Job summary
Following the investigation into maternity and neonatal
services at East Kent Hospitals, Ockenden recommended that maternity services
must ensure that women and their families are listened to and heard".
In order to meet this recommendation, the Suffolk &
North East Essex Integrated Care Board is recruiting to and piloting an
exciting new role - an independent advocate.
The postholder will support families where concerns have
been raised about maternity or neonatal care and/or there has been an adverse
outcome. Other aspects of the role includes assisting families in the navigation
of services, providing advocacy at meetings with clinicians, supporting
improvements in communication between families and health professionals where
there has been a breakdown of relationships, and to support the family's
understanding of what is being communicated.
The Independent Advocate will also support families to navigate through
the complaints or incident investigation process where an adverse outcome has
occurred.
The successful candidate will be an individual who has an
extensive experience of advocacy work and is able to work independently.
Main duties of the job
- Provide leadership in ensuring the voice of the service user remains front and foremost in all referrals.
- With colleagues in the Local Maternity and Neonatal System to establish mechanisms to receive and record referrals from women and families where concerns have been expressed about their maternity or neonatal care.
- Respond to referrals and be available to women and families, to join follow-up meetings with clinicians.
- Build an understanding of the concerns expressed by women and families and reflect that understanding back to women and families to help them feel listened to.
- To act as a broker between women and families and clinicians and the maternity & neonatal Trusts, aiming to break down barriers to being listened to and heard.
- Help women and families navigate complexity, signposting to appropriate sources of advice and support both within and external to the NHS where necessary.
- Regularly report to LMNS and Trust level boards, providing robust feedback on both individual events and trends, providing recommendations to improve service user experience and patient safety.
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- Ensure that there are strong links with two-way feedback, between the ISA findings and clinical governance within maternity. Establish regular reporting to local Quality and Safety Groups and other appropriate fora
About us
The NHS Suffolk and North East Essex ICB plan and buy healthcare services for over one million people. Working within a total budget of £1.5bn per year, we serve some of the poorest and wealthiest communities in the UK.
In addition to consolidating our own resources and expertise, we are also building powerful alliances with our partners in the local government, healthcare, community and voluntary sectors. Because we know that together, we can achieve the best possible health outcomes
We are committed to providing a supportive work environment where employees are able to work to the best their abilities. We value professional development and care about health and wellbeing of our staff with many initiatives in place to make us an employer of choice and an organisation that employees are proud to be part of.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The
Independent Senior Advocate (ISA) helps parents-to-be, new parents and families
to be listened to and heard by their maternity and neonatal care providers. In
the pilot phase they will particularly focus on supporting women and families
where an adverse outcome has occurred. ISAs can provide support to support
women and their families navigating the healthcare system and providing
advocacy when they have a concern about their care. ISAs will be available to
women and their families attending follow up meetings with clinicians, where
concerns about maternity or neonatal care are discussed, aiming to break down
barriers to being listened to and heard. The ISA can support people to navigate
through formal complaints processes.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The
Independent Senior Advocate (ISA) helps parents-to-be, new parents and families
to be listened to and heard by their maternity and neonatal care providers. In
the pilot phase they will particularly focus on supporting women and families
where an adverse outcome has occurred. ISAs can provide support to support
women and their families navigating the healthcare system and providing
advocacy when they have a concern about their care. ISAs will be available to
women and their families attending follow up meetings with clinicians, where
concerns about maternity or neonatal care are discussed, aiming to break down
barriers to being listened to and heard. The ISA can support people to navigate
through formal complaints processes.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to masters level or equivalent level of experience of working at a senior level.
- Advocacy qualification and counselling training, or equivalent level of experience.
Experience
Essential
- Thorough knowledge and understanding of maternity and neonatal services.
- Experience of addressing health inequalities
- Extensive experience of advocacy.
- Experience of working at a senior level and of influencing change
- Extensive knowledge of specialist areas acquired through post graduate diploma or equivalent experience or training plus further specialist knowledge.
- Must have an understanding of the background to and aims of current healthcare policy.
- Have an appreciation of the relationship between the NHS England, Integrated Care Systems and individual provider organisations.
- Experience of building effective cross functional working relationships to drive organisational agenda.
- Evidence of complex relationship building with senior stakeholders
- Understanding of issues surrounding equality and diversity and of the differences between people
Desirable
- Experience of supporting those with birth trauma and of working in bereavement care.
- Experience of leading or managing service improvement.
Skills & Abilities
Essential
- Extensive advocacy skills
- Able to communicate effectively at all levels (inc listening & hearing) and with compassion.
- Demonstrable experience of effective active listening.
- Demonstrable influencing skills including at Board level
- Ability to work autonomously and to self-motivate
- Ability to recognise and overcome barriers on behalf of women and their families.
- Ability to prioritise conflicting and changing demands.
- Highly developed communication skills with the capability to analyse, review and make sense of highly complex, sensitive or contentious information.
- Demonstrable skills in presenting complex concepts and information which may include difficult and controversial issues.
- Ability to identify risks, anticipate issues and create solutions and to resolve problems.
- Ability to understand a broad range of complex information quickly and making decisions where opinions differ/no obvious solution.
- Ability to work without supervision, working to tight and often changing timescales.
- Evidence of planning and delivering programmes and projects and services on time.
- Experience of managing difficult and challenging conversations
Values & Behaviours
Essential
- Commitment to and focused on quality, promotes high standards in all they do.
- Able to make a connection between their work and the benefit to patients and the public.
- Ability to operate in a value-driven style consistent with the values of the public services and specifically with the new organisational values
- Works across boundaries, looks for collective success, listens, involves, respects and learns from the contribution of others
- Values diversity and difference; operates with integrity and openness
- Works well with others, is positive and helpful, listens, involves, respects and learns from the contribution of others.
- Consistently looks to improve what they do, look for successful tried and tested ways of working, and also seeks out innovation.
- Actively develops themselves and supports others to do the same.
- Needs to have a thorough understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity
- Self-awareness in teams of emotional intelligence, biases and personal triggers with cultural sensitivity and awareness.
- Values diversity and difference operates with integrity and openness.
- Embrace change, viewing it as an opportunity to learn and develop.
- Demonstrates honesty and integrity and promotes organisational values.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to masters level or equivalent level of experience of working at a senior level.
- Advocacy qualification and counselling training, or equivalent level of experience.
Experience
Essential
- Thorough knowledge and understanding of maternity and neonatal services.
- Experience of addressing health inequalities
- Extensive experience of advocacy.
- Experience of working at a senior level and of influencing change
- Extensive knowledge of specialist areas acquired through post graduate diploma or equivalent experience or training plus further specialist knowledge.
- Must have an understanding of the background to and aims of current healthcare policy.
- Have an appreciation of the relationship between the NHS England, Integrated Care Systems and individual provider organisations.
- Experience of building effective cross functional working relationships to drive organisational agenda.
- Evidence of complex relationship building with senior stakeholders
- Understanding of issues surrounding equality and diversity and of the differences between people
Desirable
- Experience of supporting those with birth trauma and of working in bereavement care.
- Experience of leading or managing service improvement.
Skills & Abilities
Essential
- Extensive advocacy skills
- Able to communicate effectively at all levels (inc listening & hearing) and with compassion.
- Demonstrable experience of effective active listening.
- Demonstrable influencing skills including at Board level
- Ability to work autonomously and to self-motivate
- Ability to recognise and overcome barriers on behalf of women and their families.
- Ability to prioritise conflicting and changing demands.
- Highly developed communication skills with the capability to analyse, review and make sense of highly complex, sensitive or contentious information.
- Demonstrable skills in presenting complex concepts and information which may include difficult and controversial issues.
- Ability to identify risks, anticipate issues and create solutions and to resolve problems.
- Ability to understand a broad range of complex information quickly and making decisions where opinions differ/no obvious solution.
- Ability to work without supervision, working to tight and often changing timescales.
- Evidence of planning and delivering programmes and projects and services on time.
- Experience of managing difficult and challenging conversations
Values & Behaviours
Essential
- Commitment to and focused on quality, promotes high standards in all they do.
- Able to make a connection between their work and the benefit to patients and the public.
- Ability to operate in a value-driven style consistent with the values of the public services and specifically with the new organisational values
- Works across boundaries, looks for collective success, listens, involves, respects and learns from the contribution of others
- Values diversity and difference; operates with integrity and openness
- Works well with others, is positive and helpful, listens, involves, respects and learns from the contribution of others.
- Consistently looks to improve what they do, look for successful tried and tested ways of working, and also seeks out innovation.
- Actively develops themselves and supports others to do the same.
- Needs to have a thorough understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity
- Self-awareness in teams of emotional intelligence, biases and personal triggers with cultural sensitivity and awareness.
- Values diversity and difference operates with integrity and openness.
- Embrace change, viewing it as an opportunity to learn and develop.
- Demonstrates honesty and integrity and promotes organisational values.
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.
