Band 4 ED Flow Co-Ordinator
Job summary
The Patient Flow Co-ordinator will provide a comprehensive, high-quality administrative and coordination service within the Emergency Department, supporting the safe, effective and timely movement of patients through all stages of their emergency care pathway and ensure that national and local standards are met, including the 4-hour performance target and ambulance handover times. They will liaise closely with clinical, operational and site management colleagues to ensure that patient flow, escalation and data management processes are delivered to a consistently high standard.
The role requires attendance at departmental handovers and safety huddles to gather and share information that enables informed operational decisions regarding patient flow, escalation and performance management.
They will be expected to exercise initiative, sound judgement and effective communication skills, using acquired knowledge of emergency pathways and Trust policies while maintaining strict confidentiality. They will provide a professional, compassionate point of contact for patients, relatives and staff, often in a challenging and fast-paced environment.
The post holder will work an agreed rotational shift pattern, providing cover over a 24 hour, 7-day service, including weekends and bank holidays as required to meet service needs.
Main duties of the job
* Maintain accurate real-time patient tracking across all ED areas using Trust electronic systems.
* Support achievement of national and local performance standards, including the 4-hour emergency target and ambulance handover times.
* Coordinate admissions, discharges, transfers and specialty referrals to minimise delays.
* Monitor department capacity, escalating flow risks and operational pressures promptly.
* Produce accurate patient flow information, reports and updates for clinical and operational teams.
* Contribute to service improvement initiatives, audits and patient flow projects.
* Monitor patient progress.
* Attend handovers, safety huddles and flow meetings, providing accurate operational information.
* Liaise confidently with clinical teams, bed management, site teams, diagnostic services and specialty wards to progress patient pathways.
* Proactively identify patients at risk of delay and take action to resolve barriers to flow.
* Support effective use of ED spaces and resources to maintain patient safety and throughout.
* Communicate professionally and compassionately with patients, relatives and staff in a fast-paced environment.
* Exercise sound judgement, prioritise competing demands and escalate concerns appropriately.
* Work flexibly across a 24/7 service, demonstrating resilience, initiative and a strong commitment to delivering safe, efficient patient care.
About us
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust strives to have an inclusive culture where everyone feels like they belong, can thrive, knows that they add value and feels valued. We do this by developing compassionate and culturally competent leaders, being values driven in all that we do and by creating a welcoming and inclusive workplace that thrives on the diversity of our people. As such we want to attract and recruit talented individuals from all backgrounds, and for each of you to feel supported for the diversity you bring, to achieve your full potential. For those staff with a disability, including physical disability, long term health condition, mental health or neurodiverse condition, this also means being committed to making reasonable adjustments needed for you to carry out your role.
Job description
Job responsibilities
*Please Note : For a detailed job description for this vacancy, please see attached Job Description*
Person Specification
Qualifications
- *Good General Education (e.g., GCSE English and Maths A-C GCSE LEVEL 9-4
- *Knowledge to NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration or equivalent, plus additional knowledge acquired through experience or completion of short courses to diploma level.
Experience
- *Experience in the provision of administrative support to the management of patients/ or patient facing role in an NHS provider organisation.
- *Experience of multidisciplinary working/ liaison within an acute NHS provider organisation.
- *Experience in being the point of contact for enquiries from external/ internal users/ patients and families.
- *Can demonstrate the use of judgement and assessment of situations where there is more than one solution to an issue.
- *Can demonstrate ability to deal with routine and non -- routine and unpredictable workload.
- *Understanding of the scope of the role in context of the team and the organisation, and how the role may contribute to service development.
- *Knowledge of administrative procedures including NHS IT systems which contains patient information i.e. PAS
- *Knowledge of clinical terminology and patient flow within an acute hospital setting.
- *Can demonstrate knowledge of Data protection in relation to the role applied for.
- *Able to work to a high level of accuracy consistently, producing written reports/ information to inform service provision.
Additional Criteria
- *Well-rounded communication skills
- *Good command of written/ spoken English
- *Good standard IT/keyboard skills
- *Polite telephone skills/ manner
- *Can understand / comprehend and communicate factual information to a range of people.
- *Able to work to a high level of accuracy consistently, producing
- *written reports / information to inform service provision
- *Able to deal with visitors and contacts in a courteous and professional manner.
- *Good IT/ keyboard skills with the ability to update and maintain information held with IT/ administrative systems.
- *Good organisational and planning skills, confident in time management an ability to prioritise own workload and use initiative.
- *Can organise complex activities which require collating and utilising information from a number of sources.
- *Ability to work in a challenging and busy environment where situations may change during the course of a day or in a short period of time.
- *Well-developed negotiation skills.
- *Can demonstrate tenacity and compassion when dealing with sensitive and complex issues.
- *Reliable/ punctual and approachable.
- *Courteous, respectful, and helpful at all times.
- *Ability to work on own initiative.
- *Ability to move between sites working as required for internal/ Trust meetings/ business as required.
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.
Employer details
Employer name
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Heartlands Hospital
Bordesley Green E
Birmingham
West Midlands
B9 5SS
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.uhb.nhs.uk/jobs.htm