Patient Safety Incident Investigator and Inquest Assistant

Detailed Job Description and Main Responsibilities

Inquest Management

Take referrals from the Coroner's Office and complete the Coroner's investigation/inquest process as required.

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

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

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

Attend Pre Inquest Review Hearings on behalf of the Trust and conduct advocacy, protecting Trust clinicians and pressing for a favourable outcome for the Trust as far as possible. At times may be required to act as a representative for Inquest hearings on behalf of the Trust.

Obtain external legal representation and support legal personnel with inquest hearings, reviewing witness statements in line with medical records and external reports such as Clinical Reviews and Prison and Probation Ombudsman reports. Service of witness statements in a timely manner ensuring deadlines are not missed with the Courts.

Complete NHS Resolution funding requests for complex Article 2 inquests, liaising with the Trust's Legal Team for obtaining external advice and raising any issues relating to Claims.

Ensure staff are well prepared for Inquests and have the necessary documentation and understand their obligation to assist the Coroner with the investigation.

Information Management

Contribute to the organisation's analysis of risk to the patient by utilising the Trust Datix web database for recording information, analysing and reporting on untoward incidents and recording assessments of risk.

Use Datix web analysis to create incident trend reports.

Support the collation of clinical information for Board Level Inquiries and Independent Homicide Investigations.

Be competent in the use of clinical information systems across all directorates.

Research

The post holder will support service directorates to undertake PSIRF, PDSA cycles and action plan reviews of patient safety incidents.

Review research and national guidance that relates to the improvement of patient safety culture across the organisation.

Utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other services.

Communication

Contribute to regular reports from the Patient Safety Workstream to the Trust Patient Safety Group, Quality Committee, Board of Directors.

Act as a conduit to ensure that issues of patient safety are communicated as appropriate to the relevant clinical teams and to the executive.

Ensure that reports and analyses of incidents are provided as required to the various committees and individuals within the Trust with responsibility for monitoring patient safety within the organisation.

Be competent in attending relevant meetings across the organisation to ensure that patient safety issues are discussed and addressed.

Be competent in delivering presentations to a variety of professionals.

Communicate with external agencies as required to ensure that the Trust is compliant with all requirements on external reporting and to ensure that the Trust contributes to regional and national patient safety improvement programmes.

Attend regional and national meetings and conferences to represent the Trust and ensure that the Trust participates in local, regional and national initiatives to improve patient safety.

Discuss sensitive and contentious information with staff from all levels of seniority within the Trust, maintaining confidentiality and integrity at all times.

Use empathetic skills when liaising with services who have been involved in a patient safety incident.

Communicate with patient's next of kin during the investigation of patient safety incidents process.

Demonstrate a high degree of competence in communicating complex information both verbally and in writing.

The ability to speak in public and address formal and informal meetings with colleagues both internally and externally to the Trust as required.

Demonstrate the skilled ability to write analytical reports and present these to outside agencies.

Participate in the PDR process according to Trust guidelines.

Custodial Responsibilities

Assume personal responsibility for the security of issued keys.

Understand and comply with prison orders, procedures, and instructions in your area of work.

Comply with all security requirements.

Respond to any situation or circumstance that might indicate a threat to security of the establishment or to the safety of an individual, completing Incident, Security, Injury, or other reports as appropriate.

Report breaches of order and discipline including reporting and recording untoward incidents according to local protocol.

Contribute to effective risk assessment and management procedures.

Person Specification

Education/Qualifications

Essential Criteria

1. Qualification at Masters level and/or equivalent level of experience.
2. Clinical or Legal Experience.
3. Other relevant training e.g. relating to leadership, Datix, patient safety.

Experience

Essential Criteria

1. Demonstration of experience of working within clinical settings.
2. Experience of patient safety, legal, clinical incident reporting & risk management.
3. Experience of audit and evidence of improvement of services.
4. A track record of building effective working relationships with internal colleagues.

Skills/Abilities/Knowledge

Essential Criteria

1. Knowledge, understanding and competencies of investigation tools, techniques and methodologies.
2. Experience of patient safety incident investigations within a large complex organization using PSIRF methodologies.
3. Able to investigate and analyse incidents, analyse research and national guidelines to improve practice.
4. Empathy, ability to deal with highly emotive patients/relatives and staff.

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that welcomes and supports individuals of all abilities. Remember, if you meet the minimum criteria for this role and you have a disability, you can be guaranteed an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme - Please ensure you select this on your application form. We would encourage you to be open about your needs so we can work with you to design a comfortable and accessible interview experience. Any information you provide regarding a disability or a need for adjustments will be treated in confidence and will only be shared with colleagues who are supporting this request.

If you require any adjustments to participate fully in the interview process, please let us know by adding the relevant details when scheduling your preferred interview date and time. Please feel free to contact the appointing manager to discuss your needs.

Please note that the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is prohibited during the interview process. We also discourage overuse of AI during the application process because this can negatively impact the quality of your application and may hinder your chances of being shortlisted. Thank you.

Applicant Requirements

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Documents to Download

• Job Description (PDF, 440.4KB)
• Person Specification (PDF, 480.3KB)
• Important Additional Information For Candidates (please read carefully) (PDF, 160.6KB)
• Privacy Notice for Staff (PDF, 268.6KB)
• Staff Benefits (PDF, 2.5MB)