Complaints Officer

Salary: Approximately £15.00 per hour (dependent on experience)

Hours: 2-3 days/week

Contract: Permanent (part-time)

Job summary

Bridgewater Surgeries is looking for an organised, professional and compassionate Complaints Officer to join our management team.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone with experience of complaints handling or investigations, ideally within healthcare or another regulated environment. You will play a key role in ensuring patient concerns are managed fairly, professionally and within NHS timescales, while helping us learn from feedback and continually improve the services we provide.

Working closely with our GP Clinical Partner Lead, Practice Director and wider practice team, you will coordinate complaints from start to finish, communicate with patients and staff, and support improvements across the organisation.

This is a varied role that would suit someone who enjoys problem-solving, has excellent written communication skills and is able to manage sensitive situations with empathy and professionalism.

Main duties of the job

• Manage the full complaints process from receipt through to resolution.
• Investigate patient complaints, concerns and feedback.
• Liaise with clinicians, managers and external organisations during investigations.
• Draft clear, professional complaint responses.
• Ensure complaints are handled in line with NHS complaints regulations and practice policies.
• Maintain accurate records and complaint logs.
• Identify trends and learning from complaints to improve patient care.
• Produce reports for practice meetings and governance reviews.
• Support quality improvement and patient experience initiatives.
• Act as a professional point of contact for patients raising concerns.

About us

Bridgewater Surgeries is one of the largest GP practices in Hertfordshire, caring for around 37,000 patients across four sites in Watford.

We are a forward thinking, training practice with a strong focus on providing high quality patient care, innovation and continuous improvement. We pride ourselves on being a supportive and friendly multidisciplinary team where staff are encouraged to develop their skills and contribute to improving the services we provide.

Person Specification Experience

• Experience of handling complaints, investigations or patient concerns.
• Experience working within healthcare, primary care, the NHS or another regulated environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to remain calm and professional when dealing with challenging situations.
• Good IT skills and experience maintaining accurate records.
• Understanding of confidentiality, GDPR and information governance.
• Experience working in General Practice.
• Knowledge of NHS complaints procedures.
• Experience supporting governance, quality improvement or risk management.
• Knowledge of CQC requirements.
• Relevant qualification in complaints handling, governance or healthcare management.

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.