Job summary
We are delighted to offer some fantastic opportunities for experienced incident investigators who are passionate about improving patient care and making a real difference to people who use our services and their families.
The Patient Safety Incident Response Framework for England (August 2022) gives us the freedom to ensure our learning responses to patient safety incidents are proportionate and timely to inform improvements and reduce risk within our organisation.
We are bringing together a new centralised patient safety investigation team to compliment the existing skills and experience of our colleagues working in broader patient safety and quality roles across our organisation. With new national standards, access to new nationally accredited training and support networks we are set to take things to the next level.
If you have a background in incident investigation and/or clinical human factors/ergonomics we would love to hear from you.
Main duties of the job
The post holders will assist healthcare professionals across the Trust to deliver safer care through an understanding of the effects of teamwork, tasks, equipment, workspace, culture and organisation on human behaviour and identify contributory factors when incidents occur and make recommendations for systemic improvements.
The investigator will use recognised patient safety incident frameworks and tools encompassing principles of human factors and ergonomics, systems engineering, psychology and investigation best practice. A high level of sensitive engagement with patients, families, staff and others affected by incidents is expected of this role.
The post holder will be required to travel between hospital sites to undertake visits to non-clinical and clinical areas to conduct observational/investigatory work which will occasionally require working during evenings and at weekends.
About us
University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is one of the largest acute Trusts in the country, bringing together a combined workforce of over 13,000 staff and over 100 different clinical services across 10 different sites, serving a core population of more than 500,000 people across South West England. UHBW has been rated by the CQC as 'Good' overall and our staff are proud to deliver excellent care to the people of Bristol, Weston and beyond. As a forward-thinking multi-award winning Trust and a digital exemplar committed to improving patient care, our world-leading research and innovations are having a positive local and global impact. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone's throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer. UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we're meeting our pledge.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To be professionally responsible and accountable for own caseload of concurrent investigations and to work autonomously in leading the delivery of timely and effective investigations
- To constitute and lead investigation teams including clinical and subject matter experts, patients, families, and multidisciplinary team members for patient safety investigations
- To lead a number of concurrent investigations and manage multiple transient investigation teams
- To involve and engage compassionately and effectively with patients, families, staff and others affected by patient safety incidents as part of the investigation process
- To use highly developed facilitation and interpersonal skills to conduct after action reviews, investigatory interviews and other exploratory processes following patient safety incidents
- To act with a high level of integrity and professionalism whilst carrying out patient safety incident investigations
- To communicate highly complex and sensitive information relating to patient safety investigations compassionately and effectively to a range of stakeholders including patients and families
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To be professionally responsible and accountable for own caseload of concurrent investigations and to work autonomously in leading the delivery of timely and effective investigations
- To constitute and lead investigation teams including clinical and subject matter experts, patients, families, and multidisciplinary team members for patient safety investigations
- To lead a number of concurrent investigations and manage multiple transient investigation teams
- To involve and engage compassionately and effectively with patients, families, staff and others affected by patient safety incidents as part of the investigation process
- To use highly developed facilitation and interpersonal skills to conduct after action reviews, investigatory interviews and other exploratory processes following patient safety incidents
- To act with a high level of integrity and professionalism whilst carrying out patient safety incident investigations
- To communicate highly complex and sensitive information relating to patient safety investigations compassionately and effectively to a range of stakeholders including patients and families
Person Specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential
- Educated to Masters level in a relevant (e.g. healthcare, patient safety, human factors, incident investigation) field or hold first degree in a relevant field with significant additional experience
- Additional specialist training in patient safety incident investigation, clinical risk management or relevant field (e.g. Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch Level 2/3 patient safety investigation training or equivalent)
- Evidence of continuing professional development
- Training or experience as an After Action Review conductor-D or be willing to work towards
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Extensive knowledge of a range of evidence-based safety investigation framework and tools and experience of their application in practice
- Extensive experience in undertaking high quality systems-based safety investigation
- Experience working with multi-disciplinary teams at senior level
- Understanding of work in complex environments and a human factors/ergonomics approach to investigations
- Understanding of bias relating to retrospective investigations
- Experience in engaging compassionately and effectively with those affected by safety incidents and supporting a just and restorative incident response
- Knowledge of the key components of quality governance
Desirable
- Experience of working in a healthcare environment at a senior level
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Ability to conduct effective safety investigations that meet the patient safety incident response standards set out in the national Patient Safety Incident Response Framework for England
- Ability to effectively analyse, interpret and synthesise complex information, distilling key messages and themes and presenting issues and options to senior audiences
- Ability to produce logical, well written, clear, high-quality investigation reports suitable for consumption by a range of audiences, including patients and families
- Skills to conduct investigative interviewing
- Work to a high level of accuracy and attention to detail
- Ability to work well under pressure and manage time effectively
- Ability to deliver high quality presentations
- Ability to establish effective working relationships
- Ability to occasionally work during the evenings and at weekend
- Ability to use standard keyboard skills
- Ability to travel between hospital sites
Desirable
- Competent facilitation skills or willingness to develop these
Aptitudes
Essential
- Highly developed communication and interpersonal skills, including observation and listening
- Highly developed sense of integrity and understanding of need for confidentiality
- Flexibility to adapt approach to ensure accessibility and inclusivity
- Responsive approach to meet the needs of the service
- Empathetic and supportive approach to those affected by incidents whilst managing expectations
- Personal resilience in response to exposure to sensitive and some distressing situations
- Ability to respond positively to feedback and to adopt a personal continuous learning approach
- Ability to work in a team
Person Specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential
- Educated to Masters level in a relevant (e.g. healthcare, patient safety, human factors, incident investigation) field or hold first degree in a relevant field with significant additional experience
- Additional specialist training in patient safety incident investigation, clinical risk management or relevant field (e.g. Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch Level 2/3 patient safety investigation training or equivalent)
- Evidence of continuing professional development
- Training or experience as an After Action Review conductor-D or be willing to work towards
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Extensive knowledge of a range of evidence-based safety investigation framework and tools and experience of their application in practice
- Extensive experience in undertaking high quality systems-based safety investigation
- Experience working with multi-disciplinary teams at senior level
- Understanding of work in complex environments and a human factors/ergonomics approach to investigations
- Understanding of bias relating to retrospective investigations
- Experience in engaging compassionately and effectively with those affected by safety incidents and supporting a just and restorative incident response
- Knowledge of the key components of quality governance
Desirable
- Experience of working in a healthcare environment at a senior level
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Ability to conduct effective safety investigations that meet the patient safety incident response standards set out in the national Patient Safety Incident Response Framework for England
- Ability to effectively analyse, interpret and synthesise complex information, distilling key messages and themes and presenting issues and options to senior audiences
- Ability to produce logical, well written, clear, high-quality investigation reports suitable for consumption by a range of audiences, including patients and families
- Skills to conduct investigative interviewing
- Work to a high level of accuracy and attention to detail
- Ability to work well under pressure and manage time effectively
- Ability to deliver high quality presentations
- Ability to establish effective working relationships
- Ability to occasionally work during the evenings and at weekend
- Ability to use standard keyboard skills
- Ability to travel between hospital sites
Desirable
- Competent facilitation skills or willingness to develop these
Aptitudes
Essential
- Highly developed communication and interpersonal skills, including observation and listening
- Highly developed sense of integrity and understanding of need for confidentiality
- Flexibility to adapt approach to ensure accessibility and inclusivity
- Responsive approach to meet the needs of the service
- Empathetic and supportive approach to those affected by incidents whilst managing expectations
- Personal resilience in response to exposure to sensitive and some distressing situations
- Ability to respond positively to feedback and to adopt a personal continuous learning approach
- Ability to work in a team
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Employer details
Employer name
University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW)
Address
Trust Headquarters
Marlborough Street
Bristol
BS1 3NU
Employer's website
https://www.uhbw.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)
