Transfer of care Operational Lead
The closing date is 18 September 2025
Job summary
This vacancy holds restrictions - Only available to candidates currently employed by UHD, Dorset County Hospital, Dorset Healthcare NHS Trusts, Dorset Council, BCP Council and NHS Dorset.
The Dorset System is currently transforming Urgent and Emergency Care and Intermediate care and as part of this are improving our integrated approach to managing transfers of care and system flow. The development of our transfer of care and flow hub model is an important part of our ambitions to reduce unnecessary hospital stays and ensure people receive timely and effective care at home in the community.
We are now looking for an experienced clinician with excellent leadership skills who is able to build positive relationships and toimplement change and improvements to people's experience and managing our recovery, rehabilitation and reablement pathways before and after discharge from hospital. We are seeking a person who has the ability to work strategically and to be accountable for the oversight, activity and performance within transfers of care and discharge to assess/intermediate care services across Dorset.
The postholder will need to work in an agile way and to manage the demands of working in a fast-pace environment, providing excellent support to our operational teams in the transfer of care and flow hubs in Dorset. You will be joining the Dorset system at an exciting time of change.
Main duties of the job
Key Responsibilities
Lead and coordinate patient flow across acute and community services.
Identify and address barriers to timely discharge and transfer.
Use data and analytics to monitor flow performance and drive improvements.
Work with multidisciplinary teams to develop and implement best practice approaches and pathways to manage transfer of care and flow.
Provide escalation.
Act as point of escalation for individual patient escalations, working with senior leaders across organisations to resolve barriers to discharge and prevention of readmission.
Support escalation processes and work strategically with system partners to manage demand and resilience including leadership of TOC escalation actions aligned with OPEL escalation levels.
Collaborate with system partners (e.g., social care, community services) to improve discharge pathways.
Ensure consistent approach by the TOC and flow team to manage provider performance and escalate unresolved issues of provider quality, capacity and performance to relevant commissioning teams.
Lead service improvement projects focused on flow and capacity management and contribute to future delivery models.
Provide expert advice and guidance to senior leaders on flow-related issues and intermediate care.
Ensure compliance with national targets and local performance indicators.
About us
At Dorset Healthcare we're on a mission to empower people to make the most of their lives through our outstanding, joined-up healthcare services. We're a dynamic, forward-looking Trust, running 12 community hospitals, specialist inpatient facilities and a wide range of integrated community and mental health services for a population of almost 800,000 people.
We do things differently here - it's one of the reasons the CQC rated us 'outstanding' in 2019. It's also why 95% of patients across our services say they have a good or very good experience of our services and 89% of staff feel they can really make a difference. Whether you're looking to work with us in one of our bustling market towns, vibrant urban locations, thriving seaside spots, or among the rolling hills of Dorset, there are lots of ways you can make a difference in our communities.
Our 7,000-strong workforce is at the heart of what we do and our success is a testament to our brilliant people. We're all about building a workplace for the future, we believe in equal opportunities and we celebrate diversity. We're an inclusive workplace, where everyone is welcome, everyone can be authentic, and we are all encouraged to be the best version of ourselves.
Working with us you'll be part of a strong team, challenge yourself, build a career, and teach us what we don't know. And you'll be working towards our vision to be better every day through excellence, compassion and expertise in all we do.
Details
Date posted
05 September 2025
Pay scheme
Agenda for change
Band
Band 8b
Salary
£64,455 to £74,896 a year p.a.
Contract
Permanent
Working pattern
Full-time
Reference number
152-C182.25
Job locations
Sentinel House
Nuffield Road
Poole
BH17 0RB
Employer details
Employer name
Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Sentinel House
Nuffield Road
Poole
BH17 0RB
Employer's website
https://www.dorsethealthcare.nhs.uk/work-for-us (Opens in a new tab)
Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact:
Supporting documents
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