County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust – Patient Safety and Experience Partner
The closing date is 07 January 2026
In June 2021, the new Framework for Involving Patients in Patient Safety was published by NHS England. This framework sets out approaches and standards that help to make a positive difference to how patient safety is viewed and managed in the NHS. All NHS Trusts have a responsibility to make sure that patients, families, and carers are full and equal participants in strengthening patient safety governance and management processes.
Patient Safety Partners (PSPs) are patients, carers and family members who are recruited to work in partnership with staff to influence and improve governance and leadership in the provision of health care. As an advocate of patient safety and experience, Patient Safety Partners must have the confidence to communicate effectively with senior leaders over strategic issues, to lead change within patient safety and to challenge existing practices and structures, and to provide a patient, carer or lay perspective. The Patient Safety and Experience Partner will also liaise with patients, carers and families in the pursuit of improving and embedding safe standards of care and service delivery.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will be responsible for managing the patient voice within the complaint and incident management and review process and for providing advice and support for identified issues. The post holder will be responsible for the effective management of patient complaints and incidents within the required timescale.
The post holder will support the Organisation a designated Care Group in ensuring the patient safety and experience is central to their core business and that learning from concerns, complaints and patient safety incidents is a priority.
Tosupport the patient safety and experience managers who advise on an effective patient safety and experience focus and involvement culture within and across CDDFT. To support with the implementation of systems to ensure lessons are learned and shared from complaint findings and risk management issues and incidents.
Job responsibilities
Tosupport the development of the pro‑active identification of patient safety risks and ongoing risk assessments and risk registers at departmental/directorate level by supporting, advising and facilitating ward managers, matrons, heads of departments, service and general managers in this work.
Actively participate in key conversations and meetings within the Trust that address patient safety and experience by being the lived experience voice/representative of all service users and carers across the partnership.
Challenge us and the way that we work as a critical friend; provide a questioning approach to the information shared at committee meetings; represent the patient / carer /family voice, to ensure our staff are walking in the patients' shoes.
Lead on the co‑design of patient safety and experience initiatives and ensure compliance with relevant policies and maintain confidentiality.
To support patient involvement strategies at corporate and Care Group level, ensuring evidence is available to assure the Board that the Trust is compliant with CQC outcomes, PHSO standards and clinical strategy.
To support the sharing of learning from patient feedback and patient safety incidents, across the designated Care Group Trust and within Patient forums.
To support the analysis and interpretation of patient feedback and incidents for reporting trends relating to patient experience.
Take the lead in specific areas of work as designated.
To support the development of patient feedback mechanisms and ensuring survey results and actions taken are publicised.
Liaise with wards and departments on training needs relating to patient safety and experience.
Co‑ordinate work with the patient safety and experience team to ensure training programmes relating to patient safety and experience consistently include a patient perspective.
To keep updated as to current local and national policy and strategy as appropriate.
Participate in the annual training needs analysis.
Supporting the patient safety and experience managers in the analysis of incidents and complaints, identifying trends whilst providing reports for both internal and external stakeholders.
Support and develop junior members of staff as required.
Participate in annual appraisal and clinical supervision programmes.
Attend training and education programmes as required to support role.
Ensure confidentiality of information is respected at all times following Information Governance standards.
Share good practice at all opportunities both internally across all areas of the trust and externally to the organisation.
Represent the Trust in a positive manner at all times.
Any other duties commensurate with banding.
Ensure that incidents are reviewed in a timely manner.
Contribute to the day‑to‑day line management of admin staff including appraisals, sickness absencemonitoring, performance reviews, disciplinary and resolution processes, assessing training requirements and annual leave requests in the absence of the Patient Safety and Experience Managers.
Deputise for the Patient Safety and Experience Manager in their absence.
To ensure effective systems for processing, investigating and responding to complaints and concerns meet the needs and expectations of patients and their families.
To work as an effective member of the patient safety and experience team to ensure the patient experience is used to inform quality improvement.
Support and contribute to the improvement of communication and relationship building with community groups, patients, carers and members of the public.
Support the development of high-quality, patient and carer non‑clinical information specific to patient experience.
Participate in relevant teaching and presentations as required. To support the development of e‑Learning packages in relation to patient safety and experience.
Toliaise with potential volunteers and Care Group representatives to support the introduction of volunteers to the organisation. develop, embed and chair the CDDFT patient ...
Person Specification
Special Skills & Knowledge
* Shares the Trusts Values and model this in their attitude and behaviour.
* Ensure they are demonstrated by self and others every day and that any matters of concern are addressed in a timely way, either directly; or raised with the relevant Line Manager; or through the relevant processes within the Trust as appropriate.
* Credibility and enthusiasm for patient safety and experience.
* Values diversity and difference;
* Operate with integrity and openness
* Exhibits and promotes respect for service users, families and carers, individual staff and teams.
* Expresses and articulates ideas in a manner that is appropriate, accurate and understood.
* Seeks to ensure the provision of a high‑quality and safe service to service users, families and carers.
* Ensures coproduction of patient safety initiatives with service users, families and their carers.
Special Requirements
* Ability to travel/work across all Trust sites to meet the requirements of the post.
Experience
* Lived experience of health services, either as a service user, family member or carer of a service user.
* Proven leadership skills.
* Recognition of how lived experience can influence and drive patient safety and experience.
* Ability to understand and critically evaluate a range of information and evidence.
* Confidence to communicate effectively with senior leaders about strategic issues, as an advocate for patient safety and experience.
* Ability to provide a patient, carer, or lay perspective and to put forward views on behalf of the wider community / groups of patients (not own opinion only).
* Experience of teaching and training or facilitating groupwork.
* Experience of championing health improvements; able to be a critical friend.
* Ability to interact with multiple stakeholders at senior management level.
* Sound judgement and an ability to be objective.
* Understanding of the issues and concerns of individuals with health concerns and of their carers/families.
* Ability to take part in activities for improving quality.
* Ability to manage own workload, prioritise and seek creative solutions.
* Understanding of the importance of equality and diversity.
* (verbal and written)
* Excellent interpersonal skills.
* Excellent presentation skill.
* Personal integrity and commitment to openness, inclusiveness and high standards.
* Involvement in service redesign and development.
* Experience of policy development.
* Experience of relationship building and partnership working.
* Experience of working in partnership with healthcare organisations or programmes.
Qualifications
* Degree level education or able to demonstrate equivalent skills & experience.
* Evidence of Continuous Professional Development.
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.
County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
£38,682 to £46,580 a year per annum / pro rata
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