Patient Safety and IPC Manager

Mediclinic; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 300 000 - 400 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Cape Town seeks a qualified professional to enhance patient safety and infection control. This role involves establishing a culture of safety, conducting audits, and ensuring regulatory compliance. The ideal candidate should have a nursing qualification and experience in patient safety or infection control. You will lead initiatives to manage risks and support clinical colleagues to improve patient outcomes. This is an opportunity to make a significant impact in a healthcare setting.

Qualifications

• Nursing qualification (degree or diploma) is essential.
• 1-2 years in Patient Safety or Quality Improvement preferred.
• Proficiency in clinical data analysis and understanding infection risks.

Responsibilities

• Establish and improve Patient Safety culture in the hospital.
• Implement Infection Prevention and Control programs.
• Conduct audits and ensure regulatory compliance.

Skills

Knowledge in risk management systems

Proficiency in systems analysis

Facilitating team sessions

Conducting compliance audits

Basic knowledge of legislative requirements

IPC surveillance and risk identification

Understanding IPC principles

Writing reports

Basic computer skills (MS Office)

Education

Nursing qualification (degree or diploma)

Formal Infection Prevention Control short course

Postgraduate Diploma in Infection Prevention and Control

Job description

Mediclinic is an international private healthcare services group, founded in South Africa in 1983, with divisions in Switzerland, Southern Africa (South Africa and Namibia) and the United Arab Emirates.

MAIN PURPOSE OF JOB

To establish, improve and sustain the Patient Safety behaviour, outcomes and culture in the hospital.

This starts with the identification, reporting and analysis of clinical patient harm events and the use of these findings alongside hospital clinical outcomes and divisional Patient Safety priorities to plan, facilitate and execute improvement work. It includes supporting and capacitating of clinical colleagues to use approved Patient Safety and Quality Improvement methods within daily clinical work to effect Continuous Improvement and better patient outcomes.

Finally, the role monitors whole-system performance by tracking and mitigating risks to clinical Patient Safety and Regulatory compliance through quality control, audit and assurance activities.

Infection Prevention And Control

To ensure the implementation and maintenance of a functional Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) programme at hospital level to prevent and control infections and provide a safe environment for patients, healthcare workers and the broader community.

To perform surveillance, risk identification, investigation, classification and analysis to enable targeted interventions and trend monitoring to reduce healthcare associated infections and transmission. To ensure that all healthcare associated infections are classified according to surveillance definitions and reported in order to manage risks. To assess practice based on evidence based guidelines, provide outcomes, recommendations and support for intervention and improvement. Ensure adherence to regulatory requirements. To support and develop IPC knowledge and application and adherence to IPC principles in all aspects of healthcare delivery.

KEY RESPONSIBILITY AREAS

PATIENT SAFETY (50%)

• Identify, report and investigate Patient Safety using systems analysis methodology.
• To lead the MCSA Patient Safety culture at the hospital through Quality Improvement (QI) initiatives and awareness of patient safety risks and mitigation methods.
• Identify training needs in the hospital to enable and build a Patient Safety and Quality Improvement culture.
• Manage and oversee clinical audits and accreditations and ensure compliance with Statutory and Regulatory requirements including Medico-Legal investigations.

INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL (50%)

• Identify, mitigate and manage risks related to Infection Prevention and Control.
• Investigate, analyse and interpret clinical data and act upon findings.
• Manage and oversee IPC audits and ensure compliance with Statutory and Regulatory requirements.
• Identify training needs in the hospital and provide input in the development of training material.
• Manage key stakeholder relations.

Required Education

ESSENTIAL EDUCATION

• Nursing qualification (degree or diploma).

DESIRED EDUCATION

• Formal Infection Prevention Control short course.
• Postgraduate Diploma in Infection Prevention and Control.

Required Experience

DESIRED EXPERIENCE

• 1 - 2 years Patient Safety or Quality Improvement related work, supervision of a small team.
• 1 – 2 years IPC related work, supervision of a small team.

Required Job Skills And Knowledge

• Demonstrates sound knowledge in the utilisation of systems related to risk management, e.g. Safety event management system.
• Demonstrates proficiency in the system analysis and analytical thinking to identify factors contributing to patient harm and of healthcare-associated infections and institute preventative measures.
• Proficient in facilitating team sessions in an inclusive, non-punitive manner to understand system contributing factors to Patient Safety events using appropriate tools such as systems analysis or driver diagrams.
• Demonstrates proficiency in the conducting of audits to ensure compliance and closing of gaps following audits (e.g. compliance to hand hygiene and environmental cleaning audits).
• Demonstrates basic knowledge and application of all relevant legislative requirements and accreditation standards.
• IPC surveillance and risk identification.
• Identification, investigation, management of outbreaks.
• Understanding and application of relevant IPC principles.
• Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of Quality Improvement initiatives and the implementation thereof based on the Model of Improvement and principles of QI science.
• Demonstrates proficiency in the writing of reports and feedback.
• Demonstrates basic computer skills (e.g. MS Office package).
• Demonstrate sound knowledge of enabling a Patient Safety culture and the models the behavior of a “Just culture.”
• Interpretation and application of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) definitions.
• Demonstrates competence in the classification of adverse events.
• Demonstrates proficiency in analysing and interpreting data, understanding variation and using data for Quality Improvement rather than judgement.