Patient Advice & Liaison Officer (Pals) in Oxford

Job overview

The role is responsible for delivering the providing a professional, confidential, impartial and supportive service to patients, carers, relatives, members of the public and staff. The post holder acts as a key first point of contact for concerns, enquiries, comments, compliments and suggestions, for those attending the Emergency Department, helping to resolve issues quickly and appropriately at the point of contact.

Person specification highlights

Essential requirements include:

• Degree-level education or equivalent knowledge, training and experience.
• Good literacy, numeracy and IT skills, including Word, Outlook and Excel.
• Knowledge of acute hospital priorities, NHS complaints processes, PALS core functions and national standards.
• Experience in customer service or a similar public-facing role.
• Experience handling confidential or sensitive issues.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to manage unpredictable workloads, prioritise effectively and meet deadlines.
• Empathy, professionalism, resilience and the ability to work as part of a team.
• Ability to use databases, preferably Datix or similar systems.

Overall purpose

Overall, the role is designed to ensure that patients, carers and the public receive timely, compassionate and effective support when raising concerns or seeking advice. It also plays an important part in helping the Trust learn from patient experience and improve services.

Main duties of the job

Key responsibilities include:

• Providing confidential advice, guidance and support to patients, carers and the public.
• Responding to concerns received face-to-face, by telephone or by email.
• Liaising with clinical and non-clinical teams, matrons, divisional teams, complaints, legal and risk management colleagues.
• Escalating complex, sensitive, contentious or high-risk cases in line with PALS policy.
• Explaining the NHS complaints process and signposting to independent advocacy where needed.
• Recording, updating and maintaining accurate case information on the Ulysses database.
• Accessing patient records appropriately to support case resolution, while complying with information governance, data protection and Caldicott principles.
• Producing reports and sharing patient feedback to support learning and service improvement.
• Supporting junior team members and contributing to staff education and training around local resolution of concerns.

The post requires strong communication, empathy, resilience, organisation and prioritisation skills. It involves regular contact with people who may be distressed, frustrated or upset, so emotional resilience and the ability to manage challenging conversations are essential.

Working for our organisation

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country. It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research. The Trust comprises four hospitals - the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury.

Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community. We call this Delivering Compassionate Excellence, and its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence. These values put patients at the heart of what we do and underpin the quality healthcare we would like for ourselves or a member of our family. Watch how we set out to deliver compassionate excellence via the .

In NHS England launched its first sexual safety charter, and our Trust proudly signed it. We pledge zero tolerance for inappropriate sexual behaviour and commit to the Oxford University Hospitals promotes a safe, respectful hiring environment. If you want to make a difference with us, come and join our team. Together, we will uphold the highest standards of care and professionalism.

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