About this role
Job summary
The Clinical Support Manager provides operational leadership and coordination to support safe, effective, and timely patient flow across Adult Community Services, with a particular focus on Virtual Wards, Urgent Community Response (UCR), and Single Point of Access (SPOA) pathways.
The post holder is responsible for supporting the efficient day-to-day management of patient flow, referrals, and service capacity, ensuring patients are directed to the most appropriate care pathway in a timely manner. Working within established protocols, the role facilitates effective coordination between multidisciplinary teams, services, and systems to optimise patient experience, safety, and outcomes.
In addition, the post holder provides line management to administrative and support staff, ensuring effective deployment of resources and high-quality service delivery. The role contributes to performance monitoring, data quality, and service improvement, supporting the Directorate to meet operational objectives and national standards.
The Clinical Support Manager will act as a key operational point of contact, identifying and escalating risks, delays, or capacity pressures to senior staff as appropriate. The role operates with a degree of autonomy within clearly defined procedures but does not undertake clinical decision-making or hold overall accountability for service performance.
Main duties of the job
Community Patient Flow & Coordination Coordinate patient flow across Virtual Wards, UCR, and SPOA pathways Support timely referral handling, service allocation, admission, and discharge processes Monitor service capacity and demand, escalating pressures appropriately Ensure accurate and timely updates to patient tracking systems Support effective interface between acute, community, and partner services SPOA (Single Point of Access) Oversee administrative coordination of referral processes Ensure referrals are accurately recorded, prioritised, and allocated in line with agreed pathways Liaise with clinical teams to resolve delays or queries Support consistent application of triage processes (clinical decisions remain with registered staff) Virtual Ward & UCR Support Monitor Virtual Ward admissions, occupancy, and discharges Track UCR activity, including response times and allocation Identify and escalate delays or risks affecting service delivery Support coordination of care across community and hospital interfaces
About us
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust is one of the largest NHS trusts in the West Midlands providing primary, acute and community services and we are incredibly proud of the diversity of both our staff and the communities we serve. We are building a workforce that can help us to fulfil our values, improve the quality of care for patients, and solve the health care problems of tomorrow. We're passionate about the value that diversity of thinking and lived experience brings in enabling us to become a learning organisation and leader in delivering compassionate care for our patients.
We are delighted that we have been rated as "Good" by CQC. We have achieved numerous awards; The Nursing Times Best Diversity and Inclusion Practice and Best UK Employer of the Year for Nursing Staff in 2020.
The Trust is a supportive working environment committed to creating flexible working arrangements that suit your needs and as such will consider all requests from applicants who wish to work flexibly.
Job description Job responsibilities
Data, Performance & Reporting Monitor and report on service performance, including activity, demand, and response times Ensure accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of data Produce routine and ad hoc reports to support operational management Liaise with data quality teams to address discrepancies and improve standards Support audit processes and implementation of recommendations Patient Experience & Complaints Act as a point of contact for queries and concerns Support investigation and response to complaints (e.g. PALS) Analyse patient feedback and contribute to improvement plans Risk, Governance & Safety Identify and escalate risks relating to patient flow, service delivery, and capacity Support incident reporting and investigation (Datix) Contribute to risk assessments, business continuity, and service resilience planning Ensure compliance with safeguarding, infection prevention, and health & safety policies Communication & Partnership Working Communicate effectively with multidisciplinary teams, managers, and external partners Coordinate information to support service delivery and decision-making Manage sensitive and complex information professionally Service Improvement Identify opportunities to improve patient flow, service efficiency, and administrative processes Support implementation of service developments and new ways of working Contribute to project work and business cases as required
This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of duties and it may be reviewed and altered in the light of changed service needs and developments after discussion with the post holder.
Person Specification
Shortlisting criteria Essential
Educated to Level 4/5 or equivalent experience Experience in a healthcare, community, or operational environment
Desirable
Experience of coordinating services or managing workflows Experience of data systems, reporting, and performance monitoring Experience of Virtual Wards, UCR, or SPOA services
Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present 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) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Employer details Employer name The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
Address Science Park
New Cross Hospital
Wolverhampton
WV10 9RU
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.royalwolverhampton.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)