About this role
Job summary
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us.
Please see below for the detailed job description of the role.
Main duties of the job
As part of the Urology team within Surgery, 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.
Act as an RTT champion for Surgery, 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.
About us
University Hospital Southampton is one of England's largest acute teaching Trusts, offering a wide range of learning and development opportunities to support your career aspirations.
Located on the south coast with an international airport and direct rail links to London, Southampton offers an ideal setting to live and work, with the New Forest, South Downs and Jurassic Coast.
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.
At UHS, we're committed to providing a flexible working environment where possible. Whether you are balancing family, study, or your wellbeing with your career, we want to support you so you can help our patients.
At UHS, we proudly champion individuality, recognising that outstanding care is only possible with a diverse, inclusive team. We're committed to creating an anti-racist, anti-discriminatory environment where everyone feels valued, safe, and empowered to make a meaningful impact in our communities. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences to join us in building a healthcare community where everyone can belong, thrive, and contribute.
Job description Job responsibilities 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. Please visit our social media platforms, to find out more:
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
Trust Values Essential
Working Together Always Improving Patients First
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 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)