About this role
Job summary
The Clinical Safety Officer (CSO) will report to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO). The postholder holds responsibility to develop, support, and perform Clinical Risk Management (CRM) activities that support the safe development, implementation, and use of Health Information Technology Systems and Applications in use across the Trust. The postholder will have extensive understanding of digital clinical safety and be responsible for the efficient and effective management of the Digital Clinical Safety portfolio within multiple digital projects across the Trust.
The role is responsible for providing leadership, guidance, support, specialist knowledge, and clinical safety review and approval for the implementation of new digital solutions and upgrades to existing digital solutions across the portfolio of requests. This includes the assessment of clinical safety issues at all points in the procurement and implementation of IT solutions, ongoing management of live service activities and ensuring digital solutions conform to relevant national standards for clinical safety.
The postholder will be responsible for assessing, reporting, investigating, and supporting to resolve or mitigate digital clinical safety risks and incidents, making recommendations on the safety of proposed or existing Health IT Systems, ensuring liaison with other internal departments as required.
Candidates with queries relating directly to the role are encouraged to contact [email protected]
Main duties of the job
As Clinical Safety Officer (CSO) reporting to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) you will
Act as the Trusts lead for Digital Clinical Safety, ensuring the safe design, deployment, governance, and lifecycle management of Health IT systems in line with DCB0129 and DCB0160 standards.
Lead the identification, assessment, mitigation, and monitoring of clinical risks associated with digital systems, providing clinical safety approval for new and upgraded solutions.
Develop, maintain, and oversee Digital Clinical Safety governance processes, including Clinical Risk Management Plans, Risk Management Files, Hazard Logs, and Safety Case Reports.
Provide specialist clinical safety advice and guidance to stakeholders, project teams, governance groups, and senior decision-makers across the Trust.
Drive continuous improvement by investigating digital clinical safety incidents, promoting best practice, and supporting the implementation of safer digital technologies.
Collaborate with clinical, operational, and technical teams to embed clinical safety standards, policies, and patient safety principles within digital transformation programmes.
Lead awareness, training, and education initiatives to promote Digital Clinical Safety compliance and support staff understanding of national standards and requirements.
Represent the Trust in internal, regional, and national forums relating to Digital Clinical Safety and clinical risk management.
About us
Help shape a new national model for specialist care.
The Online NHS Trust is a new, NHS-owned national provider established on 1 June 2026 to deliver NHS Online, a significant reform to the way healthcare is delivered in England. Join us in transforming health and care delivery, providing patients with the option of seeing specialists online for conditions where there is a real disparity in access to care and the longest waits. We are unlocking access to specialist care right across the country, helping patients bypass bottlenecks in waiting lists.
The Online NHS Trust will make it easier for patients across England to access high-quality planned specialist care virtually, bringing together clinical expertise and capacity across geographical boundaries. Working alongside existing NHS services, we will use technology and innovative workforce models to offer care that is more convenient, flexible and responsive to patient's needs. This is not simply about moving existing services online. It is an opportunity to organise NHS care differently, make better use of capacity across the country and help services respond to changing patient needs and growing demand. Join us at the outset and you will play a direct role in shaping how this new model develops, bringing your expertise, ideas, and ambition to improve care for patients across England.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Key Responsibilities
Operational
- To operate as a key member of the digital team which oversees the effective delivery of all digital clinical services within the Trust.
- Promote and support the application of Patient Safety Risk Management to:
- The deployment and use of Health IT Systems (DCB0160)
- The manufacture of Health IT Systems (DCB0129)
- Establish, maintain, and refine a coherent and comprehensive set of robust business processes to identify and address patient safety risks associated with Health IT Systems and Applications.
- Provide clinical safety approval for new agreed deployments of digital solutions and upgrades to existing systems across the Trust.
- To work with relevant internal and external stakeholders and take responsibility and accountability for digital clinical safety.
- Collaborates with clinical and non-clinical staff in planning and implementing clinical safety standards and policies aligned to the Trust Digital Strategy.
- Lead to optimally manage clinical safety throughout the lifecycle of all digital clinical systems, from conception through dissolution.
- Lead on the development of the way in which organisations will digitally record and govern the risks arising from Digital Clinical Safety processes, enabling all staff involved in the development, implementation, and use of Health IT Systems and Applications to be aware of the activities that are required to be undertaken to ensure patient safety is maintained and improved, rather than compromised.
- Support the embedding and use of Health IT Systems and Applications across the organisation(s) to improve clinical and patient safety.
Service Delivery & Development
- Provide a service which captures and learns from digital clinical safety incidents and supports the introduction of changes and improvements to clinical systems where necessary.
- To improve the safety of digital technologies within the Trust.
- To identify, and support the promotion/use of, digital technologies as solutions to patient safety challenges.
- Ensure that the Trust learns from best practice in digital transformation programmes to understand what works well and why, in respect to digital clinical safety.
- Assist clinical safety and data & reporting colleagues to ensure all sources of safety information contribute to a shared understanding of digital clinical safety issues supporting the development of plans relating to their resolution
- Providing leadership to the Digital Clinical Safety agenda across the Trust, combining clinical expertise with understanding of the human factors associated with digital systems.
Governance
- Proactive engagement in key areas of work to ensure both the robust assessment of digital clinical risk and the implementation of effective controls (including working jointly with other governance teams within the Trust on identified issues).
- Ensure appropriate systems and processes are in place for the assessment and mitigation of clinical risk in relation to the Trust's digital clinical systems, and where appropriate their interfaces with partner organisations' digital and manual systems and processes.
- Provide specialist advice in the safe use of digital clinical systems.
- Provide guidance, expert advice, and support with regards to Digital Health clinical risk management (CRM) practice.
- Provide effective clinical engagement in identified digital solutions and related quality and/or information governance programmes of work, ensuring overall investment integrity and coherence.
- Attend meetings, including board meetings, as required to provide clinical safety advice and guidance to stakeholder and decision-making groups.
- Development and supporting the management and maintenance of;
- Clinical Risk Management File (CRMF)
- Clinical Risk Management Plan (CRMP)
- Hazard Log (HL)
- Clinical Safety Case Report
- Any other reasonable duties as required by the Senior Management Team.
Analytical, judgement, and risk management
- Managing and supporting the resolution of clinical risks or other related issues, within digital systems, as they arise and where required, lead or contribute to the investigation of incidents including liaison with relevant national teams.
- Contributing to discussions with third party suppliers and external resources regarding any issues identified with software or hardware, which has an impact on clinical safety.
- To actively lead on the promotion and awareness of the need for digital clinical safety authorisation and approval in the procurement of new software and hardware.
- The postholder will be responsible for the signoff of the clinical safety case for all newly deployed applications, or those referred through the relevant programme meetings and any other relevant meetings.
- Participation in Trust, regional, and national meetings related to digital clinical safety as required.
Training and Development
- Participate in Digital Clinical Safety training as required to maintain CSO certification (e.g. DCB0160 and DCB0129).
- Provide Digital Clinical Safety training and support as required to individuals within the Trust.
- Manage an ongoing programme of activities to raise awareness within the Trust of national online Digital Clinical Safety modules.
This job description is not intended to be exhaustive, and it is likely that duties may be altered from time to time in the light of changing circumstances.
Person Specification
Skills
Essential
- Ability to analyse and investigate complex and interlinked digital and clinical issues in relation to digital clinical safety
- Ability to interpret and present data across disciplines in non-technical terminology
- Maintain clinical credibility and stay up to date with developments in clinical practice, including maintaining live registration through active clinical practice
- Evidence an understanding of NHS legislation, governance frameworks, statue and constitution, and the impact on NHS organisations
- Understanding of complex public sector organisations and how they work with others effectively
Qualifications
Essential
- Registered healthcare professional with current UK registration
- Experience and familiarity with CSO role, with accredited CSO qualification
- Evidence of education to postgraduate diploma level, BSc level, or equivalent knowledge through professional clinical experience
- Evidence of continued professional and educational development with evidence of training and qualifications in a relevant health discipline
- Clinically competent and credible with frontline staff and senior multi-disciplinary colleagues
- Clinical risk management qualification
Desirable
- Project Management Qualification or experience and knowledge of project management methodologies
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of developments and legislation relevant to digital clinical safety, ensuring own practice reflects current professional guidance and standards with ongoing development
- Knowledge of DCB0160 and DCB0129 standards and their application within healthcare organisations
- Working knowledge of all relevant UK legislation relating to Digital including, but not limited to, Freedom of Information Act, GDPR, Data Protection Act
- Ability to manage and organise time effectively to meet the needs of the service
- Good organisational and time management skills
- Ability to work autonomously
- Ability to implement, manage, and support change processes
- Ability to negotiate, persuade, and stimulate staff that may be resistant to change
- Ability to recognise clinical risk
Experience
Essential
- Experience working in a senior clinical position in a relevant care setting
- Experienced CSO with portfolio of evidence to demonstrate past practice and achievements
- Experienced clinician with evidence of working effectively across a range of clinical settings
- Evidence of progressing clinical practice in audit, research, and clinical effectiveness
- Experience and knowledge of measures that can be effectively applied to reduce associated clinical risk
- Evidence of successfully leading change
- Excellent communication skills with a range of people from a variety of disciplines, regarding a range of business or technical matters
- Excellent writing and speaking skills, including preparation of formal reports and training materials
- Experience producing high-quality documentation including CRM Plans, Hazard Logs, and Clinical Safety Case Reports in adherence to national standards
- Articulate in the delivery of large projects or similar trust-wide initiatives
Desirable
- Experience in digital clinical risk management (CRM)
- Experience in organising Clinical Safety Hazard Workshops and capturing evidence of controls
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.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details
Employer name
Online NHS Trust
Address
Wellington House
133-155 Waterloo Road
LONDON
SE1 8UG
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://onlinetrust.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)