Job overview
The Pathway Coordinator will play a key role in supporting the Anaesthesia Service by providing comprehensive administrative, scheduling and pathway coordination support. The post holder will be responsible for proactively managing patient pathways, ensuring patients are tracked effectively through their journey and that all necessary investigations, appointments and admissions are coordinated in a timely manner. Working closely with Consultant Anaesthetists, clinical teams and operational colleagues, the Pathway Coordinator will oversee theatre scheduling, waiting list management and rota coordination, whilst providing high-quality secretarial support. The role requires excellent organisational, communication and problem-solving skills, with a focus on delivering a responsive, patient-centred service and ensuring the efficient running of the Anaesthetic Department.
Main Duties of the Job
Coordinate and monitor patient pathways, ensuring patients progress through their treatment journey efficiently and within agreed timescales.
Manage waiting lists, admissions, investigations and theatre scheduling, ensuring accurate tracking and communication throughout.
Maintain and manage theatre operating lists, ensuring changes are actioned promptly, patient pathways are accurately reflected and consultants, anaesthetists and theatre teams are kept informed of any amendments.
Provide comprehensive administrative and secretarial support to Consultant Anaesthetists and the wider Anaesthetic team.
Coordinate anaesthetic theatre rotas and short-notice cover arrangements, escalating capacity issues where required.
Act as a key point of contact for patients, clinicians and external organisations, providing a professional and responsive service.
Liaise with multidisciplinary teams to ensure referrals, investigations and treatment plans are coordinated effectively.
Support service improvement initiatives and contribute to the development of administrative processes and patient pathway management.
Maintain accurate patient records and ensure compliance with Trust policies, patient access standards and information governance requirements.
As the largest single site specialist heart and chest hospital in the UK, we, at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, have a clear vision 'to be the best cardiothoracic integrated healthcare organisation'.
We provide specialist services in cardiothoracic surgery, cardiology, respiratory medicine both in the hospital and out in the community.
We serve a catchment area of 2.8 million people, spanning Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales and the Isle of Man, and increasingly we receive referrals from outside these areas for highly specialised services such as aortic.
Our reputation for strong performance is important in delivering the best care for our patients and high quality clinical services. This is underpinned by a culture of research and innovation, delivered in modern estate and our encouragement of flexible working in a variety of forms.
Please visit our website - https://www.lhch.nhs.uk/
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Principal Accountabilities
The post-holder will coordinate all aspects of activity within the service line and be responsible for ensuring that the patient is tracked through the pathway and synchronising diagnostic tests and reviewing work practices. In addition, the Pathway Coordinator will be responsible for ensuring all patients within their portfolio are monitored and tracked, and ensuring information is communicated to the appropriate clinical and wider administrative staff within the Trust.
General Duties & Communication
- Planning and scheduling theatre lists and updating the operation lists with anaesthetist
- To arrange admissions and maintain waiting lists including the monitoring of progress with diagnostics and coordination with future treatment plans as required
- Maintaining Consultant Anaesthetists and senior registrars diary including recording any requests from consultants and teaching sessions
- Dealing with complex situations around covering shifts sometimes at very short notice
- Escalating capacity issues to the Divisional Management Team as appropriate
- To liaise with external agencies including coroner’s office, other hospitals, primary care,
DVLA, and DWP and provide reports/results where appropriate
- To liaise with other departments and take action where appropriate
- To relay critical information swiftly and accurately to internal and external partners
- Providing information to the management team when requested and use initiative to escalate any issues as appropriate
- Planning and scheduling theatre/Cath lab/operation lists in conjunction with the according to patients’ clinical priority and length of wait
- To use initiative with regard to patient referral letters and to take appropriate action to ensure that patient needs are met
Patient Liaison & Engagement
- To act as first point of contact for many patients, parents and members of the general public seeking information and support from the hospital. The post holder must be able to triage the calls appropriately, as well as deal sympathetically with people who may be bereaved. Assessing priorities and initiating action as required
- To provide an agreed level of general and clinical information relating to tests and investigations to patients. Demonstrate judgment to know when to pass the caller/patient on to a member of the clinical team
- To be able to arrange and schedule outpatient appointments (if required), day cases and investigations for patients (this will involve monitoring and tracking multiple tests and information for this action may come from various sources). Ensure that patients are informed accordingly
- To liaise with PALS about patient care and concerns
- To attempt to resolve informal complaints and to support the formal complaints process
Team Working
- Work with the Management team in the Division and work with wider teams across the Divisions
- Provide cover for anaesthetic consultant secretary for periods of leave
- Co-ordinating cover for theatres
- Distributing weekly rota to consultant anaesthetists
Policy & Service development
- To participate actively in team discussions on business planning and service development of administrative and scheduling systems, including the implications on these systems of changes in clinical practice
- To promote and maintain standards of health and safety within the work environment, reporting and recording accidents / incidents promptly
- Being aware of and adhering to administrative procedures and protocols relevant to the post
- Ensure the Trust’s patient access policy is adhered to
- To be involved in the training and supervision of temporary and junior administrative staff appointed to the unit
Education and Training
- To contribute to and agree a continuing Personal Development Plan.
- To attend internal or external courses as agreed within the plan or ad hoc training and development as requested by management.
- To attend on-going refresher training within their job role as legislation changes and upgrades to the PAS, EDMS or other local systems are introduced.
- Ensure mandatory training including Information Governance training is maintained within compliance date arranging time with line manager to complete when required.
- Participate in departmental meetings and awareness sessions as and when required.
- Employees are expected to develop their IT skills necessary to support the tasks included in their post. They will, therefore, be required to undertake any necessary training to support this.
