About this role
Job summary
The Lead Pathway Coordinator plays a vital role at DHC Outpatients in ensuring patients receive a smooth, well managed journey from referral to discharge. As both a skilled pathway coordinator and an inspiring team leader, this person champions high quality administration, supports staff, and keeps clinics running safely and efficiently.
This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a fast-paced clinical environment, enjoys problem-solving, and values making a meaningful difference to patient care. Working with DHC means joining a supportive, forward-thinking organisation where your leadership, ideas, and dedication directly shape service quality and patient experience. The team includes 10 Pathway Coordinators based out of Dorking Hospital.
Please note that this role is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Applicants must have the appropriate right to work in the UK for the duration of the employment.Shortlisted candidates will be expected to attend an in-person interview at Dorking Hospital. If you require a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act to participate in the interview process, please let us know when invited so that we can discuss your requirements.This role will be based at Dorking Hospital site and will require travel to other DHC locations where necessary. Candidates should consider how they will travel reliably between sites during the working day, including whether they will need access to a car or other suitable transport.
Main duties of the job
In this role, the Lead Pathway Coordinator will oversee the full administrative flow of patient care, ensuring clinic preparation is completed accurately and on time, and results and investigations are acted upon promptly for clinical decisions to be made and patient care progressed.
They will lead the Pathway Coordinator team day-to-day, providing guidance, allocating workload, and supporting complex cases. The post holder will work closely with clinicians, other outpatient departments and service management to resolve issues quickly and maintain safe, efficient clinics. They will also contribute to service improvements, process development, and team training.
We are looking for someone highly organised, confident in decision making and able to manage competing priorities in a fast paced environment. Strong communication skills, attention to detail, and the ability to support and motivate others are essential. The ideal candidate will be proactive, calm under pressure, and comfortable navigating clinical information and administrative systems. A positive attitude, problem solving mindset, and commitment to excellent patient care are key to success in this role.
Full training will be given on the patient record system and how to complete the role.
No candidate will meet every single desired qualification. If your experience looks a little different from what we've identified and you think you can bring value to the role, we'd love to learn more about you!
About us
This is an excellent opportunity to be a part of our organisation as we are going through a period of growth and looking to recruit a new Lead Pathways Coordinator. You will be managing a highly capable and well-respected team of 10 and will be based at Dorking Hospital.
Dorking Healthcare (DHC) is an organisation that provides a wide range of quality healthcare services in Surrey and Sussex. We are registered with the CQC (Care Quality Commission) receiving a Good status in our most recent inspection, we are an accredited AQP (Any Qualified Provider). Our vision is to continually improve local services for patients by offering first-class care and shorter waiting times.
A can-do attitude is a vital asset at DHC, and we are looking for like-minded individuals to work with us who share the same approach and work ethic.
The benefits we offer include:
Competitive salariesMembership of the NHS pension scheme27 days' annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing with length of serviceAccess to an Employee Assistance ProgrammeOpportunities for training, development and career progressionSome of our sites have free on-site parking (subject to availability)We aim to be an employer of choice and conduct annual staff satisfaction surveysDHC actively encourage and promotes diversity, ensures all voices are heard and included and is committed to equal opportunities for all.
Job description Job responsibilities
Appointment to this role is subject to a satisfactory Standard DBS check. Any information disclosed will be considered fairly and only where relevant to the requirements of the role.
We screen and shortlist suitable candidates as applications are received. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early and without notice if we fill the position; we encourage early applications to avoid disappointment.
JOB SUMMARY
The Lead Pathway Coordinator manages, supports, and develops the Pathway Coordinator team, ensuring the smooth running of all administrative elements of the patient journey from referral to discharge. The post holder oversees both day-to-day operations and longer-term service improvement, ensuring the team delivers a high-quality, efficient, and patient-focused service.
The role incorporates all core responsibilities of the Pathway Coordinator position while providing leadership, decision making, and escalation support for complex pathways, clinical queries, and operational challenges. The post holder must demonstrate strong people-management skills, initiative, and sound judgement while maintaining the highest levels of confidentiality and professionalism.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POST
Team Leader Duties:
Provide daily leadership and oversight for the Pathway Coordinator team, ensuring equitable allocation of workload and adherence to service priorities. Act as the primary escalation point for complex patient cases or operational issues, supporting staff to resolve pathway challenges. Oversee HR processes including attendance monitoring, managing leave requests, appraisals, probation reviews, performance management, mentoring and supporting wellbeing. Lead team meetings, ensuring clear communication of priorities, updates, and changes in process. Support recruitment, induction, and mentoring of new staff members. Ensure the team works to achieve KPIs and SLAs set by the Outpatients Management Team, DHC Board, or commissioning bodies. Conduct incident reviews and investigations as required, ensuring learning is shared and improvements implemented. Promote continuous improvement and contribute to the development, review, and implementation of new processes, and streamlining of existing processes. Anticipate operational pressures (clinic volume, staffing gaps, seasonal surges) and plan accordingly. Foster a positive, supportive, and solution focused team culture. Encourage staff development through coaching, feedback, and recognition of good practice. Promote a can-do attitude and model resilience and professionalism.
Pathway Role duties:
Prepare clinical documentation for clinicians to ensure clinicians have all relevant information, including imaging, diagnostic results, clinical notes, and previous correspondence available. Review new patient appointments, extracting relevant information from the referral and ensuring medical history and prior investigations are accurately documented. Review followup appointment information, confirming that recommended investigations have been completed and results are available. Process postclinic documentation promptly, taking appropriate actions. Review internal and external diagnostic results, updating records and taking required actions such as communicating the results to the referring parties, scheduling followup appointments or removing patients from waiting lists. Identify urgent or clinically significant findings and escalate to clinicians immediately, following agreed processes. Chase outstanding results, reports, or documentation with GPs, hospitals, and thirdparty providers, monitoring and updating wait lists. Track patient progress through the entire pathway, identifying delays, resolving issues, and ensuring all steps are completed. Support the coordination and processing of imaging requests
General Duties:
Maintain strong working relationships with clinicians, internal departments, and external providers. Work autonomously while contributing positively to team workflow and overall service quality. Manage shared email inboxes and electronic task lists, ensuring timely and accurate processing. Maintain accurate electronic patient records and audit trails, including uploading results, updating wait lists, documenting communication, and recording follow-up actions. Undertake any other reasonable duties as commensurate with the nature of this role.
WORK SETTING AND REVIEW
The post holder is expected to manage their own workload and team responsibilities with autonomy, maintaining confidentiality at all times. Decisions should support efficient service delivery, with escalation to management or clinicians when appropriate.
CONFIDENTIALITY
The post holder must maintain strict confidentiality in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, Caldicott principles, and organisational policy.
Person Specification
Qualifications Essential
Good standard of education (Numerate and good standard of English)
Desirable
Any higher or further education qualifications
Knowledge and Skills Essential
Demonstrable experience of HR/Employee life cycle processes. Excellent people management and leadership skills. Well-organised administration. Computer literacy in MS Office packages. Ability to communicate effectively across diverse groups. Ability to maintain confidentiality at all times. Ability to prioritise workloads, meet deadlines, and problem-solve. High attention to detail and strong IT skills.
Desirable
Data protection in a healthcare environment. NHS / Healthcare experience. Patient referral to treatment times. SystmOne (NHS database). Familiarity with IEP (Image Exchange Portal).
Attributes Essential
Can do attitude to daily tasks, adversity and new ways of working. Proactive, organised, and supportive leadership style.
Experience Essential
Managing a team in a busy administrative or healthcare environment. Experience in improving and streamlining processes. Prioritising workloads. Decision-making. Working to KPIs / SLAs. Providing continuous improvements.
Desirable
Incident investigation.
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.
Employer details Employer name Dorking Healthcare Ltd.
Address Dorking General Hospital
Off St Paul’s Road West
Horsham Road
DORKING
Surrey
RH4 2AA
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://dhcclinical.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)