Job description

Band 4 Litigation Officer

Band 4 Litigation Officer will be responsible for a large public sector organisation based through the Belfast Trust.

Salary: £11.53 p/h

Location: 6th Floor McKinney House, Musgrave Park Hospital

Hours: 37.5hpw, Mon-Fri

Duration: Temporary

JOB SUMMARY / MAIN PURPOSE:

The post holder will support Legal process by collating information and documentation regarding Professional Negligence, Employer's and Occupiers Liability claims brought against BHSCT and working together with the Trust's external legal services provider to ensure that an effective claims management process is maintained.

KEY DUTIES / RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Support the legal claims process in compliance with court process and through the application of Pre-Action Protocols for Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury litigation.
• Ensure prompt acknowledgement of receipt of correspondence received from Plaintiff's solicitors and referral of same to the Trust's external legal services provider.
• Open new claims folders in litigation department format and ensure that incoming mail is attached and actioned as appropriate.
• Ensure that all Pleadings are processed within the strict time-limits imposed by the legal process.
• Ensure that documents required for Discovery are provided promptly.
• Collate such information as will assist the Trust's Legal Services Manager and Clinical Director (Clinical Negligence) in determining the validity of a given claim.
• Ensure that details of court listings are recorded and updated in the Litigation Department Court calendar.
• Deal with telephone calls and process various enquiries as required.
• General filing and photocopying duties.
• Various other tasks as may be assigned by the Senior Litigation Officers, Litigation Managers and Legal Services Manager.
• Act as point of contact for the Trust's legal advisers and communicate pertinent information to Senior Manager, Corporate Risk & Standards or Clinical Director, Legal Services, regarding the defence or settlement of a claim.
• Liaison with staff at all levels within the Trust and with the Trust's external legal services provider's office, to ensure effective processing of claims.
• Ensure that claims are linked to associated incidents/complaints in Datix, to facilitate reporting across all modules.
• Recording and collation of data to enable production of reports required both internal and external to the Trust.
• Maintain an up-to-date record on Datix database of all claims under the post-holder's control, to ensure that information is readily to hand regarding current legal status of each claim, financial reserves, and estimated dates of settlement.
• Ensure that closed claims files are weeded and catalogued for storage as required.
• To support the process of identifying learning from claims by ensuring that closed case summaries are completed by the Legal Services Manager / Clinical Director (Clinical Negligence) and issued to Clinical/Service Directors in relevant service areas for completion of learning letters where appropriate.
• Scrutinise payment requests relating to claims and ensure that these are forwarded to appropriate Trust Senior Managers for approval, before forwarding to the Trust's Retained Finance section for payment.
• To work within the Medical Director's budgetary constraints.
• Ensure services are delivered effectively with best use of resources.
• Promote the corporate values and culture of the organisation through his/her own actions.
• Contribute as an effective member of the Trust's Legal Services Department, including assisting other members of staff when necessary

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

1. HNC/HND or equivalent/higher qualification in an administrative related field AND GCSE English Language at grade A-C/4-9 AND 1 years' experience in a

clerical/administrative role at Band 3 level or equivalent

OR

5 GCSEs at grade A-C including English Language and Mathematics or equivalent/higher qualifications AND 3 years' experience in a clerical/administrative role at Band 3 level or equivalent

2. Functional Skills ICT Level 2 or OCR Text Processing (Business Professionals) Level 2 Award or RSA Stage II Typing/Word Processing (both parts) and Holders of RSA/OCR examinations after September 1986 must have passed both parts. Part qualifications are not acceptable.

OR

1 year's typing experience*, to include the typing of reports, formatting & circulation of correspondence, use of Microsoft packages (WORD, EXCEL etc) & general word processing. *1 years' experience must have been in a Health and Social Care setting.

DESIRABLE CRITERIA

Experience in using information management systems including Datix, Patient Administration

Skills/Abilities

• Sound knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite packages.
• Possess excellent organisational and administrative skills.
• Possess effective communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work to deadlines to a high level of accuracy.
• Ability to be flexible and adaptable to work in a changing environment.
• Knowledge of medical terminology.
• Proven ability to exercise good judgement, initiative, and discretion

BELSL

If you are interested and available for this position, please upload your CV to the link or contact Hollie McArthur. Hollie.Mcarthur@staffline.co.uk

To be shortlisted for this role all applicants MUST meet the essential criteria. Please note that these roles may be filled quickly but your CV will be kept on file for future similar roles. As there are so many applications, unsuccessful candidates may not be contacted.

Successful candidates may need to apply for an Access NI Certificate with Staffline regardless of if you already have a valid certificate. It will be a cost of between £18 - £33 depending on clearance level.