About this role
Job summary
Are you an experienced Gynaecology governance professional with a passion for patient safety, quality improvement and risk management?
We are seeking an outstanding Deputy Head of Governance for Women's and Gynaecology Services (Band 8a) to join our Governance Team at West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
This is an exciting opportunity to play a key leadership role in supporting the delivery of safe, effective and high-quality care for women accessing our gynaecology services across the Trust.
Reporting to the Head of Governance, you will provide senior leadership for governance across gynaecology services, ensuring robust governance systems are embedded, maintained and continuously improved.
You will lead on risk management, patient safety, incident investigations, complaints, claims, clinical audit and regulatory compliance, whilst promoting a culture of learning, continuous improvement and excellence in women's healthcare.
Working closely with clinical, nursing and operational leaders, you will support the delivery of key priorities across gynaecology, including elective and emergency services, early pregnancy and specialist pathways, ensuring that patient experience, safety and quality remain at the heart of service delivery.
This is a full-time role based at Watford General Hospital, with some cross-site working required. Working hours are primarily Monday to Friday, with flexibility to meet service needs.
Main duties of the job
As Deputy Head of Governance for Women's and Gynaecology Services, you will provide operational leadership for governance systems and processes across the specialty, ensuring compliance with Trust, regional and national standards.
You will oversee risk management processes, maintain specialty risk registers, and support clinical and operational leaders to identify, manage and mitigate risks effectively across gynaecology services.
You will lead on patient safety and incident management within gynaecology, including supporting the implementation of the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF), overseeing complex investigations and driving learning from incidents, complaints, claims, audits and inquests.
Working closely with multidisciplinary teams, you will ensure that learning is embedded into practice to improve patient safety, experience and outcomes across gynaecology pathways, including elective, emergency, early pregnancy and specialist services.
The successful candidate will have significant experience in NHS governance, patient safety or risk management, ideally within women's health, maternity or gynaecology services.
You will possess excellent analytical, organisational and communication skills, with the ability to influence and build strong relationships with senior clinical, nursing and operational leaders.
About us With a new hospital planned for Watford, work underway to update theatres at St Albans City Hospital and plans for a neighbourhood healthcare centre in Hemel Hempstead, this is an exciting time to join us. We are building on the success of our award-winning virtual hospital and re-imagining models of care, working closely with partners and making the most of advances in digital healthcare. Staff wellbeing and development are a priority, as is the role of innovation in improving clinical care, outcomes and patient experience. Our vision is Excellent patient care, together and our values are to be empowered, compassionate, professional and inclusive. They capture an important balance across what we must all do as individuals and to support others. We offer a variety of flexible working options as we recognise the importance of a good work life balance.www.westhertshospitals.nhs.uk/flexibleworking If you have a disability or long-term health condition and require support or guidance please [email protected] If you are a Service Leaver, Veteran, Military Reserve, Cadet Force Adult Volunteer, or partner/spouse of those serving please tick "Member of the Armed Forces Community" on the application form. We reserve the right to close this advert early due to the volume of applicants. Please apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.If you do not hear back within 3 weeks of your application, please assume you have been unsuccessful on this occasion.
Job description Job responsibilities
Key responsibilities include overseeing governance systems, speciality risk registers, incident management, complaints and claims processes, clinical audit and effectiveness programmes, governance reporting, regulatory compliance and the development and review of policies, guidelines and standard operating procedures relevant to Gynaecology services.
The post holder will lead and support complex patient safety investigations, oversee the development and monitoring of safety and quality improvement plans, and provide assurance reporting to Gynaecology Governance Meetings, Divisional Committees and Trust-wide governance forums.
They will support consultants, nursing staff and multidisciplinary teams through training, coaching and development in governance, patient safety, human factors and quality improvement methodologies.
Working closely with clinical leads, matrons, service managers and corporate teams, the Deputy Head of Governance will ensure learning from incidents, complaints, audits, risk reviews, patient feedback and external reviews is effectively embedded within practice and translated into sustainable service improvements.
The role will provide strategic oversight of governance activity across Gynaecology, supporting the delivery of safe, effective and high-quality care for women accessing services across the Trust.
Person Specification
Education and qualifications: Essential
Educated to degree level in a relevant discipline or equivalent experience of working at a senior level. Evidence of relevant ongoing professional development. Patient Safety, Governance or Risk Management education.
Desirable
Registered healthcare professional. Relevant Postgraduate qualification. Completed Advanced Levels of the National Patient safety syllabus. Leadership/management education/training.
Knowledge: Essential
In-depth knowledge of NHS clinical governance frameworks, including patient safety, risk management, clinical effectiveness and patient experience. Advanced understanding of risk management and assurance principles, including risk identification, assessment, escalation, controls, and assurance gaps. Strong knowledge of patient safety systems and policy, including the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) and incident investigation methodologies. Comprehensive knowledge of regulatory and external assurance requirements, including Care Quality Commission (CQC) standards and NHS Resolution requirements. Knowledge of evidence-based standards and national guidance, including NICE and relevant national clinical audit and enquiry programmes (e.g. NCEPOD). Understanding of complaints, claims and inquest processes, including Duty of Candour and principles of robust and defensible investigations. Knowledge of clinical audit and clinical effectiveness frameworks, including how audit findings translate into measurable improvement. Understanding of CAS alerts and patient safety alerts, including processes for implementation and assurance. Knowledge of governance reporting and assurance requirements, including dashboards, data triangulation, and articulation of risk, assurance and gaps. Understanding of policy development, document control and governance processes within an NHS context. Knowledge and practical experience of governance information systems (e.g. Datix or equivalent) and data quality requirements. Understanding of information governance, confidentiality and GDPR requirements relevant to healthcare settings.
Desirable
Knowledge of triangulation of intelligence across incidents, complaints, claims, audit, mortality and patient feedback to inform assurance and improvement. Understanding of Just Culture principles and approaches to embedding a positive safety culture. Awareness of Integrated Care System (ICS) governance arrangements and cross-organisational working. Knowledge of quality improvement methodologies (e.g. PDSA, Lean, Model for Improvement) and their application in healthcare settings. Understanding of health inequalities and equality, diversity and inclusion principles, and their application within governance and risk management. Awareness of national patient safety priorities and emerging best practice, and their implications for divisional governance.
Experience: Essential
Significant experience working within NHS governance, patient safety, or risk management functions at a senior level. Demonstrable experience of leading or managing governance teams or functions, including staff supervision, performance management and service delivery. Proven experience of implementing and operating clinical governance systems and processes within a complex healthcare environment. Experience of risk management, including maintaining risk registers, risk assessment, escalation, and monitoring controls and assurances. Practical experience of incident management and investigation, including application of PSIRF (or equivalent methodologies) and development of action plans. Experience of managing complaints and/or claims processes, ensuring timely investigation, learning and defensible responses. Experience of clinical audit, clinical effectiveness or quality improvement programmes, including translating findings into measurable improvements. Demonstrable experience of producing high-quality governance reports and assurance information for senior management, committees or Boards. Experience of triangulating complex information (e.g. incidents, complaints, audit, risk data) to identify themes, risks and assurance gaps. Experience of supporting regulatory compliance and inspection readiness, including CQC or equivalent external review processes. Experience of working effectively with senior clinical and operational stakeholders, providing advice, challenge and influencing decision-making. Experience of developing and delivering training or guidance on governance, patient safety or risk management. Experience of working collaboratively with patients/service/ stakeholders to improve quality of service by co-design.
Desirable
Experience of leading or supporting implementation of the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) within an organisation. Experience of participating in or leading complex investigations (e.g. serious incidents, high-risk complaints, inquests). Experience of working at Divisional level in a large acute or integrated healthcare organisation. Experience of supporting Board or Committee processes, including paper development, assurance reporting and action tracking. Experience of service improvement or transformation programmes, particularly those linked to patient safety or quality outcomes. Experience of policy development, review and implementation within a governance framework. Experience of working with governance information systems (e.g. Datix) to support reporting, analysis and assurance. Experience of cross-organisational or system (ICS) working, including collaboration with external partners. Experience of embedding learning and improvement following incidents, complaints or audit, with evidence of impact.
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.
Certificate of Sponsorship 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 West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Address Cross Site
Watford
WD18 0HB
United Kingdom
Employer's website http://www.westhertshospitals.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)