Job summary
Are you looking for a rewarding role where you can make real a difference to patients when they need it most?

St Leonard's Hospice is recruiting a Patient Flow Coordinator to join the team to support the transfer of patients between hospice services. In this role, you will be a key point of contact for patients, families and professionals to guide them through these transfers to ensure the best care possible is received.

This is a full-time position based at our main hospice site, working 37.5 hours per week in office hours, Monday to Friday. The salary band for this role is £28,555 to £31,337 per annum.

Main duties of the job
Whilst no two days will be the same, your main priorities will be to:

• Act as the first point of contact for Hospice services which will include receiving and managing complex and/ or sensitive information
• Liaise with local commissioners to assist in timely onward care
• Work proactively with the Therapies team to review equipment requirements throughout a patients involvement with Hospice services

Reporting into the Patient Flow Lead, you will work closely with all the Hospices clinical services (In-Patient Unit, Hospice at Home, Wellbeing & Outreach and Frailty) and foster and maintain close relationships with key external partners.

In order to succeed in this role, you will:

• Have experience of working in a health or social care role which has focussed on discharge and transfer of care
• Have excellent organisational and communication skills and be able to handle complex information appropriately
• Be able to remain calm under pressure and to deliver work within agreed timescales

What we can offer you in return:

• Salary above NHS pay scales
• Up to 41 days Annual Leave
• Continuation of NHS pension and annual leave entitlement (T&Cs apply)
• Attractive pension scheme for non-NHS staff
• Free car parking
• Training and development opportunities
• A supportive and friendly working environment
• Extensive employee discounts on shops, holidays and lifestyle choices and Blue Light Card discounts

About us
Our mission is to provide excellent care and support to those living with life-limiting illness and to the people they care about, to enrich their lives and to contribute to the ongoing development of end-of-life care. We do this by placing our patients at the centre of everything we do, and through involving patients and their families in all decisions regarding their care.

We can only achieve this with the help of our amazing colleagues, by developing and recognising their contribution, and by sharing our knowledge and skills through education, audit and research.

Job responsibilities
Reporting to the Patient Flow Lead, as part of the wider MDT the Patient Flow Coordinator will support transfer of patients on and off the In-Patient Unit; between relevant hospice services (Hospice@Home, Wellbeing and Outreach and Frailty) and be a point of contact for patients, families and professionals to guide them through these transitions.

They will foster and maintain close relationships with key external partners and promote the Hospices services to new referrers and the public.

Main duties and responsibilities
Professional

1. Act as the first point of contact for Hospice services. Receive and manage complex or sensitive information, responding to distressing situations in a calm, sympathetic, and supportive manner.
2. Complete assessments to establish patient need and link with internal hospice teams and other providers to arrange support to meet the need.
3. Liaise with local commissioners to assist in timely onward care home placements or appropriate packages of care on a daily basis.
4. Work proactively with the Therapies team to review equipment requirements throughout a patients involvement with Hospice services.
5. Conduct home visits for pre- IPU admission or review as required.
6. Support the Hospice@Home team by assisting them with their triage and transfer processes.
7. Attend and support IPU transfer meetings, bringing together relevant parties to expediate patient preference.
8. Work within and promote the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and its principles, including conducting Mental Capacity Assessments, identifying the needs for DOLs application and co-ordinating care in best interest situations.
9. Promote concepts of advance care planning (ACP) with patients prior to and on admission to support provision of care best aligns to their preferences.
10. Build, maintain and develop effective working partnerships with existing services and local resources, to develop connections and opportunities within the local Community. The post holder will need to ensure that they keep updated with relevant changes and developments within the private, voluntary and health sectors.
11. Identify safeguarding concerns in a timely manner, work with the customer to identify personal outcomes and where necessary refer for further safeguarding enquiries.
12. Maintain high-quality data management by overseeing patient record systems across sites and, ensuring all information is accurate, up-to-date, and concisely recorded.

Person Specification
Experience
Essential

• Experience of working in a health or social care role which focuses on discharge and transfers of care from inpatient to community settings
• Understanding of data protection and confidentiality
• Excellent documentation and record keeping skills
• Experience of co-ordinating and prioritising own workload
• Good knowledge of community resources
• Good organisational skills
• Good problem-solving skills
• Experience of work with risk under the Mental Capacity Act

Desirable

• Experience of working within palliative care
• Experience of working within adult safeguarding procedures

Other
Essential

• Be prepared to assist with Hospice fundraising activities

Desirable

• Use of a car during working hours you must have business use on your car insurance

Personal
Essential

• Team player
• Self-motivated with an ability to deliver work within agreed timescales
• Ability to work flexibly and adapt to new demands
• Focused on patient need
• Calm under pressure, displaying confidentiality, tact and diplomacy

IT
Essential

• Good basic IT skills
• Knowledge of Microsoft applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)

Desirable

• Experience of using patient record systems

Communication
Essential

• Ability to interpret information requests and support data collection
• Good communication skills with demonstrable experience to communicate sometimes complex information to patients, families, colleagues, managers and external partners
• Able to handle and lead on sensitive discussions

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.

St Leonard's Hospice's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)