Rheumatology Clinical Support Worker

The post holder will be an integral part of the Rheumatology Team, assisting, supporting and co-ordinating pathways for patients. A large part of the role is providing administrative and coordination support to patients and the Rheumatology Clinical Team.The successful applicant will ensure the efficient channelling and close co-ordination of the patient pathway ensuring robust communication between medical staff, GPs, patients, relatives, members of the public and other disciplines within the Trust and close liaison with the community staff and relevant teams.

The post holder will demonstrate excellent organisational skills, must be flexible in approach, able to exercise initiative and demonstrate a consistently high standard of professionalism, being aware of the need for confidentiality and integrity. The post holder will have excellent communication skills and be willing to undertake on-going training and development. In addition, the post holder will be able to signpost patients and carers to the relevant sources of support and information appropriate to their needs.

The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provides services to West Cheshire and to Welsh patients covered by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership. Its services are provided from three locations:

o The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 438 general and acute beds.o Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 56 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility.o Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population.

The Trust employs over 6258 staff (headcount) which includes temporary bank staff and provides acute emergency and elective services, primary care direct access services and obstetric services to a population of approximately 407,000. This includes 357,000 residents in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire which has a population of approximately 50,000.

The Trust is a busy district general hospital and in 2022/2023, there were more than 503,342 patient attendances (inpatient, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery. This is an increase of nearly 10,000 compared to the previous year when there were 494,387 patient attendances.