Pathology Quality and Service Improvement Manager

Job overview

• South of Tyne and Wear Clinical Pathology Services provide high quality diagnostic services to improve the health care of the people of South of Tyne and Wear.  The service also provides bowel and cervical screening services for populations across the North East and Yorkshire.  The post holder will be part of the Quality and Training  Team and will have responsible for managing the quality team to deliver on quality policies and to support compliance with the standards and requirements of accrediting and regulatory bodies.    The post holder will also be responsible for leading on identified service improvement initiatives as part of the laboratories continuous improvement cycle.

Main duties of the job

The post holder is responsible for assisting the Pathology Service Manager and Departmental Managers in ensuring that processes are place to continuously improve its operational performance and assure the quality of its service. They will:

• Identify the requirements of service users
• Lead departmental representatives in the development of the Pathology Quality Management System to at least ISO15189 Standards
• Manage the accreditation of the laboratory by all appropriate agencies
• Project manage major improvement activities as requested
• Assist with Rapid Improvement/Lean/Kiazen Events
• Develop the knowledge in quality improvement and quality management across the Pathology workforce

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The provision of quality diagnostic services is a high priority for the organisation. The post-holder will be responsible for maintaining quality standards across all pathology departments including:

• Biochemistry
• Haematology & Blood Transfusion
• Microbiology
• Cellular Pathology
• Bowel Cancer Screening Hub
• Cervical Screening Service

The service was recommended for transition to ISO15189:2022 at our last UKAS assessment in July. The post holder will be responsible for any ongoing requirements for this transition and the maintenance of quality across all disciplines to maintain and develop our scope of accreditation.

The Quality Manager is an integral part of the overall laboratory management team and, within this structure, is responsible for overseeing the implementation, development and coordination of quality processes within pathology.

The post holder will:

• be a member of all pathology management meetings and committees.
• work with the Departmental Manager to ensure that all staff within the department are aware of the technical standards relating to their area of work and that all departments remain compliant.
• work with the Training Manager to ensure that the training elements of the standard are documented and maintained and that training supports the deliver of quality services.
• encourage a culture that all staff are able to contribute to continual improvement.
• Maintain good working relationships with all departments in Pathology and users of the service both within and outside the Trust.
• Communicate with all external agencies and companies in a professional manner.
• Identify potential opportunities to improve the specimen pathway, which will contribute to the Trust vision of delivering high quality care to all patients.
• Investigate Non Compliances, implementing corrective and preventative actions.
• Manage the Pathology Audit Calendar.