Patient Transport Service Eligibility Officer
Can you be a kind voice when handling challenging calls?
As a PTS Eligibility Officer, you will be required to communicate difficult decisions with empathy, clear reasoning and practical signposting.
Given the demanding nature of this role, we are looking for someone with resilience and strong emotional intelligence who can handle challenging telephone conversations with composure, whilst remaining firm and fair under pressure.
You will be the first point of contact for our PTS call handlers to escalate complex eligibility queries, so will need to be confident in delivering feedback, coaching peers and setting a consistent standard.
If you can make impartial decisions and treat all patients fairly, we want to hear from you.
Main duties of the job
You will develop an excellent knowledge of the NHS England Eligibility Criteria and will be able to interpret the information being provided by bookers to determine whether the patient meets the eligibility criteria.
Working as part of a team you will need to work together to ensure that there is a consistent application and ensure that YAS have a common approach to determining eligibility through effective teamwork, and peer review of decisions.
You will support patients, carers, and acute trust bookers to understand why they may not be eligible for NHS funded transport, providing signposting information to alternative services which may support them to attend their hospital appointments.
Where callers remain dissatisfied with the signposting you will provide guidance for the caller to appeal formally to their ICB should this be necessary.
The post holder will work in such a way as to help promote a culture that actively improves the outcomes of eligibility assessments and any associated appeals.
The role will include facilitating the effective and timely review of patient appeals, escalation of immediate risks, and ensuring all appeals are dealt with within set timescales.
About us
Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) NHS Trust geographically covers nearly 6,000 square miles of varied terrain, from isolated moors and dales to urban areas, coastline and inner cities.
We serve a population of over five million people across Yorkshire and the Humber and strive to ensure that patients receive the right response to their care needs as quickly as possible, wherever they live.
We employ more than 7,100 staff, who together with over 1,300 volunteers, enable us to provide a vital 24-hour, seven-days-a-week, emergency and healthcare service.
Our ambition is to be an employer of choice, and we are continuously working across our partnership to improve our collective offer to staff in areas like health and wellbeing, benefits and flexible working incl. hybrid working.
* Flexible working including part-time hours, job shares and flexible hours, agile working (role dependant)
* 27 days annual leave, increasing to 33 with service.
* Contributory Pension.
* Car lease and other salary sacrifice schemes.
* Dedicated employee assistance and counselling service.
* Opportunities for research participation, career progression and ongoing development.
* Well respected, committed and supported staff networks for our workforce.
Our values: Kindness, Respect, Teamwork and Improvement, are at the heart of all we do.
Job responsibilities
Please see attached Job description for full details on the role.
This is a permanent band 4 role based at our Trust Headquarters in Wakefield. Interviews will be held w/c 2nd March 2026 and will involve a work based assessment. Details will be provided to shortlisted candidates.
Person Specification
Experience
* Previous experience of handling challenging situations and remaining calm, whilst continuing to deliver excellent customer service
* Skilled in diffusing difficult situations and working with distressed and angry patients or customers
* Good negotiating and influencing skills.
Qualifications / Knowledge
* Previous experience of working in a patient focused or customer service role
* HND or equivalent qualification in Business Admin or other relevant subject or relevant equivalent experience
* Experience of working with and recording accurate information within a database
* Good working knowledge of administrative tasks
* Good Knowledge of NHSE Eligibility Criteria for NEPTS
* Good Knowledge of Non-Emergency Patient Transport
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 name
Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Address
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