Head of Patient Safety and Improvement

Job responsibilities

Improving quality and outcomes using insight and evidence for improvement:

Support the implementation of the NHS patient safety strategy within the Trust.

Provide patient safety expertise / leadership within the organisation, demonstrating compassionate leadership, visibility and supporting the continued development of the patient safety culture.

Support patient safety improvement, ensuring that systems thinking, human factors understanding, and Just Culture principles are embedded in patient safety processes.

Promote patient safety thinking as an approach that incorporates learning from incidents as well as all other outcomes including routine performance, good performance, near misses etc.

Support responses to patient safety incidents, ensuring adherence to national policy and guidance enabling timely reporting and facilitating multi-agency reviews where required.

Support implementation of the new Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF)

Communicate patient safety issues, including the definition, framing, escalation and presentation of identified risks at executive/board level and report on the progress of the implementation of PSIRF and any associated patient safety action and improvement plans.

Ensure mechanisms / policies are in place so key lessons lead to actionable recommendations / improvements that can be measured and monitored across the organisation from all internal and external organisational reviews, high level enquiries and reports relating to patient safety.

Oversee patient safety improvement programmes that support the NHS patient safety strategy and local patient safety priorities, including Deteriorating patient and VTE.

Ensure information and intelligence from patient safety incidents and emerging patient safety issues is used as the basis for local patient safety development including leading on thematic reviews.

Enabling clinical leadership:

Support clinical teams in managing and providing safe services through risk management of environmental, clinical and organisational risks to patient safety. Working with staff to collate timely and robust insights to support patient safety improvement.

Support the embedding of patient safety requirements in induction training and development systems

Ensure that clinical leadership is central to the delivery of all patient safety activities.

Ensure local patient safety improvement programmes are truly multi-professional, and linked to the key non-clinical staff groups

Work collaboratively, to provide clinical and/or patient safety expertise to others developing and designing patient safety systems and policy

Promoting equality and reducing inequalities:

Uphold organisational policies and principles on the promotion of equality

Create an inclusive working environment where diversity is valued, everyone can contribute

Support the utilisation of relevant healthcare information to enable an understanding of inequalities that occur in patient safety and how these can be addressed.

Ensure all patient safety improvement actions and initiatives regularly consider how their approach can be strengthened to have a positive impact on health inequalities.

Partnership and cross boundary working:

Nurture key relationships, create and maintain networks internally and externally to support patient safety improvement, and participate in networks specifically for patient safety specialists. Working with other patient safety specialists within the Integrated Care System (ICS) to support a system level network. Existing external networks include those established by NHS England National Patient Safety Team and Regions.

Nurture key relationships with People teams, particularly in relation to Just Culture, and aspects of recruitment, induction, training and development that impact on patient safety

Collaborate with the Academic Health Science Networks (AHSN) / Patient Safety Collaboratives (PSC) to create networking opportunities to support the improvement programmes identified in the patient safety strategy.

Recognise the links between systems that are safe for patients and systems that are safe for staff, and work closely with those leading improvements to staff safety

Maintain regular contact with key external organisations and report internally on any relevant information received.

Leadership for transformational change:

Develop and maintain effective working relationships with a wide range of staff across the organisation

Work with directors to embed an open and just safety culture, where safety insights, involvement and improvement are integral to everyday business

Act as the key contact for the organisations response on patient safety and risk issues with commissioners/providers and other partners via PCNs, ICS etc.

Operational:

Responsible for developing and delivering/implementing patient safety policy, promoting innovation and supporting operational excellence

Working with a range of data, facts and situations often requiring detailed analysis and interpretation making decisions on the most appropriate approach.

Monitor, interpret and quality assure progress against patient safety deliverables.

Support the management of complex and cross-system investigations by promoting multi-agency working

Chair and/or attend key meetings in relation to patient safety to assure the Board that patient safety is being managed

Provide relevant stakeholders with timely, relevant, accurate and reliable information and high-level reports on patient safety progress

Report to Sub-Board/Board-level patient safety committee on patient safety, escalating as required any significant risks which could impact on the organisations ability to meet internal or national standards, targets, or performance expectations.

Influence and have direct access to the executive/leadership team, including access at no notice to escalate immediate risks or issues.

People Management:

Manage, enable, engage, and develop staff and patient safety partners within the team to ensure that they are able to deliver/be involved in patient safety implementation and improvement

Provide line management to the Clinical Governance Manager and Patient Safety Improvement Manager.

Responsible for the recruitment and development of staff, including undertaking appraisal and development.

Financial:

Be accountable and responsible for authorising expenditure within an allocated budget, maintain balance, identifying CIP opportunities and managing the budget in cost effective ways.

Information Management:

Support the effective use, management and maintenance of patient safety and incident management systems across the organisation, ensuring that they meet national and local needs to deliver effective patient safety insight.

Ensure that information is presented clearly and concisely, through written reports or presentations aimed at various levels and staff groups as required.

Prepare a range of reports of varying levels of complexity for people at different levels within the organisation. This includes analysing a range of complex facts, interpreting them and drawing conclusions and recommendations for service improvement

Promote patient safety insight as an approach that incorporates understanding all sources of patient safety intelligence, including from incidents, risk assessments, investigations, mortality and morbidity reviews, inquests, research, clinical audits, GIRFT reviews, positive experience, compliments and complaints, litigation, patient and staff surveys, in line with the measurement principles set out in the NHS Patient Safety Strategy.

Research and Development:

Work in partnership with systems providers to ensure continuous patient safety improvement and best practice.

Ensure safety improvement actions and programmes integrate the research evidence base for effective clinical approaches (e.g. NICE guidance) wherever this is established

Enable the organisation to benefit from relevant innovations in patient safety by drawing from experience and expertise in other academic fields and industries

Maintain and continue professional development and keep up to date with national developments and best practice in specialist areas.

Planning and Organisation:

Accountable for developing and owning the operational patient safety strategy and working with the team to ensure that this is incorporated into a consolidated plan.

Chair or attend as appropriate, meetings with varied internal and external key stakeholders to facilitate the delivery of the patient safety strategic objectives.

Embed robust governance structures within patient safety.

Training and development:

Support the implementation of the patient safety syllabus working with the HR/workforce directorate to make patient safety a core element of training for every member of staff in the organisation.

Promote good practice and understanding of the principles of patient safety throughout the organisation.

Policy and Service Development:

Responsible for proposing and drafting changes, implementation and interpretation to national policies, guidelines and service level agreements (SLAs) which may impact on patient safety.

Lead on local patient safety policy development and implementation in relation to the NHS patient safety strategy

Support the design and implementation of the NHS patient safety strategy within the organisation and ensure there is a robust performance monitoring system in place

Identify gaps or weaknesses in the organisations patient safety arrangements and develop measures to address these.

Educations, Training and Qualifications

Essential

• Recognised clinical qualification.
• Educated to Masters level in a relevant discipline or working towards or equivalent level, or equivalent experience of working at a senior level.
• Post-graduate management, leadership or specialist qualification or previous experience.

Desirable

• Post-graduate patient safety qualification or previous experience.
• Quality improvement qualification or previous experience.

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Experience of working in a patient safety-related role with an understanding of the principles that underpin approaches to improving patient safety in health systems.
• Experience and knowledge of the components of clinical governance, incident response, risk management and assurance function; current NHS national policies, standards, requirements and directions that relate to measuring and improving the quality and safety of patient care.
• Knowledge and experience of developments in quality improvement science.
• Knowledge of the NHS patient safety strategy and how it can be implemented.
• Experience of implementing national guidelines and policies with the ability to interpret national advice, policies, guidance and requirements and advise their organisation on how these should be implemented.
• Experience in project and change management in a healthcare environment and driving improvement for the safety of patients which can include techniques and tools such as Agile, Prince 2 or Managing Successful Projects.
• Experience of working collaboratively with patients, service and stakeholders to improve quality of service by co-design.
• Knowledge of systems thinking, human factors understanding and just culture principles.
• Experience in providing advice on complex professional and other people issues.
• Knowledge of safeguarding and the legal duties expected of NHS organisations.
• Evidence of post qualifying and continuing professional development.
• Experience of developing & delivering training programmes.
• Demonstrable experience of budget setting and managing a budget.

Desirable

• Experience of working in a strategic leadership role supporting Board Executives, this includes voluntary experience.
• Knowledge and understanding of the Equalities Act 2010, including the importance of collecting and analysing data on key protected characteristics.
• Knowledge and understanding of the factors that contribute to healthcare inequalities and access to services.

Skills, capabilities and attributes

Essential

• Ability to interpret complex information, including patient safety incident data, administrative data, mortality data, that may conflict and where expert opinion may differ.
• Ability to communicate effectively with clinical, academic and all levels of staff.
• Ability to provide senior leadership and work with senior leaders.
• Ability to contribute to the patient safety debate.
• Ability to develop and communicate a vision, and convert that into plans, objectives and deliverables working to tight and often changing deadlines.
• Ability to develop and maintain collaborative relationships and deal confidently with staff at all levels of an organisation.
• Ability to develop, maintain and monitor information systems to support innovation initiatives.
• Ability to make decisions autonomously, when required, on difficult issues.
• Ability to manage time effectively and to prioritise .
• Ability to use established networks and create new ones to share good practice and facilitate engagement with regional colleagues and the national patient safety team.
• Able to negotiate and influence at an organisational level and externally with a range of stakeholders.
• Attention to detail.
• Demonstrates sound judgement in the absence of clear guidelines or precedent, seeking advice as necessary from more senior management when appropriate.
• High quality presentation skills and ability to provide and effectively communicate highly complex, sensitive and contentious information to staff, patients and relatives/carers, particularly where a potentially antagonistic or highly emotive atmosphere may present significant barriers to acceptance.
• High level analytical skills and the ability to draw qualitative and quantitative data from a wide range of sources draw appropriate conclusions and present in a clear concise manner.
• High level critical thinking skills.
• Show credibility and enthusiasm for patient safety.
• Show enthusiasm and interest in ensuring others are trained and developed in patient safety, as appropriate.
• Self-awareness with effective coping strategies.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office with intermediate keyboard skills.

Values and behaviours

Essential

• Ability to take actions which support and promote the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda.
• Actively develops themselves and supports others to do the same.
• Be willing and committed to developing expertise in all aspects of patient safety science, such as human factors, systems thinking, investigation, quality improvement, change management, prospective and reactive risk analysis and management, error theory and just culture.
• Commitment to and focused on quality, promotes high standards in all they do. Able to make a connection between their work and the benefit to patients and the public.
• Commitment to and proactive in addressing inequalities in healthcare in general and in patient safety in particular.
• Consistently looks to improve what they do, look for successful tried and tested ways of working, and also seeks out innovation.
• Consistently puts clinicians and patients at the heart of decision making.
• Courage to speak truthfully and challenge appropriately.
• Demonstrably involves patients and the public in their work.
• Enables change, viewing it as an opportunity to learn and develop.
• Kind and compassionate.
• Needs to have a thorough understanding of and commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion with good working relationships both in terms of day-to-day working practices, but also in relation to recruitment, service delivery and management systems.
• Self-awareness in terms of emotional intelligence, biases and personal triggers with cultural sensitivity and awareness.
• Uses evidence to make improvements, seeks out innovation.
• Values diversity and difference; operates with integrity and openness.
• Works collaboratively across boundaries, looks for collective success, listens, involves, respects and learns from the contribution of others.
• Works well with others, is positive and helpful, listens, involves, respects and learns from the contribution of others.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).