Assistant Clinical Governance Manager

Job overview

Are you passionate about Patient Safety and Experience and wish to support staff to improve care? We are looking for an experienced registered healthcare professional to join the Divisional Clinical Governance Team. The post holder will have a patient centred approach and will work in such a way as to help promote an open and transparent culture that actively improves clinical safety and quality and seek to make improvements to enhance the patient experience and safety. You will support the clinical governance manager to manage and co-ordinate all aspects of patient safety, risk management and governance within the CSSS division, ensuring the effective application of the Trusts’ Risk Management Strategy. You will be required to work closely with the ward managers, Matrons and Service Leads, supporting learning responses to incident investigation, complaints management, clinical audit and the development of policies and procedures to support safe, high-quality care. This is a fast-paced role, where priorities can change at very short notice, so we’re looking for someone who can work well under pressure, manage competing priorities and work to deadlines.

Main duties of the job

The Assistant Clinical Governance Manager will work collaboratively across the Trust to support the Clinical Governance Manager to develop the Clinical Governance plans; to ensure that national, trust wide and divisional standards are delivered and monitored and that patient, staff and visitor safety is considered and improved where possible and that risks which may damage the reputation or have a financial impact on the Trust are mitigated to their lowest level.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Contribute to clinical governance policy development and implementation and the embedding of new and existing systems and processes across the division.
• Promote a culture of risk management across the division.
• Work collaboratively to monitor and achieve divisional objectives, in relation to clinical governance processes and policies.
• In conjunction with the management teams within the division, provide staff with expert advice as necessary on risk management, practice, service evaluation and audit.
• Support divisional managers with the implementation of the clinical governance agenda, including the risk management strategy and contribute to the Corporate Clinical Governance and Risk Strategies as required.
• Collaborate with the Trust’s Quality & Standards Team to ensure governance and risk management processes are integrated with, and congruent to, corporate strategy.
• Evaluate current practice in the division through standard setting and audit, promoting evidence-based practice, ensuring clinical leaders and managers are involved.
• Lead and support others to lead the appropriate levels of incident investigations in the division.
• Influence and contribute to the development and delivery of training and development for all members of the multi-professional teams in the division to enhance patient care and monitor the implementation and evaluation of the division’s training strategy in relation to risk management.

Leadership

• Support the clinical governance manager with leading the provision and development of a specialist level of risk management support to the division and manage, in conjunction with lead clinicians, the implementation of the risk management objectives within the division.
• Motivate and inspire others to create and maintain enthusiasm for the clinical governance agenda and a good working environment. Actively seek to improve the services provided.
• Support the integration of research evidence into practice.
• Support the divisional clinical governance manager and senior management team in collaboration with professional heads of service and consultant leads for clinical governance, review national guidelines, reports and recommendations, ensuring local action plans are devised to meet national recommendations. Monitor the implementation of such action plans, producing exception reports for the divisional board where necessary.

System Monitoring and Report Production

• Review incident forms and risk assessments and analyse, identify and report significant risk trends and issues arising at a ward, department, specialty or divisional level. This involves receiving, analysing and presenting highly complex and sensitive information relating to incidents and complaints involving patients, members of the public and healthcare staff.
• Assist the clinical governance manager in the preparation and presentation of timely written and verbal reports pertaining to risk as required for a variety of audiences including the divisional board and the Trust risk & quality governance committee. This information must be clear and succinct and focus management action towards key areas of risk.
• Provide practical guidance to managers and staff regarding the population and use of the risk register as a tool to support all Trust staff to monitor progress made against risks identified.
• In conjunction with lead clinicians, maintain and evaluate the risk register within the division, monitoring implementation of agreed actions and updating the register following quarterly review, escalating relevant issues to the divisional board as appropriate.

Incident Investigation

• Lead investigations and support other staff in the division to investigate significant incidents and near misses with the multi-disciplinary team to ensure that Trust-wide policy guiding investigations is followed and that action plans are developed, implemented, monitored, and reviewed for effectiveness. Ensure that outstanding actions are escalated using the Trust systems and processes and present these findings back to the divisional board, executive review group and relevant staff groups.
• Promote the dissemination of recommendations from reviews. Support the division in learning from reviews and feedback lessons learnt across the Trust and externally where appropriate.
• Assist the clinical governance manager to provide expert advice on existing and new legislation and guidance and specific advice in the event of serious untoward incidents (SUIs). Facilitate root cause analysis meetings and alike, to following serious incidents and monitor the implementation of any recommendations arising from investigations, disseminate Trust wide learning and report internally and externally as appropriate.
• Work closely with the health and safety manager and support the resolution of non-clinical risk issues where appropriate.

Service Improvement / Practice Development

• In collaboration with lead nurses and other professional heads identify areas where professional practice could be improved and lead change in collaboration with other professionals to improve care.
• Working in collaboration with the divisional management team, respond to patient views and external assessment to identify areas of potential practice development.
• Work directly with clinical staff as required ensuring that practice standards are being implemented.
• Ensure current clinical guidance, external reviews and accreditations are discussed and reviewed by senior clinicians within agreed time limits, consultation takes place with staff and/or patient groups and changes are communicated to staff.

Education

• Facilitate a supportive, learning environment for practitioners.
• Assist in the production of learning bulletins/newsletters, ensuring content provides clinical updates for staff; production is timely, and content is quality controlled.

Applicant requirements

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.