Patient Safety Incident Investigator

NHS; Dartford; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 49,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization in Dartford is looking for a Patient Safety Coordinator to assist the Patient Safety Team in delivering the annual work plan and NHS Patient Safety Strategy. The ideal candidate will have a solid understanding of healthcare risk management and the ability to influence patient safety improvements across the Trust. The position offers a salary of £40,617 to £48,778 per annum depending on experience.

Qualifications

• Substantial experience in a clinical governance role.
• Experience in patient safety investigation methodologies.
• Ability to produce high-quality incident reports.

Responsibilities

• Support the patient safety team with various investigations.
• Monitor daily incident reports and escalate concerns.
• Produce reports on findings and recommendations.

Skills

Healthcare risk management knowledge

Excellent communication skills

Data analysis IT skills

Education

Degree level education or equivalent experience

Vocational qualification in health or management

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Datix

Job description

This is an exciting and exceptional opportunity to become an integral member of the team who will be key to the evolving Patient Safety Strategy at Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust.

We as a Trust have fully adopted the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) and Learn from Patient Safety Events (LFPSE) and we are seeking an individual who will be a key member of our patient safety team. This person will work across our Trust sites supporting the clinical and non-clinical teams implementing thorough investigations into Patient Safety Incident Investigation's (PSII's) and/or other learning responses such as After Action Reviews (AAR's) or case reviews as necessary, using appropriate investigative methodologies with emphasis on system factors and learning/improvements to ensure effective, safe patient care.

We wish the applicant to be forward facing with room for innovative ideas and approaches to ensure we reach all of our invested community that cares about patient safety.

This position will not be supported for visa sponsorship. All applicants are expected to have valid right to work document to work in the UK when applying for this position.

Main duties of the job

Support the central Patient Safety Team with delivery of the annual work plan and NHS Patient Safety Strategy.

Act as a coordinator for patient safety investigation activity across the Trust.

Contribute to the development, application, monitoring and review of patient safety learning responses.

Support the process of analysing and embedding and testing the effectiveness of learning across the Trust.

Provide oversight and direction to Trust staff and will act as the advisor in relation to patient safety matters for the Trust.

Support the provision of integrated reports triangulating issues from concerns, incidents complaints, claims and inquest cases, national and local investigations to ensure key learning and improvement is progressed across our hospital services and the wider system.

About us

We are committed to being an inclusive and diverse employer. We strive to employ people who reflect the communities we serve, and aim to create an inclusive culture where everyone can reach their full potential. Whatever your race, ethnicity, belief, generation, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity, disability or experience, you'll appreciate the opportunities we give you to work in an inclusive atmosphere. We welcome applications from people of diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experiences to build on the progress we've achieved to make our Trust diverse and the best place to work. We celebrate the diversity of thought, viewpoints and ideas that help us overcome challenges and embrace new possibilities. We have signed the Armed Forces Covenant Pledge and have a commitment to the Armed Forces Community.

We are dedicated to using our Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) approach as our shared organisation model of change to enhance our services and ensure excellence in patient care.

If you are considering applying for a role, please be aware that as an NHS Employee you may have contact with vulnerable service users. We strongly encourage that all our staff are vaccinated against COVID-19 and are vaccinated annually against Flu, in order to protect the health and safety of our staff and patients. Your commitment will help us to put the safety and care of our patients first, as well as helping us to protect you and your colleagues.

Job responsibilities

Monitor incident reports on a daily basis from across the Trust.

Follow up on incidents reported and to determine levels of harm are correct, liaising with the Division and other staff.

Escalate patient safety concerns to the Lead Patient Safety Incident Investigator and/or Head of Patient Safety.

Produce reports summarising the findings, outcomes and recommendations from investigations into incidents that require learning responses (such as Patient Safety incident Investigations - PSIIS) and be responsible for the reporting of trends and themes for Trust PSIIs and or other learning responses.

Draft complex reports outlining the findings of these investigations and support Division governance leads as they compile action plans.

Help support the Divisions thorough investigations into PSIIs or other learning responses such as After Action Reviews (AARs) or case reviews as necessary, using appropriate investigative methodologies with emphasis on system factors and learning/improvements. Review and quality check investigation reports, as part of the quality check process prior to Patient Safety Assurance Panel and Executive sign off.

Assist in the analysis and formulation of action plans that may arise from risks/trends in patient safety and PSIIs.

Work to the process outlined in Trust policy in incident management including use of Patient Safety incident response framework plan (PSIRFP). Help support Divisions to use appropriate investigative methodology identify and review all sources of information in relation to the incident under investigation.

Use analytical skills to work through the complexities of contributory factors, use of system factors to full understand issues and areas for safety improvements. This will require familiarity with paper and electronic records, witness statements, patient safety investigative tools such as Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) and internal and national data sources.

Liaise with patients, their families or carers, and other service users to ensure all stakeholders receive information and reports. Ensure Engagement principles and Duty of candour processes are being followed as per Trust policy. Ensure patients/families are given an opportunity to ask questions as part of the investigation process.

Use professional judgment, involving highly complex facts or situations which require the analysis, interpretation and comparison of a range of options.

Monitor quality performance management indicators and escalate incidents of concern that may require escalation to senior Divisional staff and/or Safety Incident Declaration Group (SIDG). Ensure that lessons are learnt from patient safety incidents, which support the Divisions to ensure that learning is translated into quality improvements and examples that can be shared more widely.

Monitor the implementation of action plans that result from patient safety incident investigations including provision of support to the Divisional leads in the implementation of change. This will include the provision of reports alerting them to outstanding actions.

Contribute to the production and dissemination of a Trust-wide Governance Newsletter and ensure that a patient safety update is provided for shared learning on a quarterly basis.

Support the Patient Safety and Governance team with all patient safety related events/activities as required.

Support the Trust strategies for improvement in relation to Patient Safety indicators.

Provide administrative support that ensures the effective functioning of the Safety Incident Declaration Group, Patient Safety Group and Trust Patient Safety Assurance Panel.

Attend and advise other key committees in regard to Patient Safety as requested e.g. Divisional or Speciality Governance, Patient Safety Group.

Please see attached job description for further information

Person Specification

Education and Training

• Educated to Degree level or with equivalent experience
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Vocational qualification in health or management related subject

Knowledge and Skills

• Knowledge of healthcare risk management in the NHS
• Clinical background or evidence of a substantial understanding of clinical issues.
• Knowledge of medical terminology
• In depth knowledge of the web based and database system and processes. including web based database coding structures (Datix).
• Comprehensive knowledge of Microsoft Office in particular MS Excel and the use of PowerPoint, both of which to support the analysis of data, present information and develop training programmes.
• Knowledge of current and future health priorities.
• Awareness of the NHS Constitution and national Patient Safety Strategy.
• Excellent communication, negotiation and influencing skills. Demonstrable understanding of the NHS regulatory and compliance frameworks under which NHS Trusts operate.
• Awareness of diversity and human rights as appropriate to the role
• Data analysis IT skills

Experience

• Substantial experience in a clinical governance role.
• Evidence of experience inpatient safety investigation methodologies which may include PSII's, After Affter reviews, SWARM huddles or case reviews.
• Collaborating with subject specific experts to write root cause analysis or other investigatory reports.
• Developing and providing high quality incident reports to managers and subject experts on a monthly basis
• Dealing with patients and their families who may be upset, angry and/or distressed
• Experience of delivering training to a variety of staff learners.
• Participation in clinical governance or safety committees.

Personal Attributes

• Always puts patients' first.
• Ability to work as part of a team
• Able to maintain high standards of diplomacy and confidentiality
• High level of own work organisation, drive for performance and improvement
• High level of presentational skills
• Willing and able to take personal responsibility.
• Seeks out and takes opportunities for improving the service offered.
• Takes pride in their work and their team
• Flexible in their attitudes and behaviours to support team working and delivery of objectives
• Respects, values and cares for others
• Supports learning and development of self and others
• Ability to establish credibility and maintain effective working relationships with multidisciplinary colleagues

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.

£40,617 to £48,778 a yearper annum inclusive of allowances