Gesh Complaints Officer | St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The Complaints and PALS department is led and delivered by Group Corporate Nursing which is accountable for the strategic oversight and management of the Complaints and PALs team at both Sites.

The role of the Complaints and PALS department is to ensure that complaints and concerns from patients, their families and carers raised at Site level are investigated and that a comprehensive response is provided to the complainant, making clear apologies where appropriate and saying what will be done to prevent a similar situation happening again. The department identifies improvement opportunities arising from complaints and monitors the implementation of actions.

The Complaints and PALS department also ensures that complaints and/or concerns are managed according to Group and Trust policy and the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009, ensuring that information from complaints and/or concerns is used to improve the Trust services at Site and across the Group.

The Complaints and PALS department is also responsible for the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) which provides a rapid response service for patients, carers and families who have concerns where there is an opportunity to resolve the problem quickly. The PALs service is provided face-to-face and by telephone and email.

The purpose of this post is to provide an expert service in the management of complaints.

The main tasks include

• Point of contact for complainants, Trust staff and external stakeholders
• Acknowledgement of complaints within three working days
• Database management
• Complaints case support

St George’s, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group cares for a population of four million people in South West London and North East Surrey. Our sites include St George’s Hospital, one of 11 major trauma centres in the UK and the largest healthcare provider and major teaching hospital in the area; St Helier Hospital, home to the South West Thames Renal and Transplantation Unit and Queen Mary's Hospital for Children; and Epsom Hospital, home to the South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre (SWLEOC).

After years of collaboration, our two Trusts became a hospitals group in 2021. While remaining as two separate Trusts, being a hospitals group will help us to collaborate more closely on research, and the development, education, and training of our 17,000-strong workforce.

At gesh we are committed to supporting flexible working arrangements. Applicants are encouraged to discuss any flexibility they may need during the recruitment process.

Complaints case support

• Ensure that complaints are acknowledged in writing within 3 working day.
• To support, respect and actively listen to individual patients and carers, to resolve problems and concerns, by being an accessible and visible presence within the Trust.
• Work with General Managers, Clinicians and Matrons and others to facilitate speedy resolutions and solutions that will improve the patient experience.
• Proof-read and quality check the final draft response letters from the divisions before forwarding onto the gesh Complaints and PALS Caseload Manager for quality review.
• Contribute to the preparation of activity and performance reports

Quality Improvement

• Build effective relationships with the governance, risk and patient safety team, clinical audit, legal services, and the transformation team, to coordinate the continued improvement in patient experience
• Assist in ensuring patients and the public have access to high quality information and advice from the Trust via a variety of channels
• Support clinical and management teams to ensure each Site is inclusive of all patients, including patients with protected characteristics and able to meet the Accessible Information Standard for key groups
• Collaborate with clinical and non-clinical colleagues proactively building a culture of continually improving services
• Provide support on related topics to meet the needs of departments as requested
• Support the feedback from staff on the services provided by their departments, identifying and promoting examples of good practice relating to the handling of patient and carer concerns and complaints
• Support the achievement of the department’s annual work plan and objectives.

Service Development

• Support consistent improvement in Complaints performance and compliance
• Support the delivery of policies, procedures, guidance, and standard operating procedures for the management of complaints, concerns, compliments, and enquiries across the Trust

***Please note that this advert may close early if a large volume of applications are received***

This advert closes on Tuesday 19 May 2026

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