Patient Support Coordinator

Horatio’s Garden is a nationwide charity creating and nurturing beautifully designed gardens in NHS spinal injury centres. We are seeking two creative, dynamic people with warm and welcoming personalities for the roles of Patient Support Coordinator, one for each of the following locations:

• Horatio's Garden Midlands, The Midland Centre for Spinal Injuries
• Horatio’s Garden Scotland, Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

You will be responsible for organising and running a range of social and creative activities for people with spinal injuries and their families and friends to enjoy during the week and at weekends, creating an uplifting, friendly atmosphere in Horatio’s Garden and garden room.

Currently the programme includes crafts, quizzes, glass fusing workshops, felting, printing, talks, painting, ceramic workshops, seasonal celebrations with lunches, baking, live music performances and social afternoons. 

You will need to be a highly organised person who is confident working independently in the garden and via Teams with the Events Programme Manager, Evie Redwood. The role is part-time, 10.5 hours a week, consisting of one weekend afternoon (approx. 4 hours), a weekday afternoon workshop (approx. 3.5 hours) and 3 hours of admin time a week. You will need to be flexible with your availability, working when patients are available – this can vary. 

This is a fantastic opportunity for a self-driven, proactive individual who is efficient, well-organised and has an outgoing personality. You will need to be adaptable and happy working with a wide range of stakeholders including people with spinal injuries and their families, NHS staff, volunteers and many different teams within the charity.

Key responsibilities for the role of Patient Support Coordinator include:

·       Creating a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, encouraging people with spinal injuries and their families to engage in the Events Programme that is organised in the garden.

·       Asking patients what activities they would like to do.

·       Working virtually with the Events Programme team to plan activities that reflect patients’ requests.

·       Going into the wards to help patients to come out to the garden and garden room in hospital beds or wheelchairs. You will have training for this.

·       Hosting creative workshops in the garden, ensuring all aspects run smoothly.

·       Running arts and craft sessions yourself, organising social activities and writing quizzes so a creative flair is essential.

·       Booking high-quality speakers, entertainers and freelance creative people to run sessions.

·       Working alongside session facilitators to support them. 

·       Coordinating catering arrangements and serving food and drinks.

·       Making posters and updating blackboards to promote activities, as well as   advertising the sessions via word of  mouth.

·       Building relationships with NHS teams in the spinal unit.

·       Handling the administrative side of the role, including risk assessments, ordering materials and budget-monitoring.

·       Collecting feedback from patients, their visitors and NHS staff during and after the sessions.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Essential

• Outstanding interpersonal skills with experience of stakeholder engagement and networking.
• Experience of planning and event organising.
• Experience of workshop facilitation.
• Excellent creative and artistic skills, with the ability to deliver workshops.
• Confident working alone and with volunteers.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.

• Excellent time management skills.
• High level IT competency, specifically proficient with Microsoft Office 365 including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint.

Desirable 

• An interest in the wellbeing benefits of gardens.
• Experience of working with the NHS or in a healthcare setting.
• To have creative and musical skills and contacts within the local community.
• Full clean driving licence, with access to a car.

Qualities

• Upbeat and outgoing personality with brilliant people skills.
• Professional and confident.
• Proactive, can-do attitude.
• Empathy, kindness and excellent communication skills. 

• Calm under pressure and able to thrive in a busy role.

• Ability to prioritise and adapt the programme to suit the interests of changing patient groups.

• Self-motivated and capable of working with the minimum of direction but understanding the limits of your knowledge and able to seek advice when required.
• An eye for detail, making sure all aspects of the programme are organised and maintained to the highest quality.

The role is a fantastic opportunity for an enthusiastic all-rounder to be involved in a dynamic charity, helping to make a difference to people who have experienced spinal injuries.

As a Charity we are committed to creating and promoting a culture that protects and preserves the welfare of the vulnerable people in our care. Our safer recruitment practices support this by ensuring that there is a consistent and thorough process of obtaining and evaluating information from and about candidates including criminal record checks, to ensure that all persons appointed are suitable to work for our Charity.

We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from all sectors of society.  

NOTE: An enhanced DBS/PVG check and reference checks will be conducted as part of the recruitment process.