Job responsibilities
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- The post holder will lead and facilitate a programme of training with a particular focus on physiological interpretation of fetal wellbeing - aimed at equipping midwives and doctors to increase and improve their knowledge and competence in assessing fetal wellbeing (using cardiotocograph (CTG) and intelligent intermittent auscultation (IIA), identifying potential fetal compromise and actual fetal compromise in all clinical settings and improve clinical decision making within the team.
- Lead and facilitate a programme around fetal surveillance to enable the delivery of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle and compliance with the MIS.
- Participate in the development and implementation of maternity services clinical guidance as relevant to fetal wellbeing.
Ensure that midwifery and maternity guidelines and protocols are implemented and updated in accordance with Trust policies, NMC standards and national guidelines and frameworks.
- Work in collaboration with the Saving Babies Lives Leads to ensure improvements in the standard of intrapartum risk assessment and fetal monitoring, in accordance with element 4 of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle and to include Fresh Eyes processes and compliance.
- Support and work with the Maternity Training team in developing a programme of competency testing to ensure all staff are at the required standard, to assist in achieving better outcomes.
Lead regular CTG workshops, maintaining attendance registers to ensure compliance to the mandatory requirement for midwives and medical staff reporting to the Governance Lead for advice and support with compliance.
Disseminate learning which comes from the workshops, and /or governance activities.
Take responsibility for leading the teaching session on the mandatory fetal surveillance training day with regard to fetal surveillance utilising clinical experience.
Provide teaching and support for those staff not successfully completing competency testing to bring them to the required standard.
Be visible in the clinical areas to initiate and / or lead discussion regarding fetal surveillance, promoting the fresh eyes/ears approach to fetal surveillance.
Ensure continuous audit across maternity services to monitor fetal surveillance performance and use the findings to improve surveillance and learn lessons regarding practice.
- Support staff in enhancing their skills in reducing risk within clinical practice.
- Take a lead role in supporting the development of a safety culture within the context of resource constraints and multiple conflicting priorities.
- The post holder will be responsible for promoting and facilitating effective Governance, Risk and Assurance within the Directorates, advising and contributing to solutions in relation to clinical effectiveness. They will ensure that recommendations to changes in practice in the light of research and development are implemented and embedded in practice.
This will be achieved through the post holder being:
Professionally acknowledgeable
- A skilled and credible practitioner
Able to lead and advise others effectively.
Able to justify actions taken.
Able to work collaboratively and co-operatively in a multidisciplinary forum.
Well organized and able to manage your own time.
Professionally objective
A confident and skilled communicator in verbal and written format
Able to demonstrate the ability to objectively identify and influence positive changes as a result of a review of clinical adverse outcomes and sound leadership skills.
Professional/Clinical Leadership
1. Ensure that all midwives and obstetricians providing antenatal care in any setting are competent to assess fetal well-being.
2. Use every opportunity to facilitate teaching, learning and reflection within the clinical area.
3. To communicate highly sensitive and complex information to women and their families clearly explaining the benefits and risks of different care approaches and the alternatives available recognising barriers to acceptance. To uphold these standards and support midwives in achieving them.
4. Represent the Trust on external professional groups and network with colleagues from other organisations as appropriate.
5. Lead on audit of competency to provide an assurance of implementation of each element of the care bundle, identifying areas of good practice and improvements required to achieve full compliance.
6. Ensure that the womans voice is clear within any service developments, seeking opinion and views on any changes.
Clinical Leadership
1. Act as a clinical role model for effective clinical leadership enabling and facilitating others to take forward initiatives to achieve the implementation of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle.
2. Work collaboratively with other professional groups to maximise development opportunities and inter-professional learning opportunities.
3. Maximise opportunities to share good practices and innovations with colleagues locally and nationally.
4. Contribute to the development of a learning organisation, alerting the appropriate parties to resource issues which may affect this.
5. Identify own training and professional development needs to maintain clinical credibility.
6. Influence and nurture positive attitudes and behaviours within the teams and wider multidisciplinary team.
Education and Development
1. Liaise with the wider team to identify the development and training needs around fetal monitoring within designated clinical areas according to individual needs and service requirements.
2. Provide midwifery expertise, ensuring all staff are supported in their practice including midwives and obstetricians in training, in line with the Trusts Training Needs Analysis.
3. Support the Professional Midwifery Advocate by promoting and facilitating the implementation of clinical supervision as a vehicle for practice and staff development throughout the Trust.
4. Participate in curriculum development and joint professional development activities with other agencies e.g. Learning and Development Department, Universities, CCGs and the Local Maternity System to maximise learning opportunities.
5. Participate in regular performance and personal development reviews and work to achieve agreed objectives.
Research and Practice Development
1. Promote research/evidence-based practice and audit outcomes to inform clinical practice and set clinical standards.
2. Instigate or contribute to research initiatives and clinical audit programmes as appropriate.
Management of Resources
1. Promote a culture where staff are valued supported and deliver high quality care
2. Understand, manage and be accountable for the use of resources in a cost-effective way
3. Actively support the Improving Working Lives initiatives within the Department and across the Trust.
Quality Management
1. Facilitate the development, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and audit of nursing/midwifery policies, protocols, guidelines and standards ensuring that they meet current practice and professional regulations, particularly those that relate to Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle.
2. Act as a resource for staff to access and raise awareness of national and local policies that will impact upon them and affect the delivery of patient care.
3. Ensure that quality standards are set and monitored, and that clinical risk management and clinical audit are an integral part of practice developments.
4. Facilitate the implementation of national and local quality initiatives to improve service delivery e.g.
- Implementation of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle
- Maternity Safety Improvement Plan
- Maternity Incentive Scheme
- Maternity Emergency Skills training (eg. PROMPT)
5. Establish effective communication and good working relationships with multi-professional colleagues within the Trust to support effective service delivery.
MANAGEMENTSTRATEGIC/DEVELOPMENT
- Develop and improve services.
- Take a lead role or participate in the development of Directorate objectives/projects ensuring that resources available are targeted towards their achievement. Thus, ensuring a progressive and pro-active culture of delivery and change
- Advising and contributing to Directorate service development plans, in order to promote new initiatives and plans.
- To actively participate in Directorate and Divisional Management meetings
- To strive towards constant quality improvements within the areas
- To participate in Trust projects/initiatives as appropriate
- Develop, sustain and evaluate partnership working with individuals, groups, communities and agencies.
OWN PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
- Ensure training and development needs detailed in your personal development plan are followed up and the effectiveness of the acquired training and development evaluated in term of self, patient and service.
- Take responsibility for setting professional objectives and obtaining appropriate feedback.
- Participate in relevant local and national meetings to further develop expertise of self and others.
- Maintain current active NMC registration, and act always in accordance with Trust Policies and procedures, NMC Code and other guiding documentation.