Glaucoma failsafe officer/ Team Leader @ University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust

Job summary

University Hospital Southampton is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us

Job Title: Glaucoma failsafe officer

Contract Type: Permanent

Under current Home Office rules, this role is not eligible for Skilled Worker visa sponsorship.

Please be advised that this vacancy may close earlier than stated if we receive a large number of applications.

Main duties of the job

This is an exciting opportunity to join our team, the post holder will work as part of the Glaucoma service within Ophthalmology department and will provide expertise in the proactive management of the patient pathways from referral to discharge, ensuring the entire pathway is managed smoothly and monitored against the requirements outlined with the national guidance.

The successful candidate will line manage and lead a team dedicated to the booking and management of Glaucoma patient pathways. The service is a larger service across two sites. The position will be based at UHS. This position is essential to the running of the service, the candidate will need experience of working in healthcare and experience of managing busy teams. The candidate will have a robust management structure to support them in this new role.

About us

As one of the largest acute teaching Trusts in England, we offer learning and development opportunities to help you achieve the career you aspire to. UHS is rated 'Good' by the CQC and in the latest national NHS Staff Survey, we were in the top 10 acute trusts for staff engagement and for staff recommending the hospital as a place to work or receive care.

We support flexible working and will consider requests taking into account the needs of the service. UHS employees are able to access a range of NHS discounts, are entitled to a minimum of 35 days paid holiday (pro rata), and we offer a generous pension scheme.

Southampton is an attractive place to live and work situated on the south coast, with an international airport and direct trains to London. The New Forest National Park and beaches of the Jurassic coast are also right on our doorstep. The city offers living costs 30% lower than London and 17 schools rated outstanding by Ofsted.

We believe that using technology wisely shows strong time management and commitment to innovation. However, personalising your recruitment application to highlight your unique skills and experiences is crucial. Relying too heavily on generic, AI-generated content instead of drawing from your own strengths and accomplishments may lead to your application being rejected if multiple candidates present identical or similar information.

Job description

Job responsibilities

General Duties

• Proactively manage the pathway to avoid breaches and take steps to resolve any issues
• To use the 18 week referral to treatment (RTT) to manage all outpatient and elective patient pathways
• To be responsible for identifying and escalating any issues which compromises delivery of the 18 week RTT pathway.
• Cascade and/or escalate details of any delays or bottlenecks within the administration / booking process which will affect the patient journey and / or delivery of clinical services. Managing any capacity databases.
• Lead on the validation of RTT patients as needed.
• Investigate and take the appropriate action where pathways are incomplete to ensure that patients are receiving timely treatment and Trust information is robust
• Manage and monitor outpatient scheduling making the best use of capacity. Liaise with colleagues to share patient pathway and diagnostic information
• Provide guidance and act as a subject matter expert on the application of standard operating procedures and Trust access policies.
• To process confidential patient-sensitive documentation to and from patients, other healthcare professionals and external agencies.
• Ensure copies of letters, discharge summaries etc reach the appropriate people within the agreed timeframe, by expediting communications by all other appropriate means.
• To act as the failsafe lead for the patients booked and managed by the Glaucoma team
• Manage the Patient of concern list received each week from the 18 weeks team liaising with Glaucoma consultants and the 18 weeks team.
• Manage allocation of appointments for Urgent new/follow ups and Post op requests.

Communication and Customer Service

• Demonstrate high levels of customer care
• To be responsible for timely written and verbal communication with patients, clinicians, nursing staff and management
• Ensure that all information distributed to patients is accurate and up to date
• Deal with complex queries
• To courteously and efficiently receive all telephone enquiries from patients, carers and external agencies in relation to hospital admissions, appointments and general enquiries, ensuring that accurate records, both manual and electronic, are maintained and appropriate action is taken in a timely manner.

Systems & Equipment

• Be proficient in the use of all electronic systems in relation to patient data and undertake training as required if new technology / electronic systems are introduced, to ensure competencies are maintained and efficiencies of the administrative processes are maximised.

Management / Supervisory Function

• To provide day to day management of a Speciality Administration Team.
• Be responsible for the preparation of duty rosters ensuring appropriate cross-cover arrangements are in place where necessary to maintain a comprehensive and responsive administration service.
• Ensure workload is allocated fairly across all teams and staff work flexibly to accommodate the needs of the patient and the clinical team they are supporting.
• Manage the recruitment process for appointment of new Patient Administration Team members.
• Monitor the performance of the team in relation to achieving national waiting list targets and high quality, patient focussed services.
• Be involved with employee relations issues relating to your particular team e.g. disciplinary, grievance procedures and performance management issues.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• NVQ Level 4 or equivalent experience e.g. good knowledge across a range of administrative work procedures including non-routine elements
• Educated to GCSE (or equivalent) standard, with a pass in English and Maths

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Experience of administration in a customer- focused environment
• Experience of dealing with non-routine and complex problems, progress chasing, resource and staff allocation
• Ability to compose correspondence from fragmented instructions
• Experience in delivering training sessions

Desirable

• Previous experience of working in an acute hospital setting
• Competent in the use of ESR and Healthroster
• Experience of administration in a customer- focused environmentSupervisory or office management experience

Trust Values

Essential

• Patients First
• Always Improving
• Working Together

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

University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust

Address

University Hospital Southampton

Tremona Road

Southampton

SO16 6YD

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.uhs.nhs.uk/home.aspx (Opens in a new tab)