Failsafe Officer- Ophthalmology, Band 3

at  Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

An exciting opportunity has arisen in Ophthalmology for two Band 3 Assistant Failsafe Officer Fixed term (6 months) in Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust.
If you are interested in working in a busy, hardworking but friendly team, then this role might be the one for you!
The post holder will be required to provide dedicated work on patient wait times within the Ophthalmology Department to nationally agreed wait times for both new and follow up patients and line manage a small administration team.
It is essential that you possess an excellent work ethic with proven organisational and communication skills.
As part of the Ophthalmology Administration team, you will work closely with a team of doctors and nursing staff, and support your admin colleagues in times of staff absences.
The role is based at Cheltenham General Hospital.
This very important role supports the Outpatient and Inpatient Services in Ophthalmology for Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The post holder will be required to provide dedicated work on patient wait times within the Ophthalmology Department to nationally agreed wait times for both new and follow up patients. This will involve close liaison with consultants, patients, medical and nursing staff, patient access, appointments, support services and service managers and will be required to line manage a small administration team.
The role will proactively manage patients on our follow-up waiting lists and will range from coordinating hospital appointments and ensuring non-admitted and admitted wait times are adhered to. The successful candidate will also be required to assist with the management of the New and 2WW patients .
The post holder will be expected to work without direct supervision and be able to work autonomously and may be required to make decisions under pressure. They will be expected to liaise and communicate as appropriate. As such, the post holder will need a flexible approach to ensure processes are implemented, adhered to, maintained and improved. The successful applicant will need to be able to cope with the ever changing demands of such a position in a large organisation and have a positive and proactive approach.
Ophthalmology is a large, mainly outpatient based department, with busy clinics in Gloucestershire Royal, Cheltenham General and Community Hospitals and with a Day case Unit at Cheltenham General. The admin team is based at Cheltenham General Hospital.
We will provide you with training, a supportive network of colleagues and management teams, and a commitment to helping you grow your skills. Our team is friendly and supportive and welcome you to their team.
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the largest employer in the county and with over 8,000 staff, we are one of the largest NHS trusts in the UK. We offer a generous annual leave allowance, excellent bank rates, access to the excellent NHS Pension Scheme, discounts for local shops, restaurants and services, access to our health and well-being hub, access to our two on-site nurseries, flexible working options, discounted public transport, reward and recognition schemes, exercise and activity classes and membership to our popular hospital choir.
Proactively manage waiting times for individual patients to ensure national standards are not breached. Negotiate patient management arrangements with key staff.
Ensure the patient’s journey (both new and follow up) are processed in a timely and efficient manner and pro-actively escalate issues in the patient’s pathway so that potential delays are resolved at the earliest opportunity.
Liaise with the central booking office, pre-operative assessment and the patient access team where necessary to ensure patient wait times are met.
To communicate effectively and empathetically with patients and their relatives.
To work closely with surgeons, nursing and other departmental colleagues to ensure capacity is maximised.
To provide relevant information to key staff regarding patient waits and appointments.
To monitor/validate RTT PTLs, highlighting concerns or issues to Failsafe Officer/RTT Navigator
To liaise closely with the Validation team to support patient tracking from referral to treatment and for follow up, providing updates regarding admission and alerting him/her of any problems that may result in a delay in the patient’s treatment.
To liaise with support services to ensure timely investigations are carried out and ensure results are communicated to clinicians at the earliest opportunity

Please refer the Job description for details