Patient Safety Investigator and Inquest Assistant

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 14 May 2025

Job summary

We are looking to recruit a highly motivated patient safety investigator, who will also assist with inquests, to join our Patient Safety Team to promote and drive forward the patient safety agenda across the Trust.

You will support the daily management of the patient safety incident processes and manage effectively the investigation of patient safety incidents that occur within the Trust in line with the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF).

You will lead and contribute to Trust training on patient safety initiatives. In return you will have the opportunity to positively influence the care and services delivered across the Trust's service provision and improve patient and carer experience.

Applications are sought from professionals who have experience in conducting investigations under the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework and can demonstrate an understanding of the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety Framework. Applicants will also need to demonstrate a passion for supporting the patient safety and patient experience agenda.

Main duties of the job

The Post Holder will support the daily management of the patient safety incidents that occur within the Trust in line with the requirement of the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF).

The Post Holder will conduct thorough initial response reviews in order to support the team and directorates to decide which type of incident response is required in line with PSIRF. The post holder will have a good understanding of the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) framework, ensuring 'Being Open' principles are applied.

The Post Holder will ensure that Service Users and their Carers/Families, Trust Staff and where appropriate, third parties are fully involved in the response process.

The Post Holder will coordinate a variety of different investigation responses such as Patient Safety Incident Investigations (PSII's), Case Reviews and After-Action Reviews, to supporting learning from patient safety incidents.

The post holder will coordinate a programme of embedded learning events. These events will continue to focus on key themes arising from patient safety incidents.

The post holder will support and prepare witnesses for inquest, attend the inquest as a constant attendee and record the inquest when required.

The post holder will deliver Patient Safety Incident Response and SEIPS training to new staff band 7 and above staff who may be asked to be on a patient safety incident response panel.

About us

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children's centres, schools and people's homes. We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people. Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

We're Kind
We're Fair
We Listen
We Care

Date posted

29 April 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£51,883 to £58,544 a year pa inc

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

277-7138246-CORP

Job locations

Pinewood House

Pinewood Place

Kent

DA2 7WG

Job description

Job responsibilities

Provide expert advice to all staff on matters related to patient safety incidents and investigations, ensuring compliance at all times with local and national guidance.

Provide training to staff in undertaking patient safety incident investigations, and ensure that all those affected by an incident (patient, families and staff) are supported throughout the incident investigation process. As well as preparing staff for attendance at inquest and attending inquests.

Ensure compliance with all statutory reporting requirements at all times.

Plan, organise and conduct investigations into patient safety incidents and other incidents, adjusting plans or strategies as necessary with the support and direction of the Patient Safety Incident Team Lead.

Work autonomously as an investigator and in conjunction with colleagues, escalating any identified risks to the Patient Safety Incident Team Lead.

Identify and review all sources of information in relation to patient safety incidents under investigation, ensuring that the most appropriate response is identified in line with PSIRF.

Effectively interview a wide range of staff and service users about their involvement in patient safety incidents in difficult circumstances to establish the facts including interview reluctant witnesses.

Provide highly specialist advice in relation to investigations and SEIPS to improve and influence the care and treatment of patients.

Provide and receive highly complex, sensitive and contentious information relating to patient safety incidents and other investigations and present this information to teams and groups as appropriate.

Liaise with service users, carers, victims and their families following patient safety incident and throughout the investigation encouraging and supporting active engagement.

Advising the Patient Safety Incident Team Lead on the quality, suitability and effectiveness of completed investigation reports.

Present complex, unwelcome and sometimes distressing information to a range of internal and external stakeholders including service users and their families, victims and their families, senior clinicians and front line professionals.

Critically evaluate and analyse complex, diverse and sometime contradictory evidence from a wide range of sources.

Together with the Patient Safety Incident Team Lead, make recommendations as to whether people involved in incidents need to be dealt with through other processes using the principles of the Just Culture e.g. disciplinary investigations, police investigations, professional bodies and to exclude them where appropriate from the Patient Safety Incident Investigation process.

Monitor the progress of investigations and implementation of recommendations, providing exception reporting to the Head of Patient Experience and Patient Safety.

Produce, develop and present highly complex quality reports and analysis on incidents to the Trust Board, associated committees and for internal and external reporting requirements as required, with identified learning and thematic analysis.

Review safety action plans to identify trends and themes and identify relevant actions to ensure learning is embedded into practice.

Undertake audits, assurance visits and debriefs to discuss learning with teams and to review how actions are taken forward and embedded within relevant teams and across wider organisation.

Participate in the development of an effective team and the development of productive working relationships throughout the Trust.

Remain impartial and objective at all times.

Advise, encourage and share knowledge utilising the latest research and practice development, through literature and peer reviews.

Apply the principles and practice of blame free incident investigation across a diverse range of clinical services and recognise when specialist expert opinion is required.

Contribute to the development and improvement of systems and processes for investigations and lead on allocated improvement projects.

Take non-complex referrals from the Coroners Office and complete the Coroners investigation/inquest process as required.

Carry out a review of medical records to identify the relevant staff to contribute to the coronial request.

Be competent in assisting/leading on the investigation of unexpected deaths requested by HM Coroner and preparing a report for submission to HM Coroners office.

Be responsible for identifying and implementing a system for the recording and dissemination of learning following inquests.

Support staff involved in coronial investigations and inquests and assist in the preparation of statements as necessary for submission to HM Coroner.