Job responsibilities
The Director of Clinical Services (DoCS) plays a vital role in shaping and executing the hospital's quality strategy. Their responsibilities encompass both operational and clinical leadership within the team. They are tasked with ensuring the delivery of top-tier clinical and therapeutic care, compliance with statutory regulations and current laws, meeting quality standards, and achieving quality performance goals.
The DoCS assumes a leadership role in organizing and coordinating clinical governance to ensure its effectiveness. They facilitate and support the implementation and upkeep of the overall site's governance framework. Collaborating with various departments and wards, the DoCS helps advance the governance agenda, fosters evidence-based practice, and drives improvements in patient care.
Furthermore, the DoCS provides professional guidance on quality governance matters to all site staff, promoting high standards of care and the development of clinical practices. They also oversee auditing and governance requirements, including participation in the Priory Audit Calendar, and contribute to governance reports and other relevant regular reports.
Participation in various forums, such as Clinical Governance, Health and Safety, Risk Management, and Reducing Restrictive Practices, is part of their role. They oversee and implement strategies to reduce restrictive practices within the hospital. Additionally, the DoCS ensures compliance with the company's incident and serious incident policy, supporting staff in investigating serious incidents as per company policy, including 24/72-hour notifications and TIRs.
In terms of investigations, the DoCS leads efforts related to serious incidents, thematic reviews, safeguarding, whistle-blowing complaints, and provides reports within specified timelines and in alignment with policies. They actively promote a culture of safety for both patients and staff, encouraging learning from incidents and complaints and facilitating knowledge sharing across the site and, when relevant, across the division.
Monitoring patient, relative, and carer experiences is a key aspect of their role, supporting necessary practice changes. They also assist wards and the site in preparing for regulatory body inspections, internal benchmarking, and health and safety inspections. Collaboratively, they work on service improvement plans, set objectives with SMART measures, and ensure regular review and audit.
The DoCS delivers coaching and training as needed to enhance quality and practice. They emphasize collaborative work in line with company and divisional values and behaviors. Building and maintaining strong working relationships with internal and external stakeholders is crucial. Ensuring compliance with all contractual quality elements, including reporting, is also part of their responsibilities.
Finally, as a member of the Senior Management team, the DoCS may carry out on-call duties as directed by the Hospital Director and actively contribute to the development of Priory policies, procedures, processes, and initiatives.
The DoCS play a key part in developing and delivering the hospital Quality strategy, providing operational and clinical
leadership to the team.
Ensures delivery of the highest level of clinical and therapeutic care together with ensuring compliance with statutory
regulations and current legislation, meeting quality standards and delivering against quality performance indicators.
Provides leadership, organisation and co-ordination to ensure effective clinical governance.
Facilitating and supporting the implementation and maintenance of the overall site Governance. Working with wards,
departments to facilitate the delivery of the Governance agenda and embed learning, evidence based practice and
improvement in patient care.
Providing professional advice on quality governance issues to all staff at site, promoting high standards of care and
development of clinical practice.
Ensuring that all auditing and governance requirements are met at site including participation and compliance with the
Priory Audit Calendar.
Developing and contributing to the Governance Reports and relevant regular reports
Attending, contributing, sharing outcomes and learnings from a number of forums including Clinical Governance, Health
and Safety, Risk and Reducing Restrictive Practice.
Have oversight of Hospital restrictive practices and implementing, auditing and review of strategies to reduce them.
Facilitating compliance with the company incident and serious incident policy and support staff in the investigation of
serious incidents in line with company policy. This includes support with 24/72hr notifications and TIRs.
Leading investigations and reviews, including serious incidents, thematic reviews, safeguarding whistle blowing
complaints, providing reports within the given timescales and in accordance with policies
Supporting patient and staff safety culture and promoting learning from incidents and complaints by promoting sharing
of learnings across site and, where appropriate, across the division.
Monitor Patient, Relative and Carer experience across the site and support changes to practice
Supporting wards and site to prepare for Regulatory body inspections and Internal Benchmarking and Health and Safety
inspections.
Working with wards on their service improvement plans and working on any Site Improvement Plan, agreeing objectives
with SMART measures and ensuring regular review and audit.
Deliver coaching and training as necessary in relation to developing and improving quality and practice.
Ensure that work is collaborative and in accordance with company and divisional values and behaviours at all times.
Develop, manage and maintain strong working relationships with both internal and external stakeholders.
Ensure all contractual quality elements are met, working with respective service lines including reporting of the same.
As part of the Senior Management, team will carry out on-call duties as directed by the Hospital Director.
Contributes to the development of Priory policies, procedures, processes and initiatives
