Complaints Handler

For questions about this job, contact

Name: Joanne Bickers

Position: Complaints Manager

Email: joanne.bickers @nhs.net

Phone number: 0113 2066018

Job Summary

The Complaints Team is seeking a motivated individual with excellent communication skills and a strong commitment to supporting patients, relatives, and carers who have raised concerns about care and treatment provided by the Trust.

The post holder will play a key role in the coordination and management of complaint cases in line with Trust policy and relevant regional and national regulations. They will also support the Complaints Manager in delivering a long-term action plan, ensuring a consistent and effective approach to addressing complaints and supporting clinical teams to achieve timely resolutions.

The successful candidate will be sensitive, tactful, and resilient, with experience of engaging with patients, carers, and stakeholders in potentially challenging situations. They will manage their own caseload of complaints, with responsibilities including handling telephone and email enquiries, drafting correspondence, liaising with complainants, maintaining records on Datix, and communicating with senior Trust staff, MPs, advocacy services, and external NHS organisations.

Why you should join our Team

The complaints team sits within the wider Patient Experience Team and is part of the Chief Nurse Clinical Specialty Unit.

The team consists of a Complaints Manager, Case Managers and case handlers and report direct to a Lead nurse and Head of Patient Experience.

This is a well-established team offering a supportive environment in which to develop complaint-handling skills, despite the demands of the role.

What you will bring to the role

The successful candidate will be confident with IT systems, an excellent communicator and have a keen eye for detail. They will be expected to use their initiative, working both independently and as part of a team, managing their workload and working to deadlines.

Organise and prioritise own workload and work flexibly in response to competing demands and is adaptable. Receive, record and facilitate investigation of all formal complaints.

Act as the first point of contact within the complaints team when assigned a new complaint and dealing with routine and specialist enquiries in a pleasant and professional manner.

Provide solutions for queries and concerns of mixed complexity, for example, triaging incoming complaints/concerns and making assessments for which service (PALS or Complaints) will be best placed to offer a response.

Please see the attached job description for further information about this vacancy.

About Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust

Our values are part of what make us different from other trusts, so we see this as a strength, as well as a responsibility. They have been developed by our staff and set out what they see as important to how we work. Our five values are:

Patient-centred

Collaborative

Fair

Accountable

Empowered

All our actions and endeavours will be guided and evaluated through these values

We’re committed to recruiting exceptional people to deliver outstanding services across Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and helping every colleague reach their full potential. We’re looking for a compassionate, inclusive, and collaborative leader who shares our values and can build strong partnerships. We warmly invite applications from people from a variety of backgrounds and sectors, and are especially keen to hear from individuals from a minority ethnic background. We’re dedicated to creating a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone feels valued, supported, and has a true sense of belonging, as we work together to deliver the best in healthcare to the people of Leeds and beyond.

Sponsorship Eligibility

To comply with UK Government regulations on Skilled Worker sponsorship, Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust is unable to provide sponsorship to applicants who do not meet the eligibility criteria or the salary threshold concessions set out under the Skilled Worker visa route. Please take this into consideration before submitting your application. Full guidance on these concessions, including details of who may qualify, can be found here.

We reserve the right to close this advert early if we receive a high number of suitable applications.