The James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust serves a population of around 250,000 people in the Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and Waveney areas. The Trust provides an integrated hospital and community children’s service. Patient and staff experience is important to us and these are the behaviours we live by: Putting patients first Aiming to get it right Recognising that everybody counts Doing everything openly and honestly ‘Prior consideration will be given to NHS At Risk staff within East of England' Job overview The Complaints Officer will support investigation of all formal complaints, ensuring the main focus is the complainants’ satisfaction that their concerns have been addressed and to ensure lessons are learnt when things go wrong. Advert The post holder will provide help and support to complainants and staff and investigate complaints in line with national and local policy. The post holder will support responses to be sent from the Executive Managing Director within the timescales expected. Acting on their own initiative, but also in conjunction with the Complaints Investigator and the Head of Patient Experience and Engagement, the post holder will monitor the effectiveness of activities, processes and learning, thereby creating an environment of continuous quality improvement and development. Line management of the PALS and Complaints Team in the absence of the Complaints Investigator Working for our organisation We want to attract the best and brightest people to work with us and that means we will look after you from the moment you apply for a role at the Trust and throughout your career with us. Our staff are central to everything we do, and we believe that investing in you is crucial if we want to enable you to reach your full potential. Detailed job description and main responsibilities Key duties and responsibilities Support receipt, record and investigate / facilitate investigation of all formal complaints on behalf of the James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Manage sensitive and confidential information in line with the General Data Protection Regulations (2018) To be prepared to deal with difficult situations face to face and by telephone and to deal appropriately with very upset and challenging complainants. To prepare the Trust’s response to formal complaints. This will include investigating the issue, deciding upon the right response, with guidance and drafting the response on behalf of the Managing Director and meeting with complainants and staff as appropriate. When required to attend and take formal notes of complaint meetings. To maintain a data-base of Complaints/PALS To support the PALS staff in their roles and responsibilities To encourage staff to see the complaints system as part of operational management. To identify faults in the system that may lead to complaints, and encourage managers and clinicians to take action to prevent a recurrence. To work collaboratively with colleagues corporately and within the Divisions to embed the recommendations from national and local policy, continuously improving the service provided to complainants. To attend Corporate and Divisional Clinical Governance/Complaints meetings, informing the group of new complaints and reporting progress on current complaints; information on trends and horizon scanning. To advise and support any referrals to or investigations by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. To ensure recommendations from Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman are responded to within the timescales. To assist in the continual development and implementation of associated Trust Policies and Procedures. The James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust recognises the requirement to promote health and reduce ill-health. The Trust is committed to the principles of improving working lives through a number of initiatives such as job share, flexible working and the development of a culture of openness and transparency. The Trust is committed to ensuring that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of their age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. ‘Prior consideration will be given to NHS At Risk staff within East of England' Tier 2 Sponsorship : We are pleased to consider applicants who require Tier 2 sponsorship to work in the UK but it is unlikely that we would be able to appoint if a suitably qualified, experienced and skilled UK/Right to work candidate is available. Applying for entry clearance into the UK, must provide a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) will also be subject to this requirement. Visa and Immigration If you are wishing to apply for this role and would require sponsorship (this includes if you are already in a sponsored post and looking to change employer), you can determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for this post by assessing your circumstances against criteria specified on the gov.uk website https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/your-job. James Paget Hospitals uses tools to screen any applications generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Please check your account regularly under “My Applications” to view the progress of your applications. If you do not hear from us within 4 weeks, please assume your application has been unsuccessful. In submitting an application form, you authorise the Trust to confirm any previous NHS service details via the Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process. Please note that should we experience a high level of interest in this post, the vacancy may be closed prior to the stated closing date.