Follow the rota or, when appropriate, manage your own workload to prioritise tasks.

Person specification

Qualifications

• 5 GCSEs grade 4-9 (A*-C) or equivalent including Maths and English
• Level 3 qualification or equivalent workplace experience

Experience

• Extensive administration and / or customer service experience

Applicants who are members of the Armed Forces, those who have a disability that requires support in the work place (two ticks pledge) and those who have been looked after by the care system as a child or young person (for example, in foster care, children's homes, kinship or local authority care) who meet the essential criteria will be interviewed under the Trust's interview guarantee scheme.

We recognise the positive value of diversity and inclusion and are committed to a workforce that is diverse, equal and inclusive. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME people are currently under-represented in our workforce as well as other under-represented groups such as LGBT+ and disabled candidates. We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, a Stonewall Diversity Champion, we have a Gold award from the Defense Recognition Scheme, and we are delighted to support Apprenticeships, Age Posi+ive and are a mindful employer.

If you require any reasonable adjustments to attend interview please make the recruitment team aware as soon as possible by calling our HR Recruitment Team on 0191 203 1415 option 2.

Applicants who meet the Fit and Proper Person Requirements (FPPR) will require additional pre-employment checks in line with CQC and NHS England statutory guidance.

Make sure to read the ‘applicant guidance notes’ before submitting your application and make sure you know everything there is to know before joining our fantastic trust!

Certificate of Sponsorship

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust proudly hold a sponsor licence. In order to provide sponsorship you and the role you are applying for must meet UKVI eligibility requirements. Please check your eligibility prior to submitting an application. Skilled Worker visa: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Please note that it is a requirement of this Trust that all successful applicants pay for their own DBS certification if a DBS check is required for the post. The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first monthly pay.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Name Helen Cass Job title Operations Deputy Contact Centre Manager Email address helen.cass@northumbria-helathcare.nhs.uk Telephone number 0191 203 1252 Additional information

Robert Pearson robert.pearson@northumbria-healthcare.nhs.uk

0191 2031277

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