Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
The Perinatal Expert by Experience role has been developed in response to a range of recommendations from various reports identifying that the voice of people using services in their pathway is often not heard and can be excluded from essential decisions.
People using services have a unique perspective on their own care needs and should be embraced as part of the decision-making team with the patient at the heart of the pathway. This role will enable the person to be seen, heard and involved; subject to the appropriate consents.
Please note for this role you will be required to travel independently around the county meeting strict time deadlines. You will need to hold a full UK driving licence and have use of a vehicle. You cannot use public transport for this role as this is not a reliable form of transport and will not allow you to meet service needs. Please confirm in your application that you meet the specified criteria.
Main duties of the job
This is a new post therefore although having clear parameters and expectations there will be opportunities to positively shape and influence the role and build and develop important relationships with stakeholders and partners.
The post holder will work with the People Participation Lead and Clinical Leads within the East of England Provider Collaborative to achieve the following core objectives:
* Work with people from admission to the mother and baby unit to discharge.
* Help patients/carers understand the inpatient system and processes - be a source for high quality information that is easy to understand.
* Work proactively with the allocated mother and baby units, supporting communication processes between the clinical unit and patients; enabling units to create a compassionate and responsive approach to patients and where appropriate their carers.
* Empower patients to access information and to be part of planning.
* Have knowledge and networks of the local area to support people with information and signposting.
* Be a point of liaison with the Unit on patient matters, specifically quality improvement initiatives to enable more robust and inclusive engagement.
* Help patients raise concerns where necessary and take action to escalate those concerns if necessary.
About us
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health & social care organisation dedicated to providing high quality care with compassion to improve the health & wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting & empowering them to lead a fulfilling life.
Our clinical teams deliver many NHS services not only via inpatient and primary care setting but also with the community. These services include Children, Adult & Older Peoples mental & physical health, Forensic & Specialist mental health, Learning Disabilities, Primary Care & Liaison psychiatry, Substance misuse, Social care, Research & Development.
To achieve our goal, we look to recruit high calibre candidates that share our vision & values. As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including disabled people & members of our ethnic minorities & LGBTQ+ communities.
Please be advised we reserve the right to close adverts earlier than the closing date should we receive sufficient applications.
Regrettably, we cannot offer sponsorship for all our job roles. If you apply for a role that we cannot offer sponsorship for, unfortunately, your application form will be rejected from the process.
Job responsibilities
Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities
Improving quality and outcomes
* Champion the role of Perinatal Expert by Experience within units, supporting the patients and where appropriate carers to ensure their voice is heard and they are seen as equals in the care pathway.
* Work with colleagues across the regions to ensure the delivery of improvements through Expert By Experience roles of engagement and involvement across all Mother and Baby units and demonstrate the value of Expert by Experience roles.
* Actively contribute to the evaluation of the Expert by Experience Programme.
* Where indicated, use local escalation processes to raise with the Clinical Director of the Provider Collaborative or lead commissioner if local resolution is not possible.
* Share concerns and/or escalate unresolved concerns to the People Participation Lead as required.
* Maintain accurate records and comply with local procedures for record keeping, confidentiality and security.
Enabling patient and public involvement
* Act as a champion for patients and their interests and involve the public and patients in the policy development and decision-making of NHS England and NHS Improvement.
* Ensure all public and patient contact with the office is of the highest professional standard.
* Embed patient and public involvement within NHS England and NHS Improvement at all levels of decision making.
Promoting equality and reducing inequalities
* Uphold organisational policies and principles on the promotion of equality.
* Create an inclusive working environment where diversity is valued, everyone can contribute, and everyday action ensures we meet our duty to uphold and promote equality.
* Highlight where there may be a need for reasonable adjustment.
Promoting Rights and Signposting
* Share information to support understanding of the Care Plan Approach (CPA) meetings; Understanding the Care and Treatment Review (CTR) Process.
* Family and individuals rights including legal frameworks (MHA, MCA, Human Rights Act, Child and Families Act).
* The community teams and their roles (CAMHS, IASS, CCGs).
* Signpost to groups in their local area and on Social Media.
* Information about key policies (e.g., NICE, Transforming Care).
* Signposting when they may need legal advice and how to go about this.
Developing an excellent organisation
* Ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of all staff within the department.
* Ensure compliance with all confidentiality and governance requirements within the department.
Person Specification
Values & Behaviours
* Commitment to and focused on quality, promotes high standards in all they do.
* Able to make a connection between their work and the benefit to patients, parents, carers, advocates, family and the public.
* Values diversity and difference, operates with integrity and openness.
* Works well with others, is positive and helpful, listens, involves, respects and learns from the contribution of others.
* Consistently thinks about how their work can help and support clinicians and frontline staff deliver better outcomes for patients.
Skills Capabilities & Attributes
* Evidence of good interpersonal skills and ability to form peer relationships with patients and their advocates.
* Ability to act calmly and to respond in a professional manner to distress and also challenging conversations with staff.
* Ability to see solutions rather than problems.
* Ability to work at pace in a busy working environment and able to multi-task.
* Professional, calm and efficient manner.
* Skills in peer support in the Perinatal field.
* Ability to work without supervision.
* Able to work on own initiative, organising and prioritising own and others workloads to changing and often tight deadlines.
Knowledge & Experience
* Has lived experience as a Perinatal Mental Health inpatient, or carer who has required support and treatment across the Health, Social Care system.
* Experience of working as part of a team, engaging and supporting others in a team and receiving supervision and instruction.
* Demonstrates knowledge of the mental health, learning disability, autism and social care, through lived experience.
* Demonstrates understanding and experience in dealing with the public and carers, together with dealing with sensitive and confidential information; including the recognition of trauma and the impact on individuals.
* Understanding of Confidentiality and Data Protection Act.
* Demonstrates an understanding of the legal frameworks which will impact on the delivery of good quality care, including mental health legislation, human rights, health and social care act and equalities act.
* Experience of delivering support to peers in either a public sector, third sector or user/family led Perinatal Mental Health groups.
* Experience of supporting individuals to access opportunities and support, ability to signpost to other services. Able to gather information from the local services and area to develop advocate resources.
Education / Qualifications
* Educated to NVQ 4 level in a relevant subject or equivalent level of qualification or significant equivalent previous proven experience.
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.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
£26,530 to £29,114 a year per annum pro rata
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