Patient Safety Partner Job Description

Job title: Patient Safety Partner
Band: N/A, out-of-pocket expenses should be covered/reimbursed, and they should be offered an involvement payment of £150 per day (more than four hours) or £75 per half day (four hours or less).
Responsible to: Patient Safety Specialist
Accountable to: Director of Nursing – Patient Safety

Role description / summary

The mid & South Essex patient safety partner (PSP) will be actively involved in the design of safer healthcare at all levels across a range of local health and care organisations. Your main role will be to work with us to ensure that we prioritise the safety requirements of our patients, thereby maximising the things that go right and minimising the things that go wrong for people receiving our services.

This involves attendance at meetings to support and review safety issues providing appropriate challenge to ensure system wide learning, contributing to the development and implementation of processes and equitable patient outcomes. The PSP should ensure that any committee/group of which they are a member considers and prioritises the service user, patient, carer, and family perspective and champions a diversity of views. Meetings may require face to face attendance or be held online, the PSP must be comfortable with either approach.

Skills and experience

• An understanding of and broad interest in patient safety.
• Ability to communicate well in writing and read comprehensive reports.
• Ability to understand and evaluate a range of information and evidence.
• Confidence to communicate well verbally with senior leaders about strategic issues, as an advocate for patient safety.
• Ability to provide a patient, carer, or lay perspective and to put forward views on behalf of the wider community/groups of patients (not own opinion only).
• Experience of championing health improvements; able to be a critical friend.
• Interaction with multiple stakeholders at senior management level.
• Experience of interactions with health and care services or organisations.
• South judgement and an ability to be objective.
• Personal integrity and commitment to openness, inclusiveness, and high standards.

Training

The PSP will be given training in patient safety and incidents. This will be through a blended approach with a combination of e-learning, virtual webinars, and face to face facilitation. Where possible and appropriate, this training will be with multi professional teams. Mandatory training will also be required, including following:

• Information Governance
• Equality and Diversity
• Safeguarding Level 1
• Confidentiality
• Conflicts of Interest
• Patient Safety

Planning and organising

• Ability to plan time to prepare for meetings and undertake any other activities required as part of the role.
• Self-sufficient in being organised, requiring minimal help from staff to remember meetings, ensure papers are read.
• To attend PSP support meetings and training events.

Personal

• Adhere to the principles of the Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System (ICS) values and organisational cords of practice, including policies and procedures.
• Demonstrate professional etiquette at all times when representing the patient voice on behalf of Mid and South ICS.
• Adhere to the Nolan Principles, these include selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.
• Reflect sensitivity and empathy when receiving lived experience information supporting the privacy and dignity of the patient/family member sharing the dialogue.
• Inform their Patient Safety Specialist if unable to attend meetings or undertake any other identified activities.
• Work with fellow PSPs to develop a network of expertise across the ICS.

Support to colleagues

• Support and guide new PSPs where required.
• Take part in PSP networks to receive peer support and share learning.

Communication

• Report any safety incidents to your Patient Safety Specialist.
• Ensure that patient confidentiality is always maintained.

Infection control

• Adhere to the principles of hand hygiene when on NHS premises.
• Ensure that visitors and staff adhere to the principles of hand hygiene and direct them to hand washing facilities where necessary.

Equality and diversity

• Understand individual patients’ needs, consideration for cultural and religious requirements.
• Act in accordance with Mid & South Essex ICS policy and procedures.

Health and safety

• Report any environmental factors that may contravene health and safety requirements.
• Ensure that you follow organisational policies and procedures.
• Attend induction and mandatory training as required for the role.

Person specification

Organisational duties

Codes of conduct

The ICB requires the highest standards of personal and professional conduct from all its employees. All employees must comply with the Code of Professional Conduct appropriate to their professional governing body and to the ICB’s Code of Conduct.

Equal opportunities

The ICB is committed to equal opportunities that affirms that all staff should be afforded equality of treatment and opportunity in employment irrespective of sexuality, marital status, race, religion/belief, ethnic origin, age, or disability. All staff are required to observe this standard in their behaviour to fellow employees.

Safeguarding children, young people, and adults at risk

Safeguarding is a key priority for the ICB. Staff must always be alert to the possibility of harm to children, young people, and adults at risk through abuse and neglect. This includes being aware of the adults who may find parenting difficult. All staff should be able to recognise the indicators of abuse and know how to act on them, including the correct processes and decisions to be undertaken when sharing information. The depth of knowledge staff work from must be commensurate with their role and responsibilities (as per Intercollegiate Document 2014). All staff must follow the safeguarding policies, procedures, and guidelines, know how to seek specialist advice, and must make themselves available for training and supervision as required.

Confidentiality

All employees are required to observe the strictest confidence with regard to any patient/client information that they may have access to, or accidentally gain knowledge of, in the course of their duties. All employees are required to observe the strictest confidence regarding any information relating to the work of the ICB and its employees. Staff are required not to disclose any confidential information either during or after their employment with the ICB, other than in accordance with the relevant professional codes. Failure to comply with these regulations whilst in the employment of the ICB could result in action being taken.

Data Protection

All employees must adhere to appropriate ICB’s standards/policies in respect of the use of Personal Information, including guidance on the use and disclose of information. The ICB also has a range of policies for the use of computer equipment and computer-generated information. These policies detail the employee’s legal obligations and include references to current legislation. Copies of the Policy on the Protection and use of Personal Information and other Information Technology can be obtained from the ICB.

Health and safety

The ICB expects all staff to have a commitment to promoting and maintaining a safe and healthy environment and be responsible for their own and others welfare.

Risk management

All staff will be responsible for adopting the Risk Management Culture and ensuring that they identify and assess all risks to their systems, processes, and environment and report such risks for inclusion within the ICB Risk Register. Employees will also be required to attend mandatory and statutory training, report all incidents/accidents including near misses and report unsafe occurrences as laid down within the policies.

Governance

All staff have a responsibility to be aware of governance arrangements and ensure that the reporting requirements, systems, and duties of action put into place by the ICB are complied with.

Policies and procedures

All employees are expected to comply with all the policies and procedures drawn up by the ICB.

No smoking policy

The ICB is a ‘no smoking organisation’ therefore staff are not permitted to smoke whilst on duty. All NHS staff are expected to recognise their role as ambassadors for a healthy lifestyle. As such, staff should not smoke whilst in uniform, in NHS vehicles, or on ICB or other health care premises.

Infection control

All staff must observe the code of practice for the prevention and control of infections (updated 2015) and ensure that they understand and implement their responsibilities in the prevention and control of infection.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check

If the post is one that requires a disclosure (at whatever level) from the DBS, the organisation retains the right to request that a further disclosure is sought at any time as deemed to be appropriate. Where an appointment has been made and the ICB is awaiting the outcome of a DBS check, which subsequently proves to be unsatisfactory, the employment will be terminated.

Criminal convictions

If, during the course of their employment, an employee is convicted of or charged with a criminal offence (with the exception of a traffic offence) whether it arises from their employment or otherwise, the employee is required to report the matter to the Human Resources Department who will decide on the appropriate course of action. Should an employee be convicted of an offence and receive a custodial sentence, the ICB reserves the right to terminate the contract of employment, after careful consideration of the facts. Failure to report a conviction may itself lead to disciplinary action being taken. Any information will be treated confidentially, except insofar as it is necessary to inform other relevant members of management. Additionally, if driving is part of an employee’s duties and they are convicted of any traffic offence, they must report it to Human Resources Department who will decide on the appropriate course of action.

Mobility
Employees may sometimes be required to attend at other locations or expected to travel to anywhere within the ICB footprint.

Other duties
This job description is not a definitive or exhaustive list of responsibilities but identifies the key responsibilities and tasks of the post holder. The specific objectives of the post holder will be subject to review as part of the individual’s performance review/appraisal. There may be a requirement to undertake other duties as may reasonably be required to support the ICB in accordance with your grade/level in the organisation.

Patient Safety Partner Job Description (docx, 58kb)

Patient Safety Partner Expression of Interest Form (docx, 54kb)

Equality and Diversity Monitoring Form (docx, 232kb)