Freedom to Speak up Guardian

Job overview

Freedom to Speak Up Guardians help support patient safety and the quality of care and improve the colleague experience by ensuring that everyone is supported in speaking up and a positive culture of speaking up is fostered.

The Freedom to Speak Up Guardian role is key in delivering the Freedom to Speak Up service here at East Lancashire Teaching Hospitals.

The role will work with the Head of Freedom to Speak up to provide confidential support and advice to individuals raising issues or concerns about anything that gets in the way of patient care or affects their working life, ensuring that there are no repercussions for the person who raised the concerns. The Freedom to Speak Up Guardian also works to raise the profile of Freedom to Speak Up across the Trust and ensure that triangulation and escalation of concerns is completed proactively to support organisational risk management. They also ensure the Freedom to Speak Up service here at East Lancashire Teaching Hospitals adheres to the guidelines set by NHS England.

Main duties of the job

The main duties of the role include taking a highly visible role on the delivery of the Freedom to Speak Up Strategy with guidance from the Head of Freedom to Speak Up.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To providing expert advice in all aspects of raising and handling concerns and to offer support, guidance and advice to anyone who raises concerns.

To work directly with the Head of Freedom to Speak Up to lead and raise the profile for anyone raising concerns with the Trust.

To develop a range of mechanisms, in addition to formal processes, which empower and encourage colleagues to speak up safely.

To assist in the development and implement local and national policy in relation to the NHS Staff Guardian and Freedom to Speak Up.

To assist in the maintaining of the systems used for recording concerns raised, benchmarking and analysing the data gathered to inform organisational actions.

To be a highly visible individual, spending time supporting the Head of Freedom to Speak Up being with ‘front line’ colleagues, providing advice in developing a safe culture which supports and encourages colleagues to speak up using the local procedures and if necessary advising them on how to raise concerns, including externally.

To meet with colleagues and listen to their concerns ensuring that the concerns are reiterated correctly and precisely through the correct channels as appropriate

• To give assurance that colleagues who speak up are treated fairly through the investigation, inquiry and/or review and that there is effective and open communication during this time.

To act as a critical friend in the review of workforce processes and policies (e.g. Induction, Appraisal, HR processes, training initiatives, OD initiatives, etc) to ensure that they promote our Trust values and give colleagues the confidence to seek to deliver high quality services and raise concerns where appropriate. Using benchmarking information in line with NHSi and NHS England including national staff survey.

To highlight to the Head of Freedom to Speak Up or the appropriate Director any issues raised that represent an immediate risk to the safety of patients or colleagues.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.