Head of Urgent & Emergency Care

Job responsibilities

The Urgent Care Programme team articulates and supports the delivery of NWLs vision of urgent care. This spans the full UEC care pathway, fully integrated with providers and ICB boroughs and crossing over acute, community, mental health and primary care settings.

By setting up integrated care pathways involving a mix of providers, the system aims to reduce footfall to acute sites, enabling people to be seen in appropriate places and times.

Key workstreams that the postholder will have oversight of are:

To implement the roll out of Same Day Emergency Care pathways across NWL, with the outcome of reducing acute overnight admissions.

The development and implementation of pathways for Urgent Treatment Centres across NWL and to ensure that the contract process supports these pathways

The development and implementation of pathways for 111 services across NWL and to ensure that the contract process supports these pathways

To ensure that performance standards are maintained and that mitigating actions are taken by the provider where required.

To ensure that 111 referrals to other providers are validated and improve the rate of appropriate redirection

To have oversight of 999 commissioning for NWL, including the development of hear and treat and alternate care pathways pathways for the LAS. To support the safe reduction of the number of patients conveyed to ED by developing and embedding a standardised referral process for key identified 999 patient cohorts.

To work with the performance and surge teams to monitor UEC activity, pressures on the system and co-ordinate both immediate and strategic actions to address these pressures across the system.

To develop the interaction and integration between Urgent Care and Primary Care pathways, including the development of direct booking pathways from all relevant services.

To develop pathways for Community and Rapid Response services that will support the avoidance of UEC attendances and admissions.

To lead on the development of UEC pathways for all patient cohorts, including:

To work with Mental Health providers and commissioners to develop and improved offer for patients with a mental health presentation who require urgent care.

Patients with long term conditions, ensuring that pathways into emergency care are understood and that patients have access to more appropriate forms of care where possible.

To work across the system to lead and support on the delivery of hospital and system flow initiatives.

To have oversight of the development of population health analytics for UEC that will support how NWL responds to current and future pressures.

To work with senior leads for UEC delivery and commissioning across NWL to develop the strategic vision and statements that will set out the systems objectives for future delivery and performance.

The role will work across the hospital care team to lead UEC initiatives and support the wider working of the team

Work with local authority and other system-wide stakeholders to ensure requirements meet the needs of population changes and new models of care.

Delivery of timely and effective reporting to local committees and partnership groups.

Develop and implement operating plans as required by national guidance, working with ICS teams, Local Authority, local borough teams.

Line manage team members including appraisal, development of PDPs and all aspects of people management.

Work at sector level to both lead the delivery of change and transformation for acute programmes across planned and unplanned care and to support programmes being delivered by others across the NWL system.

Lead the development and delivery of change and transformation programmes though an end to end programme approach to facilitate whole of pathway, whole of system improvement and deliver best value for money. Areas of transformation include workforce development, improvement to facilities, more efficient use of resources and at scale working in line with the development of the ICS.

Ensure oversight for reporting, assurance and governance processes with respect to delivery of change and transformation programmes.

Providing leadership to a team of programme, project manager and support roles enabling an effective team culture conducive to a high performing team.

Manage the teams business support function, including developing and managing the teams annual business plan, progress and dashboard reporting and risk and issue management.

Manage all corporate business returns, including planning and workforce returns.

Develop and implement a content management system to ensure information is properly managed and best practice is shared across the team, Directorate and the wider NHS organisations.

Take a lead in the coordination of training and development and recruitment activity across the Department or Directorate.

Oversight and management of all aspects of the Department or Directorate budgets

Key Working Relationships

The post holder will be required to have regular contact internal and external stakeholders and will often need to engage with them over sensitive, complex, contentious and confidential issues.

Participate in relevant internal and external working groups/projects, services and initiatives to provide project, information and analytical advice and expertise.

Overseeing the team to develop and implement project data collection systems that will provide accurate and timely data.

Present project information and issues, explaining complexities, to a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.

To liaise with other Managers to share best practice.

Functional Responsibilities

Operational requirements

Establish a clear programme of work and set of deliverables, articulating outcomes and benefits that will be delivered (clinical and financial), timescales for delivery and resources required.

Manage projects and programmes to deliver to these agreed outcomes and timescales.

Ensure that the programme has robust management structures and processes including: delivery plan, risk and issue management, governance, reporting, change management, dependency management.

Ensure regular programme board meetings are held and that these are effectively constituted to perform their role; receiving appropriate and timely information.

Support local areas and providers in local implementation of models of care to agreed NW London principles.

Present complex information in a clear, understandable and audience-appropriate manner to senior management and board level groups.

Ensure that best practice is developed and delivered at organisational and departmental levels. Challenge ways of working and persuade, motivate and influence other senior managers to realign their practice where necessary.

Personally lead, support and contribute to formal negotiations with senior level staff from external stakeholders, providing a high level of negotiating expertise to secure the most advantageous arrangements.

Advise on innovative opportunities and support all departments in their strategies and programmes to maximise service benefits.

Work closely with the Heads of other Department or Directorate to ensure that units understand and adhere to rules and standards, intervening as appropriate.

Ensure the securing of value for money, giving due consideration to all relevant factors including risk, quality and other factors.

Devise, manage and update policies and procedures, ensuring the adoption of best practice methodology, rules, standards and thresholds. Disseminating these methodologies etc. to staff within the department and throughout the organisation.

Collect and report on information of expenditure within the organisation and other relevant governing bodies.

Financial and Physical Resources

The post holder will have budgetary responsibility within the department and the services provided within that function. This will include evaluating the value for money of new contracts, monitoring the performance of existing providers and ensuring that provider performance aligns and complies with contractual terms

Act in a way that is compliant with Standing Orders and Standing Financial Instructions in the discharge of this responsibility.

Constantly strive for value for money and greater efficiency in the use of these budgets and to ensure that they operate in recurrent financial balance year on year.

Have a good working knowledge of NHS Standard Contract. Additionally, familiarity with other contract form is important.

Staff and Relationship Management

Support and line manage the team and demonstrate leadership in supporting development of team members to achieve their potential

To manage, motivate and develop staff within the team to ensure that they are able to deliver the new responsibilities of the NHS. Including the management of disciplinary procedures as required, undertake staff consultation and consider welfare and safety matters, taking into account instructions and guidelines issued.

To recruit as necessary and performance manage a team that delivers a range of tasks within a matrix structure in a new and challenging environment.

Provide a coaching approach to encourage others to develop and actively create opportunities to enable everyone to learn from each other

Ensure that they are appropriately supported in the shaping of the Hospital Care Programme Undertake performance appraisals and identify and support staff personal development

Use appraisal and development policy and procedure at ensure that appraisals are undertaken regularly. Build relationships with the all provider and delivery agents and

Manage key relationships with other stakeholders, including NHS England (London Region) and the voluntary sector.

Support the development of outcome-based service specifications and support standardised contracting approach to deliver the desired outcomes.

Work with nominated clinicians and others through the sector to ensure that the programmes are clinically led and owned.

The remaining of the JD is in the attached

Other

Essential

• An ability to maintain confidentiality and trust
• Used to working in a busy environment
• Adaptability, flexibility and ability to cope with uncertainty and change
• Commitment to continuing professional development

Qualifications

Essential

• Educated to masters level or equivalent level of experience of working at a senior level in specialist area.
• Extensive knowledge of specialist areas, acquired through post graduate diploma or equivalent experience or training plus further specialist knowledge or experience to masters level equivalent
• Evidence of post qualifying and continuing professional development

Desirable

• Member of relevant professional body.

Analytical and Planning Skills

Essential

• Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands.
• Ability to analyse complex facts and situations and develop a range of options.
• Takes decisions on difficult and contentious issues where there may be a number of courses of action.
• Strategic thinking ability to anticipate and resolve problems before they arise.
• Plans and organises a broad range of complex activities, formulating and adjusting plans to reflect changing circumstances.
• Develops and inputs into strategic planning across NHS at a senior, organisation wide level and within specific teams and programmes.
• Works with Stakeholders to develop performance improvement plans and to develop plans for innovation and opening up the market.
• Good use of available information sources to enable efficient and effective planning
• Ability to work under pressure and to tight and often changing deadlines

Desirable

• Ability to carry out procurements for highly detailed, high value contracts that require analysis, comparison and assessment.

Experience

Essential

• Must have an understanding of the background to and aims of current healthcare policy, nationally and regionally, including a comprehensive understanding of Urgent and Emergency Care
• Should have an appreciation of the relationship between NHS England and individual provider and commissioning organisations
• Provide and receive highly complex, sensitive and contentious information, negotiate with senior stakeholders on difficult and controversial issues, and present complex and sensitive information to large and influential groups.
• Present to a wide array of audiences using a variety of means
• Persuade board and senior managers of the respective merits of different options, innovation and new market opportunities.
• Negotiate on difficult and very complex and detailed issues.

Management and Financial Skills and Autonomy

Essential

• Skills for direct line management and job management, able to develop others and build and consolidate a team
• Skills for delivering results through managing through others and using a range of levers in the absence of direct line management responsibility.
• Skills for managing relationships with a range of different stakeholders at a senior level
• Ability to work on own initiative and organise workload, allocating work as necessary.
• Ability to make decisions autonomously, when required, on difficult issues.
• Previously responsible for a budget, involved in budget setting and working knowledge of financial processes

Equality and Diversity

Essential

• Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of equality of opportunity and diversity taking into account and being aware of how individual actions contribute to and make a difference to the equality agenda.
• Evidence of a practical commitment to implementing equality of opportunity and diversity

Physical Skills

Essential

• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office with intermediate keyboard skills.

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).