Lead For Patient Experience And Engagement

Bedfordshire Hospitals Nhs Foundation Trust; Luton; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 92,000; Full time

Job summary

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in the UK seeks a senior leader to develop and implement the Trust strategy for improving patient and carer experience and engagement across Beds FT and related services.

The role is a high-impact, strategic position within the Corporate Nursing Team, providing expert advice and leading on patient experience initiatives, governance and improvement programs to deliver outstanding patient care.

Qualifications

• Master's degree or working towards this level.
• NMC/HCPC registration is required.
• Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to patient experience and engagement.

Responsibilities

• Interpret and anticipate health policy to ensure compliance with patient experience, engagement, equality, diversity & inclusion (EDI).
• Lead development and management of an information system for patient involvement (database).
• Provide leadership for patient experience and engagement teams; manage development and effectiveness.
• Drive training, education and professional development across the organisation as a specialist advisor.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Change management

Communication

Education

Master's degree

NMC/HCPC registration

Job description

Job summary

The post holder is the lead for the development and implementation of the Trust strategy for improving patient and carer experience and engagement for Beds FT and associated services. They will be an influential senior leader working within the Corporate Team to provide leadership and specialist advice concerning all areas of patient experience and engagement.

Main duties of the job

Will include:

• Interpret and anticipate national, regional and local health policy to ensure the Trust's strategic plans support compliance with regulatory requirements as they relate to patient experience, engagement, equality, diversity & inclusion (EDI) and feedback.
• To be responsible within the Trust for activity determined by national patient experience surveys and expectations, Friends & Family Test, national CQC survey and projects relating to sphere of responsibility.
• Lead on the development and management of an information system for involvement (database), to support and enable patients and the public to make an active contribution in the identification of improvements to the patient and carer experience.
• Provide effective leadership for all patient experience and engagement teams; responsibility for line management, development and effectiveness, ensuring all members create an environment of continuous quality improvement and development.
• Lead on proactive and innovative approaches to training, education and professional development across the organisation, acting as a specialist advisor on issues relating to using patient experience and engagement as a key driver for transformation.

About us

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides hospital services to a growing population of around 700,000 people living across Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas across two busy hospital sites in Bedford and Luton. Both hospital sites offer key services such as A&E, Obstetrics-led Maternity and Paediatrics.

You will be joining a friendly, high performing Trust committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff. As one of the largest NHS Trusts in our region you will have access to a programme of high quality training and development to help you grow your career. The Trust continues to be committed to delivering the best patient care using the best clinical knowledge and technology available.

Our values

We not only recruit based on qualifications and experience - we recruit individuals who demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. We achieve this by using values based recruitment. We are dedicated to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone, we are committed to promoting equality and diversity and creating a culture that values differences.

Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date when sufficient number of applications have been received. All new staff will be subject to a probationary period covering first 6 months in post. Travel between hospital sites may be required. Please review all documents attached to ensure you familiarize yourself with all requirements of the job.

Job responsibilities

The post holder is the lead for the development and implementation of the Trust strategy for improving patient and carer experience and engagement for Bedfordshire Hospitals FT and associated services.

They will be an influential senior leader working within the Corporate Nursing Team to provide leadership and specialist advice concerning all areas of patient experience and engagement.

They will take a significant role in the continued development of high quality patient experience, engagement and care quality throughout the Trust providing support and guidance to Trust staff ensuring a patient focused service.

They will support the delivery of a high quality, safe and compassionate healthcare service acting as a role model to others in all aspects of their work by consistently demonstrating the Trust strategy, objectives, vales and behaviours.

The post holder will be the primary source of expert, strategic professional leadership, advice and guidance to the Trust Board and service lines in matters of patient experience and engagement, including complaints in order to deliver an outstanding patient experience for the Trust.

They will provide leadership and management of the Trusts patient engagement and experience team, including patient and community focussed equality and diversity activities.

They will act as a source of professional advice and expertise, developing and acting upon specialist knowledge on current trends in NHS complaints and PALS, patient experience, service user involvement, quality improvement, equality & diversity/health inequalities by keeping abreast of relevant legislation, policy changes and national/regional impact.

The post holder will lead transformation in relation to patient experience and engagement across the organisation and collaborate with other system leaders, internal and external to the Trust.

They will listen and respond to the patient and carer voice; co-design engagement activities and be responsible for developing and implementing a collaborative and wide-ranging patient experience and engagement strategy as an enabler.

They will be responsible for driving significant improvements in-service as a result of the experience of care and ensure that the Trust has in place a robust monitoring system to collect evidence in support of the achievement of CQC outcomes and other relevant standards for patients.

Working with the Chief Nurse, Deputy Chief Nurse, Executives and Trust wide teams, the post holder will lead a number of significant engagement initiatives aimed at improving the patient experience and improving the Trust's reputation locally and nationally.

In conjunction with the executive Chief Nurse deliver quality improvement work streams and continuous improvements in standards of patient care and experience.

They will have a key liaison role with the Trust's patient safety partners, patients, families and carers as key participants, ensuring that the patient voice from all communities is heard.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Relevant Master's degree or working towards or experience of working at this level
• NMC/HCPC registration
• Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to the area

Experience

Essential

• Evidence of success in leading and managing change
• Experience of National agenda for patient experience
• Demonstrable experience within a senior role

Desirable

• Project management experience
• Previous experience of working in a similar role in an acute Trust

Knowledge

Essential

• Expert knowledge of the posts area of responsibility
• Sound knowledge of NHS agenda
• Detailed knowledge and understanding of current clinical issues in relation to relevant profession
• Able to build and maintain constructive relations across professions, teams and agencies

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.

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer details

Employer name
Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address
Cross-site
Luton & Dunstable Hospital, Lewsey Road
Luton
LU4 0DZ
United Kingdom

Employer's website
https://www.bedfordshirehospitals.nhs.uk/working-here/

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Deputy Director of Nursing

Ann Williams

[e-mail]

07871245828

Details

Date posted
17 August 2026

Pay scheme
Agenda for change

Band
Band 8c

Salary
£79,504 to £91,609 a year

Contract
Permanent

Working pattern
Full-time

Reference number
418-CORP92600-EH

Job locations
Cross-site
Luton & Dunstable Hospital, Lewsey Road
Luton
LU4 0DZ
United Kingdom

Supporting documents

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