Trust Investigation Facilitator

Job content

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the corporate nursing team as a Trust Investigation Facilitator. The post holder will lead Patient Safety Incident Investigations and other investigatory approaches, to help us learn from incidents and implement learning actions. This is a trust-wide role.

• To lead the continued development of an effective investigation approach that can be applied to SIs, Complaints and Claims that lead to service improvements.
• To take commissions from members of the Trust Board and Deputy Chief Nurse to lead investigations into SIs, Complaints and Claims as required.
• To assist in ensuring that that regulators, commissioners and HM Coroners, have information they expect about complaints and incidents, their management, investigation and follow-up.
• To continue to develop and deliver training on the investigation process.
• To work in collaboration with Trust safeguarding leads and partner organisations e.g. ICBs and Local Authorities as required to ensure that the Trust responds appropriately to the requirements of multiagency reviews such as SCRs and DHRs.
• To assist with the implementation of NHSE’s PSIRF and LFPSE
• To work with directorates regarding which investigatory responses to deploy.
• To lead our PSIIs.
• To assist the Trust in having oversight of the investigatory responses deployed in the Trust, triangulating the learning, themes and improvement actions, and being able to report on this.
• To have oversight of the Trust’s improvement actions, and to be able to report on these actions.
• To work closely with those affected by patient safety incidents.
• To deliver training regarding investigatory responses.
• To ensure that action plans are completed post-learning response.

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trustprovide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London and are part of King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. There are very few organisations in the world that have such wide-ranging capabilities working with mental illness. Our scope is unique because it is built on three major foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training.

The Trust employ around 5000 staff and serve a local population of 1.1 million people. We have more than 230 services including inpatient wards, outpatient and community services. Currently, provide inpatient care for approximately 5,300 people each year and treat more than 45,000 patients in the community in Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; as well as substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich.

Incident Reporting

• To implement the Incident and Investigations Policy both within the Department and across the Trust.
• To assist in ensuring that the established system of incident reporting is maintained, monitored, and the positive organisational culture of reporting and escalation is sustained.
• To liaise with Executive Directors and the Trust communications department on the content of Board briefings and press statements in relation to serious incidents.

Investigations

• To develop, prepare and deliver training courses in Structured Investigations (mandatory training) to senior staff.
• Lead and organise Structured Investigations into very Serious Incidents (SI), Complaints, and Claims
• Ensure that complex SIs, or those involving other agencies have a strategy meeting chaired by a member of the Trust Board (or delegated nominee) supported by key personnel; to establish the scope of the investigation, overlaps of any concurrent investigations, terms of reference, roles and responsibilities, and investigation process.
• Gather, analyse and examine all information / documents (medical records etc) in relation to a specific investigation.
• Arrange meetings and interview (where appropriate) all those involved in an investigation in order to gather and corroborate information i.e. service users / families / carers / staff members etc.
• Involve all stakeholders including patients, carers and families in the investigation process where possible.
• To ensure that there is timely and reasonable liaison with police conducting criminal investigation and the Crown Prosecution Service where necessary.
• Ensure that the quality of Level 2/3 structured investigation reports is consistently excellent, meets requirements of further mandatory and legal process and scrutiny, and are delivered within the statutory time frames as far as possible.
• Ensure that the statutory Duty of Candour is met where possible. When required, to assist the Communications Team in drafting letters to those affected by SIs for the Trust’s Executives.
• Contribute to the implementation of NHSE’s Patient Safety Incident Response Framework and Learning from Patient Safety Incidents.
• When investigation reports find acts or omissions suggesting professional misconduct or negligence, Service Directors, Line Managers and Professional Heads are informed promptly.
• To report on the investigatory responses deployed in the trust, and the learning and improvement work following investigatory responses/investigations.
• To work with directorate colleagues regarding decision making about what investigatory response to deploy.

Policy and standards

• Lead policy development in: Incident Reporting, Investigation of Serious Incident Complaints and Claims and Being Open/Duty of Candour and any other patient safety related policies.
• Interpret National guidance, statutory developments, and legal precedents, which have an impact on the practice and procedures for managing patient safety and investigating incidents, and establish the way in which these should be interpreted by the Trust. Incorporating these changes into any training packages.
• Ensure that guidance on investigations adheres to National agreements concerning concurrent investigations by the Police or other law enforcement agency, Local Authority child and adult safeguarding committees, Health and Safety Executive, Mental Health Act Commission investigation.
• Contribute to the Trust’s programme for achieving compliance with Clinical Risk Management Standards.

Training

• To continue to devise, develop and deliver training designed for senior staff, clinical and non-clinical, responsible for undertaking investigations into complaints, serious incidents and claims.
• Develop and deliver tailored training to meet the needs of specific departments as required.
• To supply ad-hoc training to meet the needs of specific departments as required.
• Continue to develop and maintain the Structured Investigations web site as a Trust resource to further staff development and learning.
• To deliver training regarding investigatory responses under PSIRF.

Assurance

• Investigation reports meet the standards of contractual agreements, in terms of structure, quality and timeliness.
• Assist in ensuring that there is good liaison with commissioners and regulators for the purposes of, media management, performance management, and decisions about independent enquiries.
• Contribute to assurance reports for the Board of Directors and other governance committees including quarterly Board Part II reports on all Level 2/3 and Independent Investigation activity.

Other Duties

• Liaison with the Legal Services Team and legal advisors when reports or staff are required at Coroners inquests.
• To lead one-off projects as required.
• Continue to develop and maintain the Structured Investigations website as a Trust resource to further staff development and learning.
• Continue to audit Trust compliance with Duty of Candour.
• Continue to provide advice to staff regarding the implementation of Duty of Candour.
• Continue the promotion of Trust staff knowledge and training regarding Duty of Candour.
• Assist with the implementation of NHSE’s Patient Safety Incident Response Framework and Learning from Patient Safety Incidents within the Trust.
• To deputise for the team manager as required, including responsibilities for budgets and payments.
• To work within the patient safety budget.
• To manage financial commitments, e.g. payments for work from members of the Involvement Register, in line with Trust Policies.

Knowledge Base

• Maintain sound knowledge base and keep up to date with changing requirements and developments in incident management and investigations nationally.
• Maintain sound knowledge of developments in the legal and regulatory framework of the NHS and best practice on investigations.