Job summary
- Main area
- Quality
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 6
- Contract
- Fixed term: 12 months (Secondment will be considered for internal candidates – If you are successful after interview, you must obtain approval from your current line manager to accept the offer.)
- Hours
- Full time
- Compressed hours
- Job ref
- 218-AC-B6-8194645
- Employer
- University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire
- Town
- Coventry
- Salary
- £39,959 - £48,117 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 09/08/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Complaints Co-ordinator
NHS AfC: Band 6
Job overview
Are you looking for a new challenge? Are you passionate about supporting our patients and their families?
If yes, then this may be the right role for you.
You will have the opportunity to continue to shape this service to ensure that it is provides an effective and efficient service to our patients and their families.
You will work alongside the Head of Patient Relations and PALS Co-ordinator to ensure a pro-active approach to the management of Complaints enquiries across the Trust, ensuring that learning from Complaints and trend analysis is utilised to make improvements.
You will support senior members of staff across the wards and departments to enable timely and high quality investigations and responses on behalf of the Chief Executive.
Closing Date: Please be advised that this job advert will close as soon as sufficient applications have been received. Please apply for this job as soon as you can, if interested.
Secondment will be considered for internal candidates – If you are successful after interview, you must obtain approval from your current line manager to accept the offer.
Main duties of the job
You will be responsible for the day-to-day implementation of the Trusts complaints Policy as well as managing and maintaining your own complaint caseload you will supervise and coordinate Complaints Officer’s caseloads under the guidance of the Head of Patient Relations.
You will be responsible for managing all aspects of the complaint response, delegating where appropriate to Complaints Officers. You will also deal with complainants who email, write or telephone.
You will work within our integrated Quality Department to support the management of the Trusts complaints function, being pro-active in the management of complaints and dealing with complaints within statutory requirements and within national and local guidelines.
In liaison with the Head of Patient Relations you will identify potential/actual risks associated with concerns & complaints and liaise with appropriate personnel both within and outside the Trust. You will continually review the systems in place to improve the efficiency of the service. You will provide an overview and summaries as requested by the Head of Patient Relations. You will be expected to offer advice to Complaints officers and the Head of Patient Relations as appropriate.
Working for our organisation
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, rated as good by the Care Quality Commission, is one of the largest teaching Trusts in the UK.
We are extremely proud of our employees across our hospital sites, with high quality patient care at the heart of everything we do.
Boasting some of the most modern facilities in Western Europe, the Trust is renowned for being at the forefront of research and innovation as part of its blossoming reputation as a worldwide leader in healthcare.
We are proud to be recognised as a Pathway to Excellence® designated organisation – please click the link for further details about this prestigious award. Pathway To Excellence ® - University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire (uhcw.nhs.uk)
By joining our exciting journey, you will form part of a passionate, talented team and will be able to access a wide range of learning and development opportunities. There has never been a better time to join our team.
The Trust is committed to building an organisation that makes full use of the talents, skills, experience, and different perspectives available in our diverse society. We want everyone to feel they are respected, valued, can achieve their potential and receive the most appropriate and relevant care. We will create an environment where the equality and human rights principles of fairness, respect, equality, dignity and autonomy are promoted and are part of the organisation's core values.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
- Manage and coordinate complaints received within the Trust, making decisions on the way correspondence received should be processed in line with the NHS Complaints Procedure and adhering to statutory requirements.
- Be responsible for triaging the severity of complaints post investigation, in accordance with trust policies and procedures.
- Respond to verbal and written complaints, document the concerns and resolve the issues through to conclusion by investigation and response to the complaint, or liaise with an appropriate senior clinician/manager for resolution and response depending upon the nature and complexity of the complaint.
- Be responsible for ensuring that all types of complaints are appropriately, promptly and accurately registered on Datix to ensure accurate up to-date information is available at all times
- Making decisions on the need to obtain consent/proof of identity for complaints from third parties in accordance with the NHS complaint Regulations, Data Protection Act, Access to Deceased Records Act and the Mental Capacity Act. Make decisions to release information on complaints under the Data Protection Act taking into account the other relevant legislation.
- Quality check all complaint responses on behalf of the Chief Executive. Ensuring that all responses are in appropriate format, style, language and demonstrate a thorough investigation has been undertaken and lessons learned.
- Advise, direct and support Trust personnel when undertaking investigation on the requirements for documentation to ensure standards are met in line with NHS Complaints Procedure and local policies and procedures.
- Coordinate the investigation process and liaise with the investigator’s for cases undergoing review by the CQC or Ombudsman.
- Assist and facilitate further investigation to manage the resolution of complaints where complainants remain dissatisfied.
- Provide line management, advice, guidance and support for the Complaint Officers when handing complaints.
- Produce reports and summaries from Datix as required for Trust Board, Committees and other forums.
- In conjunction with the Head of Patient Relations and Complaints Administration Specialist ensure patient complaints both formal and informal are recorded and monitored.
- Work with wards/departments to ensure that action plans are developed to reduce the risk of complaint findings reoccurring.
- Liaise with Speciality Groups to develop systems and processes for learning from complaints ensuring they are implemented and accurately record and monitor changes as a result of complaints.
- Coordinate and participate in complaints training and provide advice on issues relating to complaints.
- Identify potential and actual risks through complaints and brining this to the attention of the Head of Patient Relations liaising with the appropriate personnel to reduce the risk of similar occurrence.
- Participate in and be a role model for the maintenance of Datix.
- Participate in local and regional complaints meetings when required.
- Participate as a panel member on a number of quality inspections.
- Identify and follow up complaints in relation to learning from complaints through requesting and monitoring of action plans.
- Analyse data, information and trends on complaints and present to a wide-ranging audience.
- Carry out appraisals to ensure staffs personal development.
- Identify training needs and arrange appropriate training and advice as necessary.
- Any other duties appropriate to the post as required by the Head of Patient Relations.
- Cover for the Head of Patient Relations in her/his absence.
For further details please see the attached job description.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- • Degree or equivalent level of experience working within a Complaints or similar Department. • Experience of healthcare complaints management.
Desirable criteria
- • Post graduate qualification or complaints handling training.
Experience
Essential criteria
- • Influence departmental practice to support Trust policy and service development • Handle highly complex complaints, using own judgment when reviewing information which can sometimes be conflicting • Liaise with external bodies i.e. Parliamentary Health Services, Ombudsman CQC and ICB • Contribute to the effective and efficient handling of cross agency complaints in accordance with locally agreed protocols.
Desirable criteria
- • Customer service experience and basic knowledge of medical terminology • Previous health care experience • Administration work in an environment providing healthcare or customer care • Awareness of current health service issues • Self-,motivated and consistently looks to improve what they do, by using successful tried and tested ways of working and also on their own innovation
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- • Significant experience of compliance and adhering to national and local policies and procedures • Knowledge of the NHS Complaints Procedure • Experience of working in a challenging environment, dealing with a wide range of sensitive and contentious issues and, within an organisation under public and political scrutiny • Experience of liaising with executive level and senior management staff • Experience of formulating letter and reports to a very high standard • Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
Desirable criteria
- • Knowledge of NHS organisational structures and processes • Awareness of Information Governance, Freedom of Information & Data Protection Act • Strong presentational, training and coaching skills directed at all level of staff
Skills
Essential criteria
- • Understanding of patient confidentiality and ability to manage highly sensitive and contentious information, in accordance with national and Trust policy. • Experience of building strong relationships with multi-disciplinary teams. • Make a connection between job role and the benefit to patients and the public. • High level of planning and organisational skills • Excellent time management skills with the ability to re-prioritise due to working under pressure and demanding time scales of NHS Complaints Procedure. • Monitor progress of investigations in accordance with national and local timescales • Provide and receive highly complex sensitive and contentious information • Ability to empathise when communicating silicate and often contentious information to complainants in a highly emotive situation • Ability to facilitate complaint meetings if requited • Excellent influencing and conflict management skills, both verbally and face to face • Strong interpersonal skills and non-judgemental when required to support staff and mangers involved in the Complaints Process • Excellent attention to detail and ability to analyse often highly complex information which is sufficient to give advice and support, requiring periods of intense concentration • Ability to work on own initiative, problem solve and respond to sudden unexpected demands
Commitment to Trust Values and Behaviours
Essential criteria
- • Must be able to demonstrate behaviours consistent with the Trust’s values. (As detailed in UHCW’s Values in Action document below) • Applicants applying for job roles with managerial responsibility will be required to demonstrate evidence of promoting equal opportunities through work experience
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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.
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Emma Denis
- Job title
- Head of Patient Relations
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 02476965193
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