Head of Patient Experience

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Joining #TeamNELFT means you'll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We're CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, Essex, Kent and Medway. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.

The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for three consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.

Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an exceptional leader to join the Patient Experience Directorate at NELFT. The candidate will support the
Associate Director of Nursing in the smooth running of the patient experience directorate.

The successful candidate will be extremely passionate about patient experience and engaging with our user of service, communities, public and
clinical teams using a collaborative approach to deliver and sustain improvements in the quality, safety and experience of care that we offer to our patients.

The successful candidate will be the lead for Friends and Family Surveys, PALS & Complaints, Volunteering, Expert Patient Programme and Peer
Support in order to deliver outstanding patient experience.
It is an exciting time to join NELFT as we embark on a new patient experience journey and implement an exiting new strategy. Central to this new strategy is engagement, involvement, co-design and co-production with our patients, service users, experts by experience and partners.
If you are passionate and committed to ongoing improvement, innovation and leading positive service developments we would like to hear from
you.

The ideal candidate will have lived experience and a clinical background, but other applications are welcome and will be considered depending on experience.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will work strategically to ensure that patient and carer involvement is at the heart of all Trust activities, that patient experience feedback through patient forums, Friends and Family Test feedback, compliments, concerns and complaints is used to continually improve services. They will support the development of a high quality NHS workforce and encourage local communities into NHS roles by leading on the development of peer support worker (PSW) roles and encouraging young people to take up work experience opportunities and ensuring that volunteering opportunities add quality to our services.

Working for our organisation

Starting with NELFT

NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers and attend a number of drop in sessions focussing in engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.

Probationary Period

This post will be subject to a probationary period. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff).

High Cost Area Supplement

This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £4,313 to a maximum of £5,436).

COVID-19 Vaccination

We continue to encourage all staff to ensure that they have been double vaccinated and received their booster. We recognise that taking the vaccine provides the best defence against COVID 19 for our patients, our staff and their families.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should sufficient applications be received.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

• Providing clear direction and day to day management of the Patient Involvement Team, Voluntary Services & Work Experience Team, Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) & Complaints Team and Expert Patient Programme.
• Leading on the development of Peer Support Work (PSW) across the trust services.
• Developing, implementing and reviewing a Trust wide PSW Policy
• Developing, implementing and reviewing a Trust wide Work Experience Policy
• Implementing and evaluating the Patient Experience Strategy, Comments, Concerns and Complaints Policy and Volunteering Policy
• Co-ordinating patient experience activities across the Trust to ensure consistency and high quality feedback to inform operational strategy
• Leading on the implementation of NHSE/I reporting requirements for Safer Staffing and Friends and Family test, identifying areas of risk and ensuring appropriate action has been taken.
• To deputise for the Associate Director of Nursing Patient Experience as required.

Communication

• To assist the Associate Director of Nursing Patient Experience in developing key professional links within the Trust and with external agencies, including training and user/ carer organisations and in defining and leading quality and safety governance arrangements as required by regulators of care
• This job requires the post holder to communicate effectively with all those involved and affected by complaints. This will include regularly having difficult emotional conversations about when things may have gone wrong and where harms may have occurred.
• The post holder is responsible for the design and delivery of PALS and complaint handling that actively involves and includes patients, service users, families, carers, patient advocacy groups, non-executive directors, governors and key stakeholders and trust staff to further develop a culture of safety, openness and transparency
• The post holder will be required to actively listen to and understand the experiences of patients and service users, carers and staff that have been affected by serious incidents and complaints which will require a high level of professional skill.
• To apply effective negotiation and mediation skills to highly emotive situations that may result in litigation.
• The post holder will be required to ensure root causes analysis skills are applied to complaints investigations.
• Develop creative ways of sharing/disseminating best practice in relation to patient experience activities (both internally and externally)
• Write articles for local Trust publications
• Provide regular reports to locality and Trust wide governance committees and the Trust Board on specific issues regarding patient experience initiatives, including nationally mandated Safer Staffing and Friends and Family Test reporting.
• To develop and maintain effective communication with all professional colleagues organisation wide
• Ensuring that being open, honest and transparent with people who use our services is integral to the implementation of complaint responses.
• To disseminate to the trust and key stakeholders, including services user groups, information and knowledge through the collection, analysis of extensive patient feedback and complaints data and information.
• Provide presentations to large groups in relation to patient experience outcomes.

Quality and Patient Experience

• To oversee the coordination, implementation and evaluation of the Patient Experience Strategy and Compliments, Concerns and Complaints Policy and other local and national patient experience initiatives
• Take a lead role in a range of initiatives aimed at improving the service user experience
• To facilitate, plan, co-ordinate, implement and evaluate agreed service improvement priorities and work streams aimed at improving the service user and carer experience
• To support the Associate Director of Nursing Patient Experience in developing mechanisms for obtaining 'real time' patient feedback, including NHS England reporting requirements
• Support the Associate Director of Nursing Patient Experience in developing and implementing strategies that ensure clinical apprenticeships, peer support work, work experience and voluntary placements provide high quality experiences
• To provide expert advice to the trust and external stakeholders about complaints and learning.
• Provide expert clinical input into PALS and Complaints where appropriate.
• Provide advice to all staff members relating to improving patient experience and outcomes
• Work collaboratively with service user and carer groups and with partner agencies to promote user and carer involvement
• Provide expert advice and support on the various methodologies used to obtain patient/service user and carer feedback
• Develop models of audit and quality assurance for involvement activities to ensure the views patients/ service users, carers and other are taken into account
• Input into the design and implementation of satisfaction surveys and analyse, disseminate and follow up on the findings
• Lead on / be involved in projects, adjusting project plans accordingly.

Governance

• To ensure compliance with quality and safety standards and contracts, performance and national and local reporting requirements.
• To ensure that roles and accountabilities are clearly defined and that there are well understood processes for escalating and resolving risk issues and managing quality performance
• Develop, implement and review polices as required to support complaints handling, patient experience and volunteering services
• Ensure all governance processes are in place for complaints department, voluntary services, involvement and work experience including processes regarding recruitment, health checks and DBS, take up references; offer induction and training required for various departments. Also, to include Health & Safety, Risk Assessment guidelines.
• To input into action plans to address deficits highlighted in patient experience surveys, complaints investigation reports and safer staffing data

Leadership and Management

• Provide full line management for the patient involvement, PALS & complaints, voluntary and work experience services and expert patient programme team. This will include carrying out supervision, Performance Appraisal/ Personal Development Reviews
• Deputise for the Associate Director of Nursing Patient Experience as required
• Monitor budgets for service, signatory for small payments including travel claims.
• Support the Associate Director of Nursing Patient Experience in the annual planning and review process and ensure that workforce planning and training and development needs are incorporated into all service planning

Personal Development

• Be aware of the requirements for the post and develop and maintain a portfolio of evidence for review meetings
• Be aware of the requirements for own professional registration and revalidation and adhere to these
• Attend training and courses to maintain knowledge, skills and competencies
• Take an active part in clinical supervision and Performance/Appraisal/Personal Development Review process.

Please see the attached job description and person specification for more information about this role and working at North East London NHS Foundation Trust. We encourage you to refer closely to this when completing your application.

We welcome your application even if you do not meet all the criteria listed in the person specification. Any development needs to help you succeed in the role, can be discussed at the interview stage.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Registered Nurse/AHP/ Social Worker with current registration
• Degree level of education or equivalent in a relevant subject
• Evidence of ongoing CPD

Experience

Essential criteria

• Significant experience in the area of patient / user involvement or similar
• Extensive post registration clinical experience
• Experience in investigating complaints
• Previous experience in the area of volunteering
• Experience of preparing and delivering presentations

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• A sound knowledge of current key drivers in health and social care
• Awareness of the national patient experience agenda

Skills

Essential criteria

• Ability to network and establish strong working relationships
• Recognised leadership experience
• Experience of appraising supervising, managing and training staff
• Effective communication skills written and verbal
• Ability to engage with patients/ service users and carers with empathy and compassion

Other

Essential criteria

• Able to travel across boundaries of Trust

NELFT Values

Essential criteria

• Demonstrates NELFT Values

Benefits

We believe in bringing your authentic and best self to work, in order to deliver the best care to our patients. We are committed to supporting our employees holistically. Here is a snapshot of what is on offer at NELFT:

• A long-standing and award-winning approach to equality and diversity with supportive networks for ethnic minority staff, staff with disabilities or long term/chronic conditions and LGBT staff.
• A commitment to supporting colleagues to achieve a work life balance, through flexible working opportunities and our effortsto support our working parents and carers. This has resulted in us being recognised as a 'Top 10 Family Friendly Employer' from the Working Families Charity.
• Proactive health and wellbeing support, including access to our employee assistance programme, staff psychological support, individual wellbeing conversations and a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors.
• Detailed information about our wellbeing and benefits offer can be found in this link.

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that's a job share, part time hours or another flexible pattern.

Supporting our Armed Forces

We recognise the valuable contribution that the Armed Forces community make to our organisation. We have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and achieved Gold Award under the Armed Forces Employer Recognition Scheme. We have supportive policies, guaranteed interview schemes for veterans. reservists and military spouses and give additional leave to our Reservists so that they can attend their annual camp.

Equal opportunities employer

We are committed to equal opportunities and diversity and positively encourage applications from all sections of the community regardless of any protected characteristic.

We are a Disability Confident employer and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with disabilities. If you require this application in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape please contact the recruitment team on 0300 300 1530 or email recruitment@nelft.nhs.uk.

Correspondence with us

You are advised to regularly check your emails (including any junk mail/spam folders) for correspondence related to this post.

In the event of a high number of responses to any advert, NELFT reserves the right to close the vacancy early. If you do not hear from us within three weeks of the closing date then please assume you have not been successful on this occasion.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

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, 373.1KB)
• Person Specification (PDF, 256.6KB)
• NELFT Application - Hints and Tips (PDF, 38.4KB)