• Job Description

  Req#: C9298-CFN-0115?language=en&page=850&sort=publicationDateDesc

  Job summary

  An exciting opportunity has arisen in our small and friendly team for an enthusiastic, compassionate, hardworking individual to join the Trust within Patient Experience, Patient advice and liaison Team as a PALS Officer. This role involves providing support, guidance and advice for people who wish to raise concerns about various aspects of care or who want general information about our Trust services.

  This is fast paced and challenging, but rewarding post, within a supportive team, focused on improving the experiences of people visiting our Trust.

  For further information please contact Tracy Richardson on 0113 2060781 or tracy.richardson4@nhs.net

  Expected Shortlisting Date

  23/05/2025

  Planned Interview Date

  30/05/2025

  Main duties of the job

  To be supportive, accessible and responsive to patients, service users, carers and members of the public, to enable them to express their views and raise concerns easily while following CQC requirements,

  Be responsible for listening to, understanding, and analysing problems, questions or requests being presented by patients and their representatives, the public and the staff. To assess individual situations

  and be able to differentiate between issues that can be resolved on the spot and those that warrant further investigation or resolution.

  Delivery of the PALS service with minimal supervision including acting as an independent facilitator to help patients, their families and carers resolve problems or concerns quickly, and ensuring that lessons learned from feedback contribute to improving patient care.

  To help individuals to access the formal complaints process if they wish to do so.

  About us

  Leeds Teaching Hospitals is committed to our process of redeploying 'at risk' members of our existing workforce to new roles. As such, all our job adverts are subject to this policy and we reserve the right to close, delay or remove adverts while this process is completed. If you do experience a delay in the shortlisting stage of the recruitment cycle, please bear with us while this process is completed, and contact the named contact if you have any questions.

  Details

  Date posted

  25 April 2025

  Pay scheme

  Agenda for change

  Band

  Band 4

  Salary

  £26,530 to £29,114 a year

  Contract

  Permanent

  Working pattern

  Full-time, Flexible working

  Reference number

  C9298-CFN-0115

  Job locations

  St. James's University Hospital

  Beckett Street

  Leeds

  LS9 7TF

  
  

  Job description

  Job responsibilities

  JOB DESCRIPTION AND PERSON SPECIFICATION

  NB: Please do not change the Word format or Page Set Up of this document.

  1. JOB DETAILS

  Job Title: PALS Officer

  Reports to: PALS Service Co-ordinator

  Band: 4

  Department: Patient Experience (Patient Advice and liaison)

  Location St James Hospital

  AfC Job No: AFC 4092

  2. JOB PURPOSE/SUMMARY

  An exciting opportunity has arisen in our small and friendly team for an enthusiastic, compassionate, hardworking individual to join the Trust within Patient Experience, Patient advice and liaison Team as a PALS Officer. This role involves providing support, guidance and advice for people who wish to raise concerns about various aspects of care or who want general information about our Trust services.

  This is fast paced and challenging, but rewarding post, within a supportive team, focused on improving the experiences of people visiting our Trust.

  3. ORGANISATIONAL CHART

  4. PRINCIPAL DUTIES & AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

  To be supportive, accessible and responsive to patients, service users, carers and members of the public, to enable them to express their views and raise concerns easily while following CQC requirements,

  Be responsible for listening to, understanding, and analysing problems, questions or requests being presented by patients and their representatives, the public and the staff. To assess individual situations

  and be able to differentiate between issues that can be resolved on the spot and those that warrant further investigation or resolution.

  Delivery of the PALS service with minimal supervision including acting as an independent facilitator to help patients, their families and carers resolve problems or concerns quickly, and ensuring that lessons learned from feedback contribute to improving patient care.

  Be responsible for the handling of the generic Patient Experience email account, including managing the PALS Inbox.

  To help individuals to access the formal complaints process if they wish to do so.

  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.

  Manage the PALS database, ensuring that requests for information are correctly entered and maintained, that reports on requests are run and trends analysed and acted upon.

  To support and understand the consent process following contact from Local MPs and to provide advice to those who wish to have an independent advocate to support with their contact.

  Work as an integral member of the PALS team covering for other team members, as necessary, and assisting in the induction and development of staff, providing support and guidance, as appropriate.

  To contribute to and deliver individual CSU training on the PALS process, customer services and frontline resolution of concerns. To ensure that CSU colleagues and staff are supported and enabled to meet patients needs in practice when investigating and resolving concerns.

  To provide comprehensive information or signposting to patients, their representatives and the general public about Trust services generally, specific information about the services they access and about health- related issues generally including access to other health related agencies and services.

  To provide high quality responses to compliments received into Leeds Teaching Hospitals.

  5. THE LEEDS WAY VALUES

  Our values are part of what make us different from other trusts, so we see this as a strength, as well as a responsibility. They have been developed by our staff and set out what they see as important to how we work. Our five values are:

  Patient-centred

  Collaborative

  Fair

  Accountable

  Empowered

  All our actions and endeavours will be guided and evaluated through these values

  Additionally, the following are core values which relate specifically to this post:

  - Patient, person and complainant centred, considering the needs of different complainants (as per the Equality and Diversity Policy).

  - Demonstrates the value of patient, carer and public feedback as the key to improving the patient experience and services.

  - Demonstrates a commitment to ensure a thorough and responsive PALS service.

  - Values the protection of patient and complainant confidentiality.

  - Values partnership working with other agencies to the benefit of complainants.

  - Commitment to carrying out the Trusts statutory responsibilities within the context of the PALS NHS Procedure

  6. WEST YORKSHIRE ASSOCIATION OF ACUTE TRUSTS (WYAAT)

  Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is part of the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts (WYAAT), a collaborative of the NHS hospital trusts from across West Yorkshire and Harrogate working together to provide the best possible care for our patients.

  By bringing together the wide range of skills and expertise across West Yorkshire and Harrogate we are working differently, innovating and driving forward change to deliver the highest quality care. By working for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust this is your opportunity to be a part of that change.

  7. INFECTION CONTROL

  The jobholder must comply at all times with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Infection Control policies, in particular by practising Universal Infection Control Precautions. Hand hygiene must be performed before and after contact with patients and their environment.

  8. HEALTH AND SAFETY / RISK MANAGEMENT

  All staff are responsible for working with their colleagues to maintain and improve the quality of services provided to our patients and other service users. This includes complying at all times with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Policies, including Health and Safety policies, in particular by following agreed security and safer working procedures, and reporting incidents using the Trust Incident Reporting system

  9. EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY

  The jobholder must comply with all policies and procedures designed to ensure equality of employment and that services are delivered in ways that meet the individual needs of patients and their families. No person whether they are staff, patient or visitor should receive less favourable treatment because of their gender, ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion etc.

  10. TRAINING AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

  The jobholder must take responsibility in agreement with his/her line manager for his/her own personal development by ensuring that Continuous Professional Development remains a priority. The jobholder will undertake all mandatory training required for the role.

  11. COMMUNICATION & WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

  Key communication and working relationships include:

  - Internal

  Deputy PCPI Manager

  Complaints and PALS team

  CSU management teams

  Consultants

  Risk management

  - External

  Leeds and York Partnerships Trust

  Leeds ICB

  Leeds City Council

  NHS England

  Leeds Community Care

  Advocacy agencies

  Yorkshire Ambulance Service

  12. SPECIAL WORKING CONDITIONS

  i) PHYSICAL EFFORT:

  A combination of sitting, standing, walking with little requirement for physical effort. Infrequent requirement to move and handle equipment eg. office supplies.

  ii) MENTAL EFFORT:

  Frequent concentration; work pattern unpredictable. Concentration for eg. enquiries, complaints, devising action plans, changing patient/client requirements.

  iii) EMOTIONAL EFFORT:

  Frequent exposure to distressing or emotional circumstances through email, telephone, and written communication. Talking and listening to patients and relatives on a daily basis who have concerns with Leeds Teaching Hospitals. Face to Face meetings with patients and their families where cases are/can be particularly difficult or complex and complainants may be angry.

  iv) WORKING CONDITIONS:

  Working environment - shared office. Regular contact with patients and families by telephone who may be angry. Infrequent contact with angry and abusive complainants who visit the department.

  Regular contact with staff members in teaching and learning environments.

  Job description

  Job responsibilities

  JOB DESCRIPTION AND PERSON SPECIFICATION

  NB: Please do not change the Word format or Page Set Up of this document.

  1. JOB DETAILS

  Job Title: PALS Officer

  Reports to: PALS Service Co-ordinator

  Band: 4

  Department: Patient Experience (Patient Advice and liaison)

  Location St James Hospital

  AfC Job No: AFC 4092

  2. JOB PURPOSE/SUMMARY

  An exciting opportunity has arisen in our small and friendly team for an enthusiastic, compassionate, hardworking individual to join the Trust within Patient Experience, Patient advice and liaison Team as a PALS Officer. This role involves providing support, guidance and advice for people who wish to raise concerns about various aspects of care or who want general information about our Trust services.

  This is fast paced and challenging, but rewarding post, within a supportive team, focused on improving the experiences of people visiting our Trust.

  3. ORGANISATIONAL CHART

  4. PRINCIPAL DUTIES & AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

  To be supportive, accessible and responsive to patients, service users, carers and members of the public, to enable them to express their views and raise concerns easily while following CQC requirements,

  Be responsible for listening to, understanding, and analysing problems, questions or requests being presented by patients and their representatives, the public and the staff. To assess individual situations

  and be able to differentiate between issues that can be resolved on the spot and those that warrant further investigation or resolution.

  Delivery of the PALS service with minimal supervision including acting as an independent facilitator to help patients, their families and carers resolve problems or concerns quickly, and ensuring that lessons learned from feedback contribute to improving patient care.

  Be responsible for the handling of the generic Patient Experience email account, including managing the PALS Inbox.

  To help individuals to access the formal complaints process if they wish to do so.

  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.

  Manage the PALS database, ensuring that requests for information are correctly entered and maintained, that reports on requests are run and trends analysed and acted upon.

  To support and understand the consent process following contact from Local MPs and to provide advice to those who wish to have an independent advocate to support with their contact.

  Work as an integral member of the PALS team covering for other team members, as necessary, and assisting in the induction and development of staff, providing support and guidance, as appropriate.

  To contribute to and deliver individual CSU training on the PALS process, customer services and frontline resolution of concerns. To ensure that CSU colleagues and staff are supported and enabled to meet patients needs in practice when investigating and resolving concerns.

  To provide comprehensive information or signposting to patients, their representatives and the general public about Trust services generally, specific information about the services they access and about health- related issues generally including access to other health related agencies and services.

  To provide high quality responses to compliments received into Leeds Teaching Hospitals.

  5. THE LEEDS WAY VALUES

  Our values are part of what make us different from other trusts, so we see this as a strength, as well as a responsibility. They have been developed by our staff and set out what they see as important to how we work. Our five values are:

  Patient-centred

  Collaborative

  Fair

  Accountable

  Empowered

  All our actions and endeavours will be guided and evaluated through these values

  Additionally, the following are core values which relate specifically to this post:

  - Patient, person and complainant centred, considering the needs of different complainants (as per the Equality and Diversity Policy).

  - Demonstrates the value of patient, carer and public feedback as the key to improving the patient experience and services.

  - Demonstrates a commitment to ensure a thorough and responsive PALS service.

  - Values the protection of patient and complainant confidentiality.

  - Values partnership working with other agencies to the benefit of complainants.

  - Commitment to carrying out the Trusts statutory responsibilities within the context of the PALS NHS Procedure

  6. WEST YORKSHIRE ASSOCIATION OF ACUTE TRUSTS (WYAAT)

  Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is part of the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts (WYAAT), a collaborative of the NHS hospital trusts from across West Yorkshire and Harrogate working together to provide the best possible care for our patients.

  By bringing together the wide range of skills and expertise across West Yorkshire and Harrogate we are working differently, innovating and driving forward change to deliver the highest quality care. By working for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust this is your opportunity to be a part of that change.

  7. INFECTION CONTROL

  The jobholder must comply at all times with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Infection Control policies, in particular by practising Universal Infection Control Precautions. Hand hygiene must be performed before and after contact with patients and their environment.

  8. HEALTH AND SAFETY / RISK MANAGEMENT

  All staff are responsible for working with their colleagues to maintain and improve the quality of services provided to our patients and other service users. This includes complying at all times with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Policies, including Health and Safety policies, in particular by following agreed security and safer working procedures, and reporting incidents using the Trust Incident Reporting system

  9. EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY

  The jobholder must comply with all policies and procedures designed to ensure equality of employment and that services are delivered in ways that meet the individual needs of patients and their families. No person whether they are staff, patient or visitor should receive less favourable treatment because of their gender, ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion etc.

  10. TRAINING AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

  The jobholder must take responsibility in agreement with his/her line manager for his/her own personal development by ensuring that Continuous Professional Development remains a priority. The jobholder will undertake all mandatory training required for the role.

  11. COMMUNICATION & WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

  Key communication and working relationships include:

  - Internal

  Deputy PCPI Manager

  Complaints and PALS team

  CSU management teams

  Consultants

  Risk management

  - External

  Leeds and York Partnerships Trust

  Leeds ICB

  Leeds City Council

  NHS England

  Leeds Community Care

  Advocacy agencies

  Yorkshire Ambulance Service

  12. SPECIAL WORKING CONDITIONS

  i) PHYSICAL EFFORT:

  A combination of sitting, standing, walking with little requirement for physical effort. Infrequent requirement to move and handle equipment eg. office supplies.

  ii) MENTAL EFFORT:

  Frequent concentration; work pattern unpredictable. Concentration for eg. enquiries, complaints, devising action plans, changing patient/client requirements.

  iii) EMOTIONAL EFFORT:

  Frequent exposure to distressing or emotional circumstances through email, telephone, and written communication. Talking and listening to patients and relatives on a daily basis who have concerns with Leeds Teaching Hospitals. Face to Face meetings with patients and their families where cases are/can be particularly difficult or complex and complainants may be angry.

  iv) WORKING CONDITIONS:

  Working environment - shared office. Regular contact with patients and families by telephone who may be angry. Infrequent contact with angry and abusive complainants who visit the department.

  Regular contact with staff members in teaching and learning environments.

  Person Specification

  Additional Requirements

  Essential

  • Able to fulfil Occupational Health requirements for the post (with reasonable adjustments if necessary), including clearance on blood borne viruses in compliance with Trust Policy.

  Experience

  Essential

  • Experience of working with the NHS Complaints process, regulations and procedures and PALS processes Experience of dealing with potentially volatile situations Able to manage own day to day running o

  Desirable

  • Knowledge of Datix system. Experience of Working in health or social care

  Qualifications

  Essential

  • Relevant diploma or equivalent level of knowledge Evidence of relevant personal and professional development in the last 2 years. .

  Desirable

  • ECDL Customer service training. Equality and diversity training PAS training

  Skills & behaviours

  Essential

  • Demonstrates excellent verbal and interpersonal communication skills for 1;1 and telephone interaction. Computer and IT literate. Experience of using Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook, Powerpoint

  Desirable

  • Experience using Datix

  Person Specification

  Additional Requirements

  Essential

  • Able to fulfil Occupational Health requirements for the post (with reasonable adjustments if necessary), including clearance on blood borne viruses in compliance with Trust Policy.

  Experience

  Essential

  • Experience of working with the NHS Complaints process, regulations and procedures and PALS processes Experience of dealing with potentially volatile situations Able to manage own day to day running o

  Desirable

  • Knowledge of Datix system. Experience of Working in health or social care

  Qualifications

  Essential

  • Relevant diploma or equivalent level of knowledge Evidence of relevant personal and professional development in the last 2 years. .

  Desirable

  • ECDL Customer service training. Equality and diversity training PAS training

  Skills & behaviours

  Essential

  • Demonstrates excellent verbal and interpersonal communication skills for 1;1 and telephone interaction. Computer and IT literate. Experience of using Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook, Powerpoint

  Desirable

  • Experience using Datix

  Disclosure and Barring Service Check

  This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

  Employer details

  Employer name

  Leeds Teaching Hospitals

  Address

  St. James's University Hospital

  Beckett Street

  Leeds

  LS9 7TF

  
  

  Employer's website

  https://www.leedsth.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

  Employer details

  Employer name

  Leeds Teaching Hospitals

  Address

  St. James's University Hospital

  Beckett Street

  Leeds

  LS9 7TF

  
  

  Employer's website

  https://www.leedsth.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

• About the company

  National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly-funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). The founding principles were that services should be comprehensive, universal and free at the point of delivery—a health service based on clinical need, not ability to pay. Each service provides a comprehensive range of health services, free at the point of use for people ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom apart from dental treatment and optical care.

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