Head Of Pals And Complaints

Job overview

The post holder will be responsible for managing the day-to-day operational activity of the PALS and Complaints service. A key responsibility will be to develop and maintain an effective quality service representing the Trust, which supports patients, relatives, visitors, carers or their representatives, to obtain prompt and accurate responses to concerns and Complaints. The post holder will manage all day-to-day systems, processes and teams.

The post holder will have previous experience of managing PALS and Complaints and have an in-depth understanding of the complaints process and be responsible in updating the organisation on new legislation. They will also have experience of managing and leading others. The post holder will also work with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman in resolving complaints that have been escalated.

Main duties of the job

• Manage an efficient PALS and Complaints service which offers direct support to patients, families and carers who have concerns and Complaints related to the care they are receiving or wider aspects
• Be responsible for the team responding to issues, liaising with the appropriate staff to negotiate solutions and resolve problems in a collaborative manner.
• Provide support and advice to all Trust staff in relation to the PALS and Complaints Service.
• Develop systems and reports to ensure greater visibility of the way that the Trust learns lessons from concerns and Complaints.
• Develop and implement complaints training programmes aimed at front-line clinical, consultant and administrative staff, which is measurable.
• Ensure that information on advice and assistance for all patients and carers is accessible and promoted.
• Manage an efficient delivery of systems, protocols, referrals and data collecting, and key theme reporting.
• Work with colleagues to improve and maintain the departmental KPI’s
• Be involved with highly complex and sensitive complaints, directly and offering support and advice as necessary.
• Produce high level reports.

Working for our organisation

The Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA) provides hospital and integrated health and social care services to over one million people living across Greater Manchester. Our 20,000 colleagues care for people in hospital and in the community, working across Bury, Rochdale, Oldham and Salford, to save and improve lives.

As a large NHS trust we are committed to enhancing the health of our local population by delivering consistently high standards of care and working closely with local authorities and key partners. We believe in our power and potential to make a difference and we’re always looking for people who demonstrate our three core values - care, appreciate and inspire – to join our team.

In return, we can offer you a job role with purpose and flexibility. The size and scale of the NCA means we can provide more challenge and opportunities so your career can always be moving in the right direction. By joining us you can also access a competitive benefits package, including, a fantastic annual leave allowance, flexible working opportunities and protected hours for health and wellbeing activities, helping you to achieve more personal downtime and a better work-life balance.

We are currently in process of updating our values. For the latest information around our values and behaviours, please visit our careers website: https://careers.northerncarealliance.nhs.uk/working-with-us/our-values/

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached Job Description for more details of the job description and main responsibilities