About this role
Job summary
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us.
Job Title: Urology RTT Validator
Contract Type: Permanent
If you are already an NHS employee and are applying for an Annex 21 vacancy you may be entitled to pay protection.
Pay protection applies where the role you are applying for is at the same AFC band or higher, and you would receive less in pay compared with your current salary due to annex 21.
UHS will not be able to provide visa Sponsorshipfor this vacancy. Applicants should therefore ensure that they have sufficient right to work in the UK without requiring sponsorship for this role.
Please be advised that this vacancy may close earlier than stated if we receive a large number of applications.
Main duties of the job
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with in the Urology Service.
Based mainly on-site with opportunity for remote working once fully competent in role
As part of the Urology Service, the post holder will:
Use advanced, specialist knowledge of 18-week RTT pathways to validate surgical patient journeys, ensuring all pathway events are accurately recorded and fully compliant with national RTT rules and UHS standards.
Identify, investigate, and correct data quality issues within surgical RTT pathways, applying expert understanding of the causes of poor data quality and ensuring all corrections align with national and local guidance.
Review, assess, update, and validate RTT data across UHS systems, including the Patient Administration System (PAS), using advanced pathway management skills to ensure surgical pathways are complete, accurate, and reflect true patient status.
Interpret and apply complex RTT guidance to support accurate reporting, ensuring surgical services maintain high-quality data that supports operational performance, waiting list management, and statutory reporting.
This role is a training contract where the salary will be brought up in line with the Band 4 AFC rate upon completion of the set standardised competencies, which could take anywhere from 6-12 months.
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
Act as an RTT champion for Urology, providing expert advice, supporting colleagues across clinical and administrative teams, and contributing to the delivery of RTT training to improve understanding, consistency, and data quality across the division.
Support continuous improvement by highlighting recurring issues, recommending process changes, and working collaboratively with operational teams to strengthen RTT compliance and pathway accuracy.
General Duties
- 1. The post holder will be responsible for detailed validation of patient pathways adhering to Referral to Treatment (RTT) rules and in accordance with National RTT guidelines and UHS access policy.
- 2. To assess, analyse, interpret and adjust information recorded on the Trusts patient information system, ensuring accuracy of data throughout a patients journey.
- 3. To liaise with relevant staff to obtain information needed to appropriately validate pathways in accordance to 18 week RTT clock rules, ensure all information entered is accurately linked to an appropriate pathway.
- 4. To action pathway errors appropriately in order to prevent patients from breaching the 18-week target.
- 5. To support staff in their understanding and application of the 18 week pathway providing 1 to 1 training and mentoring and act as a point of contact on any RTT related queries
- 6. Ensure the accurate and efficient validation of open pathways. This involves working with clinical staff, operational management teams, other validation staff, line manager and corporate information team.
- 7. Pro-actively escalate potential breaches and other issues according to the department escalation guidelines.
- 8. To maintain an accurate record of the number of pathways validated and ensure appropriate comments are entered next to each record to efficiently act as an audit trail.
- 9. Plan and prioritise own workload with little supervision, responding to a fluctuating workload and using initiative to problem solve and know when to escalate issues
- 10. To audit and confirm the accuracy of the RTT data. Report accuracy issues back to the user in a structured and informative way, enabling the users to improve their knowledge of the patient pathways and data entry on PAS.
- 11. As part of the central validation team, provide cover for colleagues in times of annual leave or sickness absence to ensure continuity of work and also participate in induction and training of new team members.
- 12. Work closely with the Outpatients Administration Centre to review working practices, identify new improved ways of working and find solutions to problems.
- 13. To be involved in creating and updating SOPs and to recommend changes to policies and procedures to enhance departments ability to provide optimum service.
- 14. Assist in internal auditing and production of ad hoc reports
What We're Looking For
Keenness to learn
Able to demonstrate a flexible and can-do attitude
Strong communication skills with the confidence to work with people across the organisation
The ability to comprehend complex rules around RTT and patient pathways
Ability to work in a changing environment.
Person Specification
Qualifications, knowledge and experience
Essential
- GCSE or equivalent in English and Maths, grades 4-9 (A*-C)
- A Level / NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration/Customer Care or relevant equivalent experience
- Capable of attaining knowledge of the full range of organisational policies and procedures relating to 18-week pathways
- Capable of attaining experience in the RTT validation process, acquired through training and relevant experience. Able to validate across a range of different specialties
- Willing to work towards applying the 18 week rules to different patient pathways across a wide spectrum of specialities.
- To work towards being an expert in the use of the Trust's patient information systems
- Capable of building in depth experience of using full range of Trust IT systems and patient data systems and Level 3 PPW training
- Significant administrative experience including initiating and maintaining office systems.
- Demonstrable experience in dealing with sensitive and confidential information under GDPR
Desirable
- Experience of training people / teams in national standards
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
Southampton General Hospital
Tremona Road
Southampton
SO16 6YD
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.uhs.nhs.uk/home.aspx (Opens in a new tab)