Quality Assurance Coordinator

University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust; Poole; On-site; GBP 52,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust, a three-site acute trust with university hospital status through our partnership with Bournemouth University, commits to high quality care and governance.

The post holder will support the corporate Quality Assurance team across care groups to ensure CQC compliance, oversee evidence systems and national alerts, and help develop policies, with Interview: 6th October.

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent NHS/clinical healthcare qualification.
• Knowledge of CQC inspection methodologies and requirements.
• Experience in quality assurance and governance.
• Ability to work with diverse teams and manage timelines.

Responsibilities

• Assist Head of Quality Assurance to deliver quality assurance systems.
• Link corporate QA with care groups to support CQC compliance.
• Develop and maintain evidence for external monitoring and national guidelines.
• Attend Policies and Procedures Group and meetings.
• Investigate quality data issues and escalate trends.
• Provide specialist advice on QA toolkit implementation.

Skills

Quality governance

CQC standards

Data analysis

Project management

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Degree or equivalent NHS/clinical healthcare

Tools

CAS alerts database

Quality governance toolkit

Job description

As University Hospitals Dorset we are a three site acute trust with ‘university hospital’ status through our partnership with Bournemouth University, working with an annual budget of £730m.

We offer highly regarded health services, employing some 10,000 staff. Our ambitious £500m transformation programme is well on the way to delivering state-of-the-art facilities over the next two years to meet the current and future healthcare needs of the populations we serve.

In an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with over seven miles of sandy beaches you’ll find inspirational opportunities to achieve your perfect work/life balance. With the New Forest and the Purbecks on our doorstep, we’re also less than three hours from London by road or train. The thriving towns of Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch give way to idyllic villages and unspoilt landscapes just minutes from our hospitals.

We believe that having a diverse workforce, and allowing people to be themselves, is essential in ensuring we offer an inclusive, welcoming and productive place to work.

We especially welcome applications from minority groups in the community who may be underrepresented in our workforce.

At UHD our active staff network groups are the Women’s Network, Black Asian Minority Ethnic Group (BAME), Pride Network, European (EU), Pro Ability Staff Network, and the Armed Forces Support Group.

As a Trust we are proudly signed up to the Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant guaranteed interview schemes.

We are aware that some candidates may choose to use AI tools to support the preparation of their application. While this is not discouraged, we kindly remind applicants that submissions should remain an honest and accurate representation of your own experience and suitability. Personal integrity is an important part of the recruitment process.

Job overview

The post holder will support the corporate Quality Assurance team in ensuring robust quality governance across the Trust, working closely with care groups to maintain CQC compliance and meet wider national standards.

The role involves developing and maintaining systems for evidence collation, CQC enquiries, external monitoring requirements, and national alerts, while providing specialist advice on the Quality Governance Toolkit and compliance processes. The post holder will liaise with staff at all levels, support preparations for CQC inspections, challenge quality‑related issues constructively, and contribute to the ongoing development of policies, procedures, and governance improvements.

Interview: 6th October

Main duties of the job

Assist the Head of Quality Assurance in the safe and effective delivery of quality assurance and associated systems in order to meet the requirements of key external standards and assessments including those undertaken by the Care Quality Commission (CQC)

Act as a link between the corporate quality assurance function and the care groups supporting compliance with CQC standards.

Support the overall delivery of the quality governance toolkit through the development and implementation of procedures, policies, and processes across the Trust.

Attend the monthly Policies and Procedures Group to offer support and guidance on behalf of the Quality Assurance team.

Attend Specialty/Directorate Quality and Safety meetings as required.

Investigate and analyse issues arising from all types of Quality data including mortality, incidents, audits, LERNS and external reports and elevate any issues and trends to relevant stakeholders and forums.

Develop quality governance guidance, toolkits and other support materials and interpret and translate regulation into an understandable format for all Trust staff.

Develop and maintain effective systems to ensure appropriate evidence is available to support external monitoring such as CQC, HSE, Peer reviews, accreditations National Confidential enquiries (NCEPOD), and other national and local requirements.

Working for our organisation

UHD are investing, developing and transforming Trust services in line with the New Hospital Programme. As part of this, some services may move site this year or next, either temporarily or permanently. Recruiting Managers will be happy to answer any service-specific questions at interview.

If a role or service relocates as part of a planned move, excess mileage will not be reimbursed. Travel from home to the new work base will be classed as a normal commute. Any other changes will be managed under Trust or national terms and conditions.

UHD has active networks including Women’s, BAME, Pride, EU, Pro Ability, and Armed Forces. We support Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant interview schemes.

AI tools may be used, but applications must honestly reflect your own skills and experience. Integrity is key to our recruitment process.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To work as a key member of the corporate Quality Assurance team to ensure that robust quality governance arrangements are in place and good governance practice is embedded within the care groups.

To support the overall day-to-day delivery and strategic development of the quality governance agenda within the care groups (including CQC requirements and other national guidance relating to quality governance) and support with the development of plans for change in practice, policies, and procedures as necessary.

To support the Quality Assurance Facilitator to maintain and develop the Trust’s CQC compliance and open enquiries database(s) ensuring that evidence is recorded systematically to inform regular reports on trust wide and care group/directorate level compliance.

To support the Quality Assurance Facilitator to develop and maintain an effective system of collating all evidence relating to external requirements including the CQC standards to ensure the trust can demonstrate levels of compliance when required.

Provide advice and guidance to staff at all levels to ensure appropriate submission of evidence for compliance against CQC standards.

To be responsible for providing specialist advice to the Care Group teams on the implementation of the quality governance toolkit and quality governance management.

To constructively challenge processes and behaviours in relation to quality of care, escalating to direct line managers any performance issues as required.

To develop and maintain a central register for capturing details of and tracking progress against CQC specific enquiries and support collation of information to provide a timely response.

To support trust preparations for announced and unannounced (focussed and thematic) CQC inspections.

To liaise with staff at all levels of the organisation in order to ensure trust wide understanding of key quality governance/assurance priorities and projects. This may be through 1-1 sessions with key staff, presentations or attending formal meetings.

To support the Quality Assurance Facilitator to develop an effective system of obtaining, collating, and storing evidence to support the Trust compliance against key external monitoring standards via in house databases or external systems.

To support maintenance of an up-to-date database of CAS alerts and ensure that all related compliance evidence reports are logged centrally, and action plans created and monitored for National Patient Safety Alerts.

To support the Quality Assurance Facilitator to develop and maintain an up-to-date database of NCEPOD recommendations and ensure that all actions are updated and provide a bi-annual report to Clinical Governance Group.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent experience in NHS or clinical healthcare discipline
• Knowledge of CQC inspection methodology and requirements

Experience

• Practical experience in at least one area of quality assurance and governance
• Experience of managing projects, deadlines, and fluctuating workloads
• Clinical or senior operational management background

Technical skills and competencies

• Ability to interpret and analyse information and data to ensure effective reporting and progress of workstreams.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure.
• Excellent negotiation skills to ensure groups work together.

Knowledge

• Knowledge of relevant governance structures, Trust policies, procedures guidelines and protocols
• Knowledge of legislation, guidance, and the regulatory framework relevant to CQC fundamental standards of care
• Knowledge of all current health service issues

Please note:

Staff recruited are expected to be available to work flexibly across all our Trust locations to meet service demands.

This advert may be closed early if sufficient applications are received.

COVID-19 vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself and our patients from the virus when working in our healthcare settings. Whilst this vaccination is not a condition of employment we do encourage our staff to get vaccinated.

Internal Candidates: staff employed prior to merger who voluntarily change jobs will be appointed to UHD terms and conditions.