# PALS Officer > NHS job listing from Job Clerk for West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. ## Canonical URLs - **HTML:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/pals-officer/44856271-b81e-417c-a6ad-c7af6ec72b41 - **Markdown:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/pals-officer/44856271-b81e-417c-a6ad-c7af6ec72b41.md ## Summary - **Status:** Live - **Employer:** West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust - **Location:** West Suffolk Hospital - **Workplace type:** onsite - **Profession:** Officer (discipline unspecified) - **Grade:** Band 4 - **Salary:** £28,392 - £31,157 per annum - **Contract type:** Permanent - **Employment type:** Part time, Flexible working, 30 hours per week - **Closing date:** 2026-09-10T22:59:00.000Z - **Posted:** 2026-08-26T15:10:50.081Z - **Source information URL:** https://www.healthjobsuk.com/job/UK/Suffolk/Bury_St_Edmunds/West_Suffolk_NHS_Foundation_Trust/Patient_Experience_Engagement/Patient_Experience_Engagement-v8226640 - **Application URL:** https://apps.trac.jobs/job-advert/8226640?ShowJobAdvert=&feedid=9002 - **Employer website:** https://www.wsh.nhs.uk ## Job Content ### Job overview The post holder will be the first point of contact for the Trust’s Patient Advice & Liaison Service, offering advice, information and resolution to patients and service users on their concerns and enquiries. The PALS Officer will provide administrative support to the patient experience manager ensuring enquiries are recorded and dealt with appropriately. The post holder will also be required to support the wider patient experience and engagement team tasks. ### Main duties of the job - To receive, investigate and satisfactorily resolve patient and service user enquiries received via various communication channels such as email, phone, letter and face to face. - To provide an empathetic and responsive advice service to patients and service users. - To frequently communicate with patients and service users in person, on the telephone and via written communication. - To record and maintain PALS enquiries on the RADAR database system, escalating issues where necessary. - To work as part of a team, communicating with the formal complaints team and other teams within the Patient Quality team, ensuring a joined-up approach to improve the experience of patients and their families at the Trust. - To escalate enquiries to the patient experience manager when appropriate. - To be aware of the difference between PALS and formal complaints and escalate cases to colleagues when appropriate. - To assist with collecting organisation-wide patient feedback. - To manage enquiries related to lost property and work closely with wards to resolve issues. ### Detailed job description and main responsibilities Please see the full job description and person specification attached for more details on the job role. ### Applicant requirements The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions. ## Person Specification ### Personal Qualities **Essential** - Compassionate - Calm and diplomatic - Sensitive in emotional situations - Conscientious - Effective team worker - Attention to detail - Problem-solver - Confident working with senior staff and clinicians ### Skills & Abilities **Essential** - Ability to deal with distressing or emotional circumstances - Ability to identify and support vulnerable groups - Ability to cope with occasional unpleasant conditions such as verbal aggression and distress - Ability to identify situations where a more senior member of the team should be involved - Excellent IT skills including Microsoft Office - Plan and organise work load - Good at prioritising - Excellent verbal and written communication skills - Excellent interpersonal skills - Able to identify themes and trends in issues being highlighted through PALS **Desirable** - Skilled in producing reports on relevant data ### Knowledge & Experience **Essential** - Knowledge of health and wellbeing issues and services acquired through experience - Knowledge of PALS - Knowledge of data protection - Knowledge of administrative procedures including bespoke IT system - Experience of dealing with patients or customers in a face to face environment - Previous experience of working with people with a diverse range of needs - Previous experience of training and assisting junior or new staff - Excellent organisational skills - Experience of dealing with highly distressed or emotional patients or customers - Experience of defusing problematic situations - Experience in using databases and reporting systems - Understanding of simple statistics **Desirable** - Experience of RADAR or other risk management systems - Previous experience of a PALS or Complaints environment - Good understanding of current issues facing the NHS ### Education & Qualifications **Essential** - Minimum of 5 GCSEs A*-C or equivalent including English - - A Levels / NVQ 3 in Customer Services or Business Administration / Level 3 Diploma or equivalent knowledge and experience **Desirable** - Attendance on a ‘dealing with difficult situations’ or ‘difficult conversations’ course - Microsoft Office qualification ## Documents - [job description (pdf, 920.2kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?vdoc=10570700) ## Agent Notes - This Markdown page is generated from the same Job Clerk job record as the HTML job detail page. - Use the canonical HTML URL for user-facing references. - Use the application URL when the user wants to apply on the source NHS site.