Head of Patient Safety / Patient Safety Specialist

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Head of Patient Safety to join the Risk and Patient Safety team to lead the Patient Safety function made up of a small team of Patient Safety Investigators, a Patient Safety Learning Coordinator and Patient Safety Administrator., The Head of Patient Safety will lead on incident investigation and quality assurance in relation to patient safety. The Head of Patient Safety will be responsible for the provision of expert patient safety advice and input into strategic issues including the development and implementation of the trusts Quality and Safety Strategy, playing a key role in steering the strategic direction for patient safety within the Trust based upon the National Patient Safety Strategy.
The post holder will be a formal named Patient Safety Specialist leading on, or directly supporting patient safety improvement activity, ensuring that systems thinking, human factors understanding and "just culture" principles are embedded in all patient safety processes across the Trust. The Head of Patient Safety will support the development safety systems within the Trust which positively promote learning from incidents and patient feedback.
To support the delivery of a high quality, safe and compassionate healthcare service, all staff are expected to act as a role model to others in all aspects of their work and consistently demonstrate NNUH's 'PRIDE' values of People focused, Respect, Integrity, Dedication and Excellence and demonstrate behaviours that support and encourage an inclusive culture., + Lead, line-manage, and develop the incident investigation team ensuring that they are properly trained, appraised and developed, that investigations are conducted in an impartial and professional manner, co-opting resources as necessary, and that high quality reports are produced in line with national standards.
+ Support the shift the focus of incident investigation to the identification of systems failures, analysis of Human Factors and Safety II principles, and promote a "Just and Restorative Culture" within the Trust.
+ Offer expert guidance on patient safety investigation methodology and support subject matter expects in completion of learning responses which do not meet Patient Safety Incident Investigation (PSII) criteria in line with Trust's Patient Safety Incident Response Plan (PSIRP).
+ Responsible for ensuring that frameworks and processes are followed for learning assurance for Patient Safety Incidents, never events, patient experience feedback (compliments, complaints and concerns), and mortality reviews including Prevention of Future Deaths notices (s28) and LeDeR reviews and the output from this informs safety improvement work; seeking evidence that learning has been acted upon promptly is key.
+ Responsible for oversight of the Trust Incident triage process, ensuring this is regularly reviewed and meets the needs of the organisation.
+ Responsible for the management of national patient safety alerts, liaising with the CASLO, ensuring that a gap analysis is undertaken, and actions are put in place to ensure compliance within expected timeframes.
+ Identification and oversight of risks associated with patient safety and ensure that these are entered onto the Trust risk Register and managed robustly.
+ Support the development, implementation, and monitoring of national and local safety initiatives.
+ Provide expert advice in relation to patient safety, safety science ensuring that systems thinking, human factors understanding, and "just and restorative culture" principles are embedded in all patient safety processes across the organisation.
+ Actively acts as a role model in own behaviour and fosters an inclusive positive, restorative and learning culture across the Trust.
Please refer to the Job Description for the full specification of responsibilities and requirements for this post.
The Job Description, which includes a Person Specification, provides a full outline of responsibilities and requirements for this role. Please use your supporting statement to demonstrate how you meet the person specification., Visa and Immigration
If you are wishing to apply for this role and would require sponsorship (this includes if you are already in a sponsored post and looking to change employer), you can determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for this post by assessing your circumstances against criteria specified on the gov.uk website https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/your-job.
Travelling to work
Staff parking is available onsite; however, this is limited during core working hours. We have more capacity in the evening and at weekends and can usually provide spaces during those hours.
We look to allocate these spaces fairly. Our Travel Office have a set of criteria that staff must meet in order to qualify. If you qualify for a space, you may be placed on a waiting list if we are at full capacity.
The NNUH is served by a number of public buses, and we offer generously discounted monthly passes with First Bus & Konect.
The Costessey Park and Ride runs regularly each day from 06:30 (from P&R) to 20:45 (from NNUH) and this service is free for NHS staff. There is a regular Thickthorn P&R service as well which is free. Applications to the Travel Office are required for this service. We also have a discounted service from the airport P&R if you purchase a bundle. Please see Konect website for further details.
The NNUH host multiple bicycle racks and a salary sacrifice scheme. We also benefit from a Beryl station onsite.
If you work at another Trust site, please discuss travel and parking arrangements at interview.
DBS
If this post involves working with children or adults the application form will ask for information regarding previous convictions as you will be required to undertake a Criminal Record and Barring Check known as a DBS check.
If you are a new employee or registering with the Staff Bank you will need to meet the cost of this unless your salary is less than point 9 of Afc
NHS Service
Should you be appointed to the post we will need to establish any previous NHS service via the ESR IAT and we will accept the submission of your application as your agreement to this.
UK Registration
You will need to have current UK professional registration where this is a requirement of the role.
Application
Following candidate feedback and to reduce our dependency on paper, all our communication with you regarding your application will be by email so could you please check your e-mails (and Spam) regularly.
We value equality in our team and recruit from all sections of the community. We recognise there is a wealth of talent among people who have a disability and if you meet the minimum criteria detailed in the person specification and have a disability, you may wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme by indicating this in the relevant section on your application.
We look forward to receiving your application and if you do not hear within the next four weeks this will usually mean that you have not been short-listed. However, if you wish to confirm this please contact the person indicated on the advert.
Flexibility
Whilst every effort will be made to recruit to the post as it is advertised, there may be occasions where we consider alternative working patterns, such as part time working, or contract types, such as secondments, depending on circumstances. Should you wish to work in a different working pattern to that stated in our advertisement, please indicate this in the supporting statement to your application.

The Risk and Patient Safety team oversees and manages the following areas: Safety Incident Reporting, Patient Safety, Risk Management, Learning from Deaths, Quality Governance and compliance. The whole team works in a hybrid and flexible way to support the needs of the organisation and individual members. We are looking for a friendly, enthusiastic colleague, passionate about patient safety with a good sense of humour to join us.
You will need to be self-driven with excellent communication and interpersonal skills with an ability to work at all levels of the organisation. You will take pride in your work, be highly motivated, professional, have a flexible approach, good organizational skills, have strong professional curiosity and attention to detail and be able to deliver training, work to deadlines and write reports.
If you are passionate about patient safety and can provide leadership and oversight of the Trust Safety Governance processes, ensuring that safety learning responses are proportionate, encourage and support active engagement, meet the required standard and extract maximum systems learning to inform improvement and transformation work, this could be the role for you.

NHS AfC: Band 8b
At NNUH it is our privilege to provide healthcare to over one million people across Norfolk and surrounding areas. Our vision is to 'provide the best care for every patient', and if this inspires you and you share our values, we really want you to join our team.
NNUH is currently the busiest Trauma Unit in the East of England caring for almost 850 trauma patients annually many with complex care needs. We are enhancing our urgent and emergency care specialist services for patients with significant injuries as a result of trauma and have an ambition to become a Major Trauma Centre.
Our values support our vision and guide the behaviour of everything we do, these are:
People-focused
We look after the needs of our patients, carers and colleagues, to provide a safe and caring experience for all.
Respect
We act with care, compassion and kindness and value others' diverse needs.
Integrity
We take an honest, open and ethical approach to everything we do.
Dedication
We work as one team and support each other to maintain the highest professional standards.
Excellence
We continuously learn and improve to achieve the best outcomes for our patients and our hospital.
Wish you were here? So do we., Join us at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and be part of a workforce of over 10,000 staff!
The NNUH is one of the largest NHS trusts in the UK, providing first-class acute care for around one million people, living in Norfolk and surrounding areas. We are a teaching and research hospital, at the forefront of innovation, home to state-of-the-art facilities, such as the Quadram Institute. We are pleased to work closely with the University of East Anglia, providing teaching opportunities for our staff and placement opportunities for their students. We attract some of the best and leading professionals from across the country and are proud that our workforce represents 94 countries from across the world.
We are a friendly, collaborative hospital, working with local services and home to N&N Hospitals Charity
We can offer you the full range of NHS benefits/discounts and in addition:
+ Flexible working hours
+ Fast Track Staff Physiotherapy Service
+ Multi Faith prayer room
+ Discounted gym memberships
+ Excellent pension scheme and annual leave entitlement
+ Wagestream - access up to 40% of your pay as you earn it
+ Free Park & Ride service direct to NNUH site
+ Free 24-hours confidential counselling support
+ On-site Nursery
+ On-site cafes offering staff discounts
+ Support in career development
+ Flexible staff bank
+ Salary Sacrifice schemes including lease cars, Cycle to Work scheme and home electronics