Complaints & Patient Experience Manager

Job overview

The post holder will be responsible for supporting the day to day running of the complaints service for the organisation. The post holder will ensure that the complaints service meets the needs of our patients, working to rapidly resolve complaints and concerns in a manner which ensures that learning is utilised to improve patient experience. The post holder will work with divisional teams to ensure that complaints and concerns are handled and responded to in a manner which meets the needs and expectations of our patients.

Will deputise for the Head of Patient Experience. Will provide day-to-day supervision and leadership for staff working within the service.

The post holder will support the delivery of a service which is compliant with mandatory and statutory requirements and is efficient and sustainable. They will support the continuous development and improvement of the service. The post holder will work with divisions to ensure that appropriate data is available to them to drive performance and improvement work.

Main duties of the job

Will ensure compliance with PHSO guidance for complaint handling. Will identify opportunities for improvement and efficiency and will advocate for fiscal responsibility within the service. Will work collaboratively with staff in the divisions to ensure that complaints are handled professionally and responded to in a timely manner. Will support the smooth running of the unit by ensuring that complaints and concerns tracking is timely and accurate and that this information is shared appropriately. Will act as a professional role model and ambassador for the organisation: leading by example in regard to behaviour, attitudes, conduct and appearance. Will provide advice as required on all aspects of complaints in accordance with policy.

Strategy and Planning To support the development, dissemination and implementation of Trust policy and procedures in relation to patient experience. Management of complaints To support with development, coordination and monitoring of effective  policies/procedures to handle complaints received by the Trust, in line with national guidance. To ensure that all formal complaints are acknowledged and forwarded to the appropriate team for investigation, and that each is dealt with appropriately in accordance with the national complaints process, having sought the appropriate consent where necessary, and within the agreed target times.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To identify complaints which could be handled through an informal process or complaints which should be handled through the patient safety incident framework and to ensure that complainants are aware of this. To ensure all new formal complaints received by the Trust are registered on to the complaints database and an acknowledgement letter is generated within 3 working days. To ensure that the complaints tracker is maintained in timely and accurate manner and that this is shared with relevant teams. To track issues with meeting targets and put mitigations in place to manage these To work with teams to ensure that an appropriate investigation is undertaken and that issues are resolved to the patient’s satisfaction. Support in the development of action plans and the tracking of their completion. To ensure that appropriate responses are drafted to complaints and circulated appropriately for approval, prior to being submitted to the Chief Executive for signature. To ensure that complainants are kept updated as to the progress of their complaint. To ensure appropriate attendance at divisional complaints meetings to ensure that these are functional meetings which proactively drive forward complaint responses. Management of PALS/ Informal concerns To support with developing, co-ordinating and monitoring of effective  policies/procedures to handle informal concerns received by the Trust, in line with national guidance. To identify concerns which should be handled through an informal process or which should be handled through the patient safety incident framework and to ensure that complainants are aware of this. To ensure that any informal concerns not resolved within specified time periods are logged as formal complaints to ensure that they are responded to and ensure that patients are aware of this. Ombudsman To work within the procedure for the Trust’s interaction with the Ombudsman.

The post holder will deputise for the Head of Patient Experience and act as a leader and manager for junior staff within the complaints and PAL services and will provide support to the teams working within those services. The post holder will advocate for patients and will ensure that the patient is at the heart of the service. The post holder will highlight concerns and escalate these appropriately to support the mitigation of risk.

Key Working Relationships Patients, their carers’ and advocates Director of Nursing Deputy Director of Nursing Head of Patient Engagement Head of Patient Experience PALS Manager Divisional Management teams Divisional Governance Managers External stakeholders (such as CQC or PHSO) Reception staff Volunteer Manager and Volunteers Ward and Department Managers Clinical Governance team

Please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification for a full list of role requirements and main responsibilities.