Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic and innovative individual to join our team as a Complaints Officer! We are looking for a motivated individual with excellent communication, interpersonal and organisational skills. The successful candidate should be able to demonstrate an ability to manage conflict, mediate between parties to resolve problems and work with people from a diverse range of backgrounds. They will possess excellent skills in reviewing and interpreting documents and reports, have an exceptional attention to detail, have a sensitive and empathetic nature. They will also be able to challenge, negotiate and advise with conviction when needed to ensure that all concerns and complaints are fully investigated and responded to appropriately. From their unique perspective, complaints officers play a key role in sharing patient insight to aid continuous improvement, supporting the delivery of safe care along with an excellent patient experience. Ensure that complaints and concerns raised by service users are logged and acted upon promptly. Handle complaints in line with national and local policy, ensuring correspondence is acknowledged in accordance with national guidance and that complaints are sent to appropriate Senior Managers, Directors and/or respondent promptly on receipt Critically evaluate complaint responses received from divisions, and request specific explanations or expansions on information provided when necessary. Construct and quality check drafted letters for and on behalf of the Managing Director/Chief Executive, to a high standard (this will be tested at interview). Ensure trends and themes of concerns raised are highlighted to the Complaints Coordinator to enable the Trust to learn lessons and improve services for patients. Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is now one of the largest in the country, with a workforce of approximately 15,000 who serve a population of 1.2 million people. We work together, and in conjunction with MSE Health and Care Partnership, to deliver excellent local and specialist services, to improve the health and wellbeing of our patients in a compassionate way, and provide a respectful, but vibrant place for staff to develop, innovate and build careers. From facilities through to consultant specialists we want to be the best, to achieve this we need to recruit not just those who are the finest in their field but also those who have the potential to be. Yes, experience is important but so is outlook – if you are dynamic, forward-thinking and enthusiastic we want you to join us. We not only offer you a good working environment with flexible working opportunities, but also the opportunity to develop your career with access to appropriate training for your job and the support to succeed and progress. To act as an accessible and clear first point of contact for patients and members of the public when there are queries and concerns about services provided by the Trusts. Take accurate details of concerns raised by service users, ensuring all contacts made to the Complaints office are logged onto the database promptly and paper files created where appropriate. The database must be kept updated with accurate and timely information. Advise and provide information to service users on the Trusts’ process for dealing with concerns, in line with Trusts’ Policies and Procedures. Provide advice and guidance to senior managers and senior members of staff regarding appropriate handling of concerns. Ensure Requests for copies of Medical Records and Complaints Files from the Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) are dealt with in line with PHSO timeframes. This includes requesting medical records, printing out copies of the complaints file from the electronic database and taking accurate photocopies. Please see attached job description for full details as well as Person Specification. These documents set out the roles and responsibilities in full. We look forward to receiving your application.