Head of Quality Assurance and Education (CCC)

Head of Quality Assurance and Education (CCC)

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a 12 month secondment to the above role commencing in January 2024. This is a full time position 37.5hrs per week, reporting directly to the Director of Operations CCC.

The post holder is accountable for CCC Education, quality assurance through both clinical and non-clinical audit and quality improvement working with NHS Pathways, internal and external partners.

The postholder requires strong leadership skills to drive change in line with the strategic direction of the Trust. You will be required to ensure both national and local standards are achieved, providing management of services achieving quality and productivity that meets the needs of the Trust.

You must have excellent knowledge of CCC technical systems, NHS Pathways, quality audit, education expertise and experience. You will require an understanding of standard operating procedures and be able to work across both 999 and 111 services.

You will lead a large and diverse team of people, and the role will require strong working relationships across several directorates, including Patient safety, 999, 111, Operations, Recruitment etc.

Main duties of the job

To support the delivery and development of clinical quality improvement activities in the CCCs, by developing and supporting the delivery of agreed Clinical Audit and Effectiveness programmes, ensuring compliance in all aspects of clinical procedures, protocols and directives within the CCCs, providing strong leadership, managerial support and strategic direction and resilience for the development and delivery of quality measures within the CCCs in order to support the achievement of the National Ambulance Standards in Emergency and Urgent and Patient Transport Services and other Key Performance Indicators, delivering excellent patient services which exceed user expectation

To develop reporting systems, processes and quality assurance tools which capture and demonstrate the trusts compliance with national clinical standards ensuring compliance with Care Quality Commission and NHSLA standards, implementing policies and procedures monitoring progress against the strategic plan adjusting plans and strategies in line with a changing environment

Benefits we offer:

• Full training and support when you join and ongoing throughout your employment with us.
• Holiday entitlement is 27 days rising to 29 days after 5 years and 33 days after 10 years, plus 8 bank holidays (pro rata for part time).
• Enrolment into the NHS Pension Scheme.
• Access to continual professional development and opportunities within SCAS and the NHS.
• Occupational Health support along with an Employee Assistance Programme.
• NHS Discounts in over 200+ stores including Holidays, Days out, Car insurance, Restaurants and Clothing.
• Staff networking and support groups.

About Us

South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust provides a range of emergency, urgent care and non-emergency healthcare services, along with commercial logistics services.

The Trust delivers most of these services to the populations of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire as well as non-emergency patient transport services in Surrey and Sussex.

We serve a population of over 7 million and answer over 500,000 urgent calls a year. We employ 4,551 staff who, together with over 1,100 volunteers, enable us to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Performance Management

To ensure that all national and local standards, in relation to quality clinical assurance and effectiveness, are achieved within the EOCs, ensuring that all services are managed to a high quality and meet the needs of the trust, being responsible for ensuring that all appropriate and reporting standards are met

To work closely with the Ass Director of EOC and the Head of Performance Information the post holder will lead and manage the implementation and delivery of the clinical quality assurance framework across all EOCs, supporting local improvement in challenged areas, assisting with established delivery support and to determine new systems of support to counteract poor clinical performance

To ensure that all national and local standards, in relation to clinical quality assurance, are achieved and that all monitoring indicators in relation to EOC activities are met in order to ensure optimal compliance at all times, taking remedial action to improve clinical service delivery (in consultation with the Clinical Directorate, as necessary) and ensuring compliance with all information requirements for national reporting and meeting information governance requirements, including particular responsibility for specialist advice and performance measurement of the Clinical Support Desks staff and AMPDS delivery

To ensure that all clinical services delivered by the EOCs are of the highest quality and comply with the Trusts clinical governance strategy

To ensure that effective and consistent working systems are applied across all divisions of the Trust to achieve the efficient and effective clinical compliance within the EOCs in line with current policies, procedures and protocols, developing and implementing a wide range of strategic and transformation projects within the EOCs to support enhanced clinical delivery

Monitoring and Reporting

To continually monitor performance of the clinical and AMPDS teams, reporting anomalies and deviations from the expected results to the Ass Director, identifying areas for improvement within the EOCs, evaluating and initiating the implementation of programmes developed to monitor and report on outcomes, and to report on compliance across the Trust

To produce regular detailed clinical quality assurance reports and presentations, including reporting to the Board and relevant trust committees, with regard to EOC performance against clinical targets and standards

To ensure effective mechanisms are in place to audit clinical practice within the EOCs for AMPDS/NHS Pathways and Clinical Support Desk staff and to be responsible for ensuring that clinical practice is evidence based, regularly monitored and compliant

To be responsible for reviewing roles, responsibilities and workload allocation of the clinical Audit and effectiveness review teams in line with staff development and service changes

To ensure that the Trust has in place data and evidence collection systems to make certain that the capacity monitoring process for quality assurance within the EOC is effective and supports the appropriate use of resources to ensure efficient and effective patient care

To continually monitor and analyse information against quality standards, developing and implementing procedures to reduce clinical risk and to improve clinical care through the use of the clinical and critical systems employed within the EOCs in line with regulations, policies and procedures and national guidelines

To be responsible for implementing the Trusts policy in relation to EOC clinical audit, reporting to and acting on the guidance of the Quality and Safety Committee

To ensure compliance with the licensing requirements of IT service providers (eg AMPDS/NHS pathways), reviewing audit procedures and effectiveness as appropriate ensuring that licensing standards are applied and adhered to at all times, reporting any breaches with requirements immediately to the Director. The NHS Pathways Licensing requires a registered Nurse to be in post.

Strategy, Policy and Service Development

To work closely with the Ass Director to ensure that the Trusts long term strategic direction is implemented in the EOCs, initiating reviews of clinical procedures and policies in order to achieve and maintain best practice and implementing change to ensure that the long term aims of the Trust are achieved within the EOCs

To implement DoH initiatives and standards within the EOCs as directed by the Ass Director, reporting compliance, developing strategies and policies which direct the service provided by the EOCs and which endorse the Trusts business plans

To ensure that robust procedures are in place within the EOCs to address clinical complaints within the Trusts Complaints Policy guidelines, ensuring that the Trust learns and effects change as a result of any issues highlighted through the complaints procedure

To work in close collaboration with the Patient Services Directorate to ensure the provision of effective clinical leadership within EOCs and to work collaboratively with this Directorate to review and develop clinical policies and procedures in support of the Emergency and Unscheduled Care agendas, reflecting the needs of patients at all times, ensuring that the policies and practices operated within the EOCs are clinically sound and reflect those of the NHS Plan and other strategic documents

To ensure that the Trusts policies in relation to Equality and Diversity are central to the working ethos of all staff

Management of Staff

To manage EOC AQUA teams and CSDs managers and supervisors, providing advice and mentorship, managing performance issues effectively and constructively, ensuring that standards of best practice are understood and applied, by encouraging the development of initiatives aimed at encouraging a culture of responsibility for personal development, ensuring that personal and professional skills are maintained

To work closely with the Head of Education to ensure that all staff in the EOCs receive the correct clinical training and development to undertake their roles to a high level of capability and efficiency, developing and implementing education programmes within the EOCs

To work in close association with the HR Directorate and the Professional and Personal Development Manager, to ensure that procedures are in place and adhered to within the EOCs to ensure that relevant staff have the opportunity to discuss objectives, development needs and performance through the Trusts PDP procedure and to ensure that all relevant EOC staff receive an annual appraisal, being responsible for monitoring and reporting accordingly.

To be responsible for NMC re-validation of Nurses in the Trust ensuring that Nurse meet the NMC Re-validation requirements.

To take part in the mechanisms within the EOCs for engaging with staff and promoting positive collaborative working relationships

To effectively support the management of organisational change within the EOCs through education, training, leadership and management development and succession planning within the clinical team

Communications

To ensure that the highest levels of communications are maintained between the EOCs, Stakeholders, Commissioners, Service Users and internally within the trust, presenting highly complex and potentially sensitive or contentious information in appropriate and effective ways ensuring that the Trusts message or information is ably and succinctly imparted

To maintain open and robust lines of communication between senior managers of the Trust and the EOC, ensuring that managers are informed of clinical issues arising from the EOCs and ensure that EOC Managers cascade all relevant Trust and NHS information to their staff

To work closely with stakeholders and commissioners to ensure that clinical standards of excellence in relation to the work of the EOCs is achieve and maintained and that an ethos of collaborative working is engendered by all staff

To represent the Trust within the local healthcare economy in relation to clinical provision within the EOCs, actively fostering and developing working relationships with other healthcare professionals, promoting the Trusts vision of service delivery and to continuously improve and learn from best practice and to promote a positive organisational image

To represent the Trust locally, including acting as media liaison when appropriate, in relation to the EOCs

Finance

To be responsible for the budget for the Clinical Service area within the EOCs, ensuring the management of resources and expenditure efficiently and exercise financial control in compliance with Standing Financial Instructions

Confidentiality

To ensure that the maintenance of good practice in relation to data protection and confidentiality is embedded within the clinical teams in the EOCs, liaising closely with the Information Governance Officer, and by supporting the nominated Caldicott Guardian in the discharge of these responsibilities

Resilience and Emergency Planning

To ensure that effective Emergency Planning Procedures and on going training are in place within the EOCs to support the Trust in dealing with any major or untoward incident, working closely with the Emergency Planning Manager and in compliance with the Emergencies Contingencies Act 2004, exercising judgement over complicated events, e.g. escalation plan, taking due regard to clinical and performance outcomes

To ensure that the Clinical teams with in EOCs have robust Resilience Plans in place and that these are tested regularly

Person Specification

Essential Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or equivalent
• Appropriate Professional Registration e.g. NMC, HPC
• Recognised training qualification e.g. DTTLS, CertEd ,PGCE etc or relevant experience

Essential Experience

• Significant experience of working at senior managerial level
• Significant experience of clinical telephone assessment , either within the public or private sector in a clinical setting
• Demonstrable experience of successful line management within a Call Centre environment, demonstrating clear evidence of knowledge and expertise within this discipline

Essential Skills

• Proven ability to lead, motivate and inspire others, commanding the confidence of managers, staff and other health care professionals and by developing a strong ethos of team working within the department
• Ability to develop and implement strategy, policy and service development initiatives
• Ability to relate Government targets and initiatives to specific Trust priorities

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration.