PALS Officer

Overview

Job Summary

The Complaints and Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) department is led and delivered by Group Corporate Nursing which is accountable for the strategic oversight and management of the Complaints and PALS team at both Sites. The role of the PALS department is to collect feedback, give non-clinical advice and support with rapid response resolution to informal problems. The PALS team identifies improvement opportunities arising from feedback and monitors the implementation of actions.

The PALS department is able to help resolve simple concerns from patients, their families and carers quickly. The PALS service is provided face-to-face, by telephone and e-mail. The PALS and Complaints departments also ensure that concerns are managed according to Group and Trust policy and the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009, ensuring that information from concerns is used to improve the Trust services at Site and across the Group.

Note:

Previous applicants need not apply and the vacancy may close early if we receive a large volume of applications.

Main Tasks Include:

• Point of contact for patients and carers
• To support, respect and actively listen to individual patients and carers, to resolve problems and concerns, by being an accessible and visible presence within the Trust
• To work with General Managers, Clinicians and Matrons and others to facilitate speedy resolutions and solutions that will improve the patient experience.
• To record the nature of all enquiries to the PALS team, the action taken and the outcomes onto the Trust Risk Management Database (DATIX).
• To monitor the data entered onto DATIX, identifying, and reporting on themes and trends to inform and influence service improvements.
• To signpost patients, carers and their families to the correct routes
• To collect feedback on services and share this with the relevant teams
• To provide inpatient support for patients requiring resolutions on the ward after local resolution has failed
• To receive compliments and share this with the relevant teams

With nearly 9,000 dedicated staff caring for patients around the clock, they are the largest healthcare provider in southwest London. Their main site, St George's Hospital in Tooting, is shared with St George's, University of London, which trains medical students and carries out advanced medical research. St George's Hospital also hosts the St George's, University of London and Kingston University Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences.

They provide a wide variety of specialist care and community services to patients of all ages following integration with Community Services Wandsworth in 2010. The trust serves a population of 1.3 million across southwest London and provides care for patients from a larger catchment area in southeast England for certain specialties.

Date posted: 19 January 2026

Pay scheme:
Agenda for change

Band:
Band 4

Salary: £33,094 to £36,195 a year Per annum

Contract:

Permanent

Working pattern:
Part-time

Reference number:

-DE-RB-A

St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Blackshaw Road
London
SW17 0QT

Job responsibilities

• To assist the patients pathway through the Trust, advising them of their rights and the standards they can expect of the services available to them.
• To provide practical non-clinical advice and support to patients, their carers and families. This could mean arranging and co-ordinating internal and external services to assist patients, writing letters and/or making telephone calls on their behalf.
• To provide advice and information about the Trusts formal complaint procedure and provide a seamless service for the patient or carer who has concerns so they are dealt with through the most appropriate route.
• To access information for patients on some aspects of the Trusts services.

Education

Essential

• GCSE A-C or NVQ Level 3 or equivalent knowledge and experience.

Desirable

• Clinical/ IT qualification

• Experience

• Previous PALS experience or equivalent customer services experience
• Experience of managing difficult and sensitive situations
• Knowledge of the purpose and function of PALS.

• Desirable:
  Advocacy, conciliation or mediation; experience of responding to complaints.

• Excellent communication, negotiation and influencing skills
• Ability to liaise effectively with staff and the public at all levels and to deal with difficult situations calmly and confidently
• Understanding of the principles of confidentiality and the importance
• Good working knowledge and experience of database, spreadsheet and word processing computer applications
• To be able to deal efficiently and appropriately, in person, in writing and on the telephone, with a range of people.
• Ability to organise own work effectively without direct support
• Ability to understand when to escalate concerns.

• Able to demonstrate a commitment and understanding of the…