Job responsibilities
Job Title: Patient and Family Support Clinician
Location: Head Office, Exeter & Eaglescott airbases,
with frequent requirement to travel
to various locations, primarily in Devon but also within the wider South
West region and opportunities to work remotely.
Reports to: Patient and Family Support Manager
Hours: 37.5 per week.This could be made up of two part-time positions.
Grade: Registered
Healthcare Professional
Salary: £40,000 FTE
Support: Internal:
Patient and Family Support Manager, Head of Patient
Services
External: Patients,
their relatives or legal representatives, Acute Hospitals, Care Networks, Other
Air Ambulance services, NHS Ambulance Service, Police FLOs, other support
agencies.
RESPONSIBILITIES, DUTIES, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
Communications and relationships
Strong communication skills, regularly providing reassurance and
empathy in emotionally challenging situations.
Provide clear and accurate written documentation when needed.
Actively contribute to Clinical Governance processes,
including sharing experiences, participating in Clinical Governance days,
following up with patients/families, and presenting case studies.
Collaborate with Devon Air Ambulances (DAA) Fundraising and
Communication teams to facilitate patient and family interactions when they
wish to share their experiences.
Work closely with the Patient and Family Support team to
ensure coordinated and effective support.
Assist the Patient and Family Support Manager and Operations
Director in Duty of Candour processes, maintaining clear, open, and honest
communication with patients and families when care did not meet expectations.
Represent Devon Air Ambulance as an ambassador, promoting good
public relations.
Use clinical knowledge to explain complex illnesses, injuries,
and prehospital treatments, including medications, surgical procedures, and
anaesthesia.
Maintain a solid understanding of DAATCL's Scope of Practice
and the Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison Committee (JRCALC) Guidelines.
Knowledge and experience
Registered Healthcare Professional with a minimum of two years
post-registration.
BSc or relevant experience in Critical Care, Advanced Clinical
Practice, Rehabilitation, or support roles for patients or vulnerable
individuals.
Evidence of relevant postgraduate study.
Have a strong history in prehospital or hospital based
critical care.
Experience of working within multi-disciplinary teams.
Experience with bereavement support is beneficial.
Experience in a patient-facing role post-professional
registration, preferably with Air Ambulance or pre-hospital experience.
Strong knowledge of CQC Fundamental Standards and 'Key Lines
of Enquiries' and their impact on clinical practice and organisational
governance.
Good understanding of regional care pathways for emergency and
critical care patients, including ED, intensive care, cardiac care,
rehabilitation, and enablement services.
Understanding of research and audit principles, including
patient outcome measures.
Ability to handle conflict and differing opinions effectively.
Resilient and self-motivated.
A good level of insight and ability to manage own wellbeing as
well as supporting the wellbeing of the team.
Training/Qualifications
Maintain a clean Enhanced DBS certificate, including adult and
child Barring List clearance.
Willing to complete statutory training and professional development
as required by the organisation.
Hold a full UK driving license with no more than 3 penalty
points.
Proficient in IT, including Microsoft Outlook, Excel,
PowerPoint, Teams, and database management.
Planning and organisational skills
Identify trends and themes from patient and family experiences
to support Quality Improvement.
Plan and deliver education sessions on Patient and Family
Support and related projects to clinicians, the wider organisation, and
external stakeholders.
Liaise with healthcare providers, charities, and support
agencies to support patients and families, incorporating best practices and
learnings into DAATCL.
Collaborate with Heads of Clinical Services, Operations,
Patient Services, and the Clinical Governance Lead to ensure patient feedback
is shared.
Coordinate responses and collaborate with other Air Ambulance
services Patient and Family Support teams.
Creative and Intellectual Effort
Acknowledge the frequent exposure to distressing or traumatic patient/family
recounts, often involving discussions of care provided by DAATCL with
relatives of severely injured or deceased patients.
Production of reports drawn from information from a variety of
sources.
Host airbase visits for patients and their families
Emotional effort
Frequent
exposure to patients/family recounting distressing and/or traumatic
circumstances, with the need to discuss the care provided by DAATCL.
Frequent
requirement to communicate in person with relatives of severely injured or
deceased patients.
Provide sensitive timely support to patients and families who have
been treated by DAATCL, including answering questions about the care provided
by DAATCL and supporting and/or signposting them to other agencies who offer
mental and physical wellbeing support.
Provide peer and wellbeing support to other Patient and Family Support
team members.
Provide
peer support and wellbeing assistance to other members of the Patient and
Family Support team.
Physical skills and effort
This
role will require minimal manual handling.
This
role will require standard keyboard skills.
Accountability, autonomy and judgement
Accountable
as a Registered Healthcare Professional for upholding the standards of
conduct, performance, ethics and CPD as required by their professional body.
Accountable
for maintaining personal awareness of organisational communications, policies
and procedures.
Able
to uphold the highest Infection Prevention & Control (IP&C)
standards.
Able
to work within data protection regulations and procedures.
Demonstrates
sound judgement in considering where patient harm may have occurred and
escalate as appropriate to the Patient and Family Support Manager, or in
their Absence, the Operations Director.
Ability to make judgements involving a range of facts or
situations requiring analysis, interpretation and comparison of a range of
options.
Accountable for results and unafraid to learn from mistakes.
Financial, physical and information resources
Accurate review of patient clinical records/clinical database.
Maintain the highest standards of Infection Prevention &
Control (IP&C).
Exercise sound judgement in identifying potential patient harm
and escalate concerns appropriately.
Good data processing and analytical skills.
Policy and service
Accountable for staying informed of organisational
communications, policies, and procedures.
Support the development of processes and procedures related to
Patient and Family Support.
Engage in team reflection and learning, identifying areas for
improvement and sharing insights.
Assist with the monthly submission of Patient and Family
Support updates to the Clinical Committee and deputise for the Patient and
Family Support Manager at meetings.
Comply with DAATCLs Information Governance policies and UK
Data Protection legislation.
Collaborate on policy and service development, while
independently leading on related tasks when needed.
Working conditions
Be
prepared to use VDU for extended periods.
Work
hours must be flexible to accommodate service, meeting, and visit schedules.
Occasional
requirement to work outside regular office hours, including weekends.
Leadership and people
Provide
feedback to clinicians to help improve patient care delivery.
Offer
advice and guidance to non-clinical staff on the scope of care provided by
Devon Air Ambulance and the Patient and Family Support service.
Foster a
learning culture that encourages collaboration, creativity, and
responsibility.
Uphold
DAAs values and behaviours, promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion.
Demonstrate
high integrity and openness.
Work well
both independently and as part of a team.
Devon Air
Ambulance is signed up to Acevos Diversity
Principles which will help
address the diversity deficit in charity leadership. DAA does not discriminate on the basis of
race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age,
marital status or disability status.
