Doncaster & Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS FT
We have an exciting opportunity for the right candidate with relevant experience and knowledge to join us as Family Liaison Officer. Family liaison officers will be a new role in the Trust providing support to patients, families, and carers during patient safety incident responses as well as supporting the management of complex complaints. They will act as a single point of contact for patients and families involved in incidents and be part of the Trust's process of engaging patients and families in patient safety incident responses.
The Family Liaison Officers will work in line with Being Open and Duty of Candour principles. You will provide support and information in a sensitive and compassionate manner, securing the confidence and trust of patients, their families, and carers, ensuring they are given timely information in accordance with the needs of the investigation/learning response.
You will be expected to work in close collaboration with colleagues and provide support to the wider Patient Safety and Patient Experience teams.
Main Duties of the Job
The role of the Family Liaison Officer (FLO) is to support families and carers through the investigation process that follows a serious incident related to a service user. The purpose of the role is to ensure families and carers are treated with compassion and professionalism in respect to their individual needs. The role requires the highest degree of sensitivity, communication, and integrity and will include the provision of support to newly bereaved individuals, some of whom may be deeply distressed.
The post holder will be the main point of contact for individual families and carers and will work closely with the Investigating Officer assigned to the incident. This will include agreeing methods and timing of communication with family members which may include face-to-face meetings, telephone calls, and email correspondence. This will ensure that the family's needs are met with regard to the provision of timely and accurate information during the investigation, openness, and transparency, and to reflect the level of involvement they wish to have in the investigation.
About Us
DBTH is one of Yorkshire's leading acute trusts, serving a population of more than 440,000. Our services are based over three main hospital sites and several additional services employing over 7,000 colleagues. At DBTH, we have a comprehensive framework of behaviours that guide us in our daily working lives, these form the DBTH Way. We pride ourselves on our commitment to the values of We Care and now the DBTH Way builds upon these foundations, providing further clarity on what it means to embody these values in our everyday interactions. As an organisation that supports flexible working, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us, for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you. As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applicants from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including those with disabilities, members of our ethnic minorities, and LGBTQ+ communities.
Job Responsibilities
Please see attached to the advert a job description and person specification for further details. Please ensure you read both documents carefully.
Please note, if your application is successful, you will be required to present original certificates of qualifications that are listed in the person specification under essential.
Person Specification
Knowledge and Experience
* Interpretation and implementation of national strategies into local initiatives.
* Ability to provide specialised advice to clinical and non-clinical areas on service development and re-design initiatives in line with the Trust's business.
* Experience of work with the general public within a public-facing service such as health care, volunteer sector support, or police.
* Knowledge and understanding of NHS Complaints Management arrangements and the role of the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman.
* Good understanding and working knowledge of the PSIRF launched in 2022.
* Good knowledge of duty of candour and ability to be the expert in the Trust on duty of candour and its application.
* Be able to signpost to organisations and charities where families can get emotional support and help.
Qualifications/Training
* To be educated to Degree level or equivalent clinical or professional experience.
* Excellent management/leadership skills. Evidence of continuing professional or managerial development.
Personal Attributes & Skills
* Friendly and approachable.
* Have an understanding of the effects of bereavement on different people including children.
* Ability to engage and develop working relationships with different families and patients.
* Communicate effectively in highly stressful situations and be able to break down complex information to make it easy to understand.
* Excellent communication skills with a key focus on the ability to listen.
* Compassionate with the proven ability to deal with distressed people in emotive situations and be calm under pressure.
* Self-awareness regarding personal impact and the requirement to participate in professional supervision.
* Strong facilitation and negotiation skills with all professionals and families.
* Manage and plan own workload and work independently to provide meaningful engagement to patients and their families.
* Be an expert in the Trust on duty of candour.
* Provide training to other staff on duty of candour.
* Ability to prioritise and manage a number of conflicting requirements in a professional manner and deal with several complex issues at the same time.
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.
Doncaster & Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS FT
Head of Patient Engagement, Experience and Involvement
£37,338 to £44,962 a year Pro Rata Per Annum
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