Patient Safety Investigator and Inquest Assistant

NHS; England; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in the UK is seeking a Patient Safety Investigator and Inquest Assistant. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in conducting patient safety investigations, understanding incident reporting frameworks, and providing training to staff. This role offers the opportunity to contribute to the continuous improvement of patient services and directly engage in managing safety incidents. A commitment to making a difference in healthcare is essential.

Qualifications

• Experience in clinical settings is essential.
• Demonstrated experience in patient safety and incident reporting is required.
• Ability to train various grades of staff and present information effectively.

Responsibilities

• Conduct detailed patient safety incident investigations.
• Provide expert advice on patient safety incidents and ensure compliance.
• Train staff in incident investigation and manage inquests.
• Review investigations and ensure effective learning from incidents.

Skills

Investigation tools

Report writing

Training staff

Knowledge of patient safety

Job description

Patient Safety Investigator and Inquest Assistant

6 Month Fixed Term Contract/Internal Secondment

We are thrilled to announce an exciting opportunity within the Trust Patient Safety Incident Team. This role, as a Patient Safety Investigator and Inquest Assistant, is perfect for an aspiring healthcare professional eager to expand their knowledge and skills in a dynamic corporate environment.

This position offers a unique chance to be part of a busy patient safety team, where you will gain invaluable experience in incident management and investigation, with the opportunity to contribute to the continuous improvement of services.

Applications are sought from professionals who have experience in conducting investigations under the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework and can demonstrate an understanding of the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety Framework. Applicants will also need to demonstrate a passion for supporting the patient safety and patient experience agenda.

The focus of the role will be on conducting learning reviews such as Response Reviews, Case Reviews and After Action Reviews. Experience of Datix (or similar incident reporting system) is essential. The post holder will have limited involvement in the coronial process.

Are you passionate about making a difference and ready to take on new challenges, we encourage you to apply for this exceptional opportunity. We encourage any potential candidates to contact Caroline Le Milliere, Patient Safety Incident Lead for an informal discussion.

Main duties of the job

The Post Holder will support the daily management of the patient safety incidents that occur within the Trust in line with the requirement of the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF).

The Post Holder will conduct thorough initial response reviews in order to support the team and directorates to decide which type of incident response is required in line with PSIRF. The post holder will have a good understanding of the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) framework, ensuring 'Being Open' principles are applied.

The Post Holder will ensure that Service Users and their Carers/Families, Trust Staff and where appropriate, third parties are fully involved in the response process.

The Post Holder will coordinate a variety of different investigation responses such as Patient Safety Incident Investigations (PSII's), Case Reviews and After-Action Reviews, to supporting learning from patient safety incidents.

The post holder will coordinate a programme of embedded learning events. These events will continue to focus on key themes arising from patient safety incidents.

The post holder will support and prepare witnesses for inquest, attend the inquest as a constant attendee and record the inquest when required.

The post holder will deliver Patient Safety Incident Response and SEIPS training to new staff band 7 and above staff who may be asked to be on a patient safety incident response panel.

About us

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children's centres, schools and people's homes. We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people. Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

• We're Kind
• We Listen
• We Care

Job responsibilities

• Provide expert advice to all staff on matters related to patient safety incidents and investigations, ensuring compliance at all times with local and national guidance.
• Provide training to staff in undertaking patient safety incident investigations, and ensure that all those affected by an incident (patient, families and staff) are supported throughout the incident investigation process. As well as preparing staff for attendance at inquest and attending inquests.
• Ensure compliance with all statutory reporting requirements at all times.
• Plan, organise and conduct investigations into patient safety incidents and other incidents, adjusting plans or strategies as necessary with the support and direction of the Patient Safety Incident Team Lead.
• Work autonomously as an investigator and in conjunction with colleagues, escalating any identified risks to the Patient Safety Incident Team Lead.
• Identify and review all sources of information in relation to patient safety incidents under investigation, ensuring that the most appropriate response is identified in line with PSIRF.
• Effectively interview a wide range of staff and service users about their involvement in patient safety incidents in difficult circumstances to establish the facts including interview reluctant witnesses.
• Provide highly specialist advice in relation to investigations and SEIPS to improve and influence the care and treatment of patients.
• Provide and receive highly complex, sensitive and contentious information relating to patient safety incidents and other investigations and present this information to teams and groups as appropriate.
• Liaise with service users, carers, victims and their families following patient safety incident and throughout the investigation encouraging and supporting active engagement.
• Advising the Patient Safety Incident Team Lead on the quality, suitability and effectiveness of completed investigation reports.
• Present complex, unwelcome and sometimes distressing information to a range of internal and external stakeholders including service users and their families, victims and their families, senior clinicians and front line professionals.
• Critically evaluate and analyse complex, diverse and sometime contradictory evidence from a wide range of sources.
• Together with the Patient Safety Incident Team Lead, make recommendations as to whether people involved in incidents need to be dealt with through other processes using the principles of the Just Culture e.g. disciplinary investigations, police investigations, professional bodies and to exclude them where appropriate from the Patient Safety Incident Investigation process.
• Monitor the progress of investigations and implementation of recommendations, providing exception reporting to the Head of Patient Experience and Patient Safety.
• Produce, develop and present highly complex quality reports and analysis on incidents to the Trust Board, associated committees and for internal and external reporting requirements as required, with identified learning and thematic analysis.
• Review safety action plans to identify trends and themes and identify relevant actions to ensure learning is embedded into practice.
• Undertake audits, assurance visits and debriefs to discuss learning with teams and to review how actions are taken forward and embedded within relevant teams and across wider organisation.
• Participate in the development of an effective team and the development of productive working relationships throughout the Trust.
• Remain impartial and objective at all times.
• Advise, encourage and share knowledge utilising the latest research and practice development, through literature and peer reviews.
• Apply the principles and practice of blame free incident investigation across a diverse range of clinical services and recognise when specialist expert opinion is required.
• Contribute to the development and improvement of systems and processes for investigations and lead on allocated improvement projects.
• Carry out a review of medical records to identify the relevant staff to contribute to the coronial request.
• Support staff involved in coronial investigations and inquests and assist in the preparation of statements as necessary for submission to HM Coroner.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Experience

• Demonstration of experience of working within clinical settings
• Experience of patient safety, clinical incident reporting & risk management

Skills/Abilities/Knowledge

• Knowledge, understanding and competencies of investigation tools, techniques and methodologies
• Report writing skills
• Ability to present information and to train all grades of staff

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.