Pre operative Assessment Lead

Job overview

The Band 7 post will provide clinical and operational leadership within the nurse-led Pre-Operative Assessment Service, ensuring the delivery of a safe, effective and responsive service for patients awaiting elective surgery. The post will oversee the coordination of daily activity, support the assessment and optimisation of complex patients, and provide clinical supervision and leadership to the nursing team.

The post will play a key role in workforce planning, service development, clinical governance and quality improvement, identifying opportunities to improve patient pathways, reduce avoidable cancellations and delays, and maximise effective use of theatre capacity.

The post will work collaboratively with surgical, anaesthetic, nursing and operational teams to ensure patients progress safely and efficiently through the elective pathway, while supporting delivery of organisational and national performance requirements.

Main duties of the job

Lead and coordinate the day-to-day delivery of the nurse-led Pre-Operative Assessment Service. Provide senior clinical assessment and decision-making for complex patients, including identification of clinical risks and appropriate escalation. Ensure patients are appropriately assessed, investigated and optimised prior to surgery. Work closely with anaesthetic, surgical, nursing and multidisciplinary teams to support timely patient progression through the elective pathway.Provide clinical leadership, supervision, support and development for the Pre-Operative Assessment team. Manage workload, staffing and capacity to ensure service demands are met safely and effectively. Monitor activity, waiting times, cancellations and service performance, identifying and implementing improvements. Lead service development and quality improvement initiatives to improve patient pathways, efficiency and patient experience. Support clinical governance, audit, risk management, incident review and compliance with relevant policies and standards. Identify opportunities to improve skill mix, clinic utilisation and processes to maximise substantive capacity and reduce reliance on WLI. Contribute to workforce planning, recruitment, induction and performance management within the service. Promote evidence-based practice and ensure consistent standards of Pre-Operative Assessment across the service.Support delivery of organisational and national elective care and waiting-list performance requirements.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post holder will provide clinical and operational leadership for the generic nurse-led Pre-Operative Assessment (POA) Service at The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust.

The role is responsible for the development, implementation and ongoing improvement of the service, ensuring the delivery of safe, effective and evidence-based pre-operative care for patients undergoing neurosurgical procedures and interventions.

The post holder will work autonomously to undertake comprehensive pre-operative assessments, including detailed medical, surgical and anaesthetic histories, clinical examination and appropriate investigations in line with national guidance. They will interpret clinical findings, identify and manage risk, initiate appropriate referrals and liaise with anaesthetic, surgical, pharmacy and wider multidisciplinary teams to determine patients’ fitness to proceed with surgery.

The role will ensure appropriate follow-up of investigations and referrals and identify any additional communication, cultural, social or specialist support requirements.

The post holder will provide effective clinical and operational leadership to the POA team, including workforce planning, rota management, recruitment, induction, supervision, appraisal, performance and attendance management, competency development and education. They will act as a clinical role model and support the development of staff through teaching, supervision and evidence-based practice.

A key responsibility will be the continued development and optimisation of the POA pathway, including implementation of appropriate IT systems and processes to support safe and efficient service delivery. The post holder will monitor activity, quality and key performance indicators, undertake audit, manage incidents and contribute to clinical governance and service improvement.

The role will work collaboratively across surgical, anaesthetic, medical and nursing teams to ensure effective patient flow and timely progression to surgery. The post holder will contribute to the development and implementation of Trust policies, national standards and evidence-based practice, ensuring the service remains responsive to changing patient and organisational needs.

The post holder will maintain specialist knowledge of neurosurgical procedures and interventions and undertake ongoing professional development through clinical supervision, appraisal, education, networking, audit and research. They will support relevant research and audit programmes and identify opportunities to improve patient safety, experience and outcomes within the pre-operative pathway.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

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.