Palliative Care Administration Assistant

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North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) are working towards merging as one organisation from July 2026. This will create an exciting future that brings together the best of both organisations. As a single, strong and sustainable organisation, we will not only be able to deliver better outcomes for our patients and fairer care for our population, but it will also provide greater opportunities for our people. Should you join NBT as an employee prior to our organisations merging, your employment will be automatically transferred across to UHBW. Should your employment begin after our two Trusts merge, you will be employed directly by UHBW and therefore UHBW terms and conditions of service will apply.

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Job Overview

An opportunity has arisen for an administration assistant to join the palliative care team for eight months to cover a period of maternity leave. The post is full time and the postholder will be working alongside the specialist palliative care team comprising of senior doctors, nurses and occupational therapists.

Main duties of the job

The palliative care administration assistant is a key member of the palliative care team, whose main role is to support the teams’ specialist nurses and medical staff in the delivery of patient care and carer support. The role includes undertaking a broad range of administrative and clinical support tasks to help with the smooth running of the service. The post holder will be expected to work closely alongside nursing and medical members of the specialist palliative care team, and nursing, medical and other allied health care professionals across North Bristol NHS Trust. The post holder will require excellent communication skills and be able to exercise their own initiative, and will take personal responsibility for ensuring that trust and local policies and procedures are adhered to. The post is full time.

Working for our organisation

North Bristol NHS Trust employs over 12,000 staff providing healthcare to the residents of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset from our award-winning hospital building at Southmead. We are the regional Major Trauma Centre, and an internationally recognised centre of excellence in a range of services and major specialities. Our vision is that by enabling our teams to be the best that they can be, we will provide exceptional healthcare, personally delivered. North Bristol NHS Trust values all people as individuals. We aim to be an anti-discriminatory organisation and are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We welcome applicants from all underrepresented groups.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

Administration Role

• updating the teams Careflow patient list in good time for the 08.30am board round, including identifying new patients when purple butterfly is in use
• answering the telephone throughout the working day and responding appropriately as needed, ensuring messages are relayed to the correct member of staff
• co-ordinating specialist palliative care outpatient activity. This includes: making outpatient appointments, typing and sending out letters, ensuring clinics are recorded on the trust database and maintaining local outpatient records
• supporting ward teams in ensuring the purple butterfly trolleys are in order and adequately stocked, providing advice, education and guidance on the appropriate use of all items.
• assisting the specialist palliative care team in preparation for meetings: writing agendas, room bookings, accurate and timely minute taking and distribution
• assisting the specialist palliative care team in preparation for teaching: room bookings, printing and room set up
• participating in palliative care clinical meetings and monthly team business, education audit and clinical governance meetings
• undertaking any other duties which are appropriate for the post as agreed with line managers.

See Job Description For Full Duties

Person specification

Education/Training/Qualifications

Essential criteria

• NVQ level 3

Skills and knowledge

Essential criteria

• Excellent interpersonal skills in all contact with patients, their carers and with North Bristol NHS Trust and community colleagues
• Excellent communication skills, both written and spoken
• The ability to successfully manage and resolve difficult and highly emotional situations
• The ability to organise and prioritise own workload with good time management and problem solving skills
• Experience of using own initiative to solve problems or improve services
• Experience of prioritising own workload in a pressured working environment
• Good IT skills
• Experience of accurate record keeping

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge of patient confidentiality and Data protection act
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Sound knowledge of trust policies & practices including manual handling, health & safety and infection control

Please note that if you apply for a position with North Bristol NHS Trust, you may be contacted via TRAC or via email. This includes invites for job interviews. We therefore recommend that you regularly check your TRAC Account and email accounts including junk and spam folders. If you apply for this vacancy and have not received a communication from North Bristol NHS Trust within three weeks of the closing date, please assume that on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful.

Please note that North Bristol NHS Trust does not reimburse travel expenses relating to interview attendance. If you feel you meet the requirements of the Disability Act / Two Ticks scheme and require further support/advice, please contact us on tel 0117 414 1151.

North Bristol NHS Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful applicant(s) will normally commence at the minimum of the scale unless they have previous NHS service at the same band. Progression through the scale is by annual increments.

At North Bristol Trust (NBT), we know diverse and inclusive environments lead to happier and healthier teams and improved patient care and outcomes. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are currently underrepresented in NBT’s workforce at Band 8a and above. These include people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled people and LGBTQIA+ people.

Please note that stringent pre-employment checks are undertaken on all successful applicants prior to commencement in post.