About this role
Job summary
- This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced and motivated individual to lead key patient safety processes, including incident management, Duty of Candour, learning from deaths, coroners' requests, claims management and patient safety reporting.
- Working closely with clinical and operational leaders across the organisation, you will play a pivotal role in promoting a positive safety culture, identifying learning opportunities and supporting continuous improvement.
- As part of a supportive and forward-thinking team, you will have the opportunity to influence practice at an organisational level, contribute to patient safety initiatives and help to drive meaningful change.
Interviews will be held on 2 December 2026.
Main duties of the job
- Lead the organisation's patient safety processes, including incident management, Duty of Candour, learning from deaths, claims, coroners' requests and patient safety investigations.
- Analyse patient safety data and produce reports to identify trends, risks and opportunities for improvement.
- Provide expert advice, support and training to staff on patient safety policies, systems and regulatory requirements.
- Support a culture of learning and continuous improvement by ensuring lessons from incidents and complaints are shared and embedded across services.
- Line manage the Patient Safety and SARs Co-Ordinator and contribute to the delivery of the organisation's patient safety and quality objectives.
About us
First Community is a staff-owned social enterprise, rated Good by the CQC, providing NHS community services across east Surrey and parts of West Sussex. We are looking for people who share our values: First-rate care, First-rate people, First-rate value.
Recognised as one of the country's leading community healthcare employers in the 2025 NHS Staff Survey, First Community offers a supportive workplace where everyone has a voice and opportunities to develop their full potential.
We offer
NHS terms and conditions, excellent training and development, flexible working, NHS pension, flexible retirement options, and a range of employee benefits.
If you need flexibility, please talk to us when you apply or at interview. We will consider all requests carefully and accommodate them where possible, depending on the role.
We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, including Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates, and candidates with disabilities. We are committed to fair recruitment, including the consideration of reasonable adjustments.
Sustainability is central to our work as we support the NHS Net Zero ambition.
To stay safe online, only use our website to find and apply for jobs, and only trust recruitment communications from our published contact details. Any job advert, recruitment communication or offer can be verified through the contact details on our website.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post holder will be required to:
- Manage incident reporting, clinical alert systems (CAS) process, Patient Safety Incident Investigation process and Subject Access Requests (SAR).
- Co-ordinate any claims against First Community, coroners requests and inquests, learning from deaths process and Duty of Candours.
- Operate with autonomy within their areas of responsibility.
Please note
When completing your application please refer to both the Application Guide and full Job Description & Person Specification - these can be found under supporting documents.
We recognise that tools like AI are becoming part of everyday life and you may choose to use them when preparing your application. We understand, as long as what you submit reflects your own experience, skills and voice. AI can be helpful for structuring or refining your answers, but it should not replace your own examples or create content that isnt based on your real experience. Our recruitment process is designed to get to know you, and we will explore your examples further at interview, so its important your application genuinely represents what you bring.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to degree or equivalent level qualification.
- Post graduate level study or equivalent knowledge and skills gained through a combination of relevant experience, study and training in patient safety.
Desirable
- Evidence of training to understand systems thinking and human factors in patient safety incidents and investigations.
- Clinical qualification and / or experience.
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of NHS clinical governance systems.
- Awareness and understanding of the Medical Examiner (ME) process.
- Knowledge and understanding of the National patient safety strategy and Patient Safety Incident Response Framework.
- Knowledge and understanding of SAR process and Information Governance.
Desirable
- Knowledge and understanding of the Equalities Act 2010, including the importance of protected characteristics, and an understanding of bias in relation to discrimination and patient safety.
- Awareness and understanding of HM Coroners Inquest principles.
- Awareness and understanding of the National Patient Safety Strategy.
- Awareness and understanding of Never Events.
- Knowledge of risk management principles and practice.
Other
Essential
- Ability to work on own initiative and to manage time effectively; able to prioritise own time and work to deadlines.
- Able to self-manage administrative processes effectively to meet competing demands.
- Committed to personal and service development.
- Ability to work independently and as part of the Patient Safety and Quality Team.
- Car driver and willing to travel as required.
Skills
Essential
- Highly effective verbal communication and report writing skills. Effective problem-solving skills dealing with complex data and able to sensitively communicate across clinical and corporate teams. Ability to interpret complex, sensitive data/information to identify themes and trends to produce high-quality reports.
- Highly literate with developed analytical skills.
- Leadership and influencing skills with the ability to enthuse, motivate and involve individuals and teams: the ability to present and facilitate engaging education sessions.
- Computer literate able to use a variety of applications including: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, survey tools, relevant websites and First Community approved social media sites.
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working in patient safety and incident reporting and management.
- Experience of report writing.
- Experience of information management and governance.
- Experience of using an electronic incident reporting system as a system administrator (e.g. for producing data reports, trend analysis and not only for submitting incidents).
Desirable
- Experience of working in a clinical environment.
- Experience of interpreting information.
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.
Employer details
Employer name
First Community Health and Care
Address
First Community Health & Care
Consort House
Queensway
REDHILL
RH1 1YB
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.firstcommunityhealthcare.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)