Deputy Director of Infection Prevention and Control
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Infection, Prevention and Control (IP&C) Team at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust. This is a vital role to provide leadership and professional advice, along with a constant focus on improving the profile of infection prevention and control throughout the Trust.
As the Trust Deputy Director of Infection, Prevention and Control (DDIPC), you will work closely with the Director of IPC, IPC team, the Divisional Management teams, Consultants, Pharmacists, and Directorate Heads of Nursing and Matrons, and all grades of staff across the organisation.
You will lead on developing the infection prevention and control strategic direction, through both short and long term strategic planning and development, implementation and evaluation of the organisation-wide service.
Candidates require significant clinical experience in this specialist field of work within acute care as well as excellent interpersonal, organisational, and leadership skills.
Main duties of the job
1. Manage and provide a proactive strategic infection prevention and control service for the Trust.
2. Continually improve the Trust's performance in reducing healthcare-associated infections by developing systems that are evidence-based and grounded in best practice.
3. Be visible and accessible and innovatively lead the Infection Prevention and Control Team.
4. Work autonomously, applying your expert knowledge in infection prevention and control, healthcare associated infection, communicable disease management, and health emergency planning.
5. Co-ordinate the care of patients, involving multi-professional colleagues across the Trust's departments and sites.
6. Provide expert clinical advice and guidance, exercising a high degree of personal professional autonomy in order to make clinical judgements of the highest order.
7. To lead, with the DIPC, the clinical management of infection control across the Trust with the intention of preventing, controlling, and reducing the incidence of infection through risk assessment, surveillance, audit, intervention, and education.
About us
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust ranks among the top 10 NHS Trusts nationwide and was named the second-best Trust to work for in the South East in the 2023 NHS Staff Survey.
We are a large acute hospital trust in south-east England, providing general hospital services and specialist care to around 600,000 residents in West Kent and East Sussex. With a dedicated and diverse team of over 8,000 staff, we are proud to offer specialised cancer services to over two million people through the Kent Oncology Centre.
Fordcombe Hospital, near Tunbridge Wells, became part of the Trust in October 2024. Specialising in planned care, it offers two operating theatres, 28 inpatient and day-care beds, diagnostic services (X-ray, MRI, CT, and endoscopy), and consultation/treatment rooms.
Job responsibilities
We've provided all the details you need about this role in the job description and person specification. Please take a moment to review the criteria in the person specification and share specific examples in your application that demonstrate how you meet these requirements. Please also check your application for errors/omissions prior to submission.
Please note that appointment to this post will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service Check at Enhanced Level. (Enhanced level now includes regulated checks against vulnerable adults and children)
All successful applicants will be required to complete our corporate trust induction once a start date has been agreed.
Following your corporate induction, you will be expected to attend the Trust's 2-week Induction Programme for RNs, NAs, RMs, ODPs, and Paramedics. The programme is full-time (please email mtw-tr.professionalstandards@nhs.net if this is problematic) and will involve travel to both Trust sites. The programme includes supernumerary shifts in the clinical area, classroom-based sessions, and e-learning.
Person Specification
Qualifications
* First degree in infection control; Masters degree or equivalent experience in IPC.
* Evidence of continuing professional development.
* Qualification to doctorate level in a relevant area or relevant experience.
* Teaching qualification or equivalent.
Knowledge and Experience - Non-Clinical
* Leadership skills that are capable of establishing direction and purpose and lead others within a complex organisational structure.
* Extensive experience of staff management.
* Excellent understanding and proven application of clinical governance.
* Understanding and application of audit and continuous improvement methodology.
* Comprehensive knowledge of national infection control.
* Experience of managing a budget.
* Knowledge of research methodology including statistics.
* Knowledge of health promotion activities and strategies.
Knowledge and Experience - Clinical
* Extensive recent experience at a senior level in infection prevention and control in the acute setting.
* Advanced practice skills.
* Proven evidence of developing infection prevention and control practice.
* Commitment to high quality, patient focused care.
* Written for publication.
* Presented at national conference.
Skills - Communication/Relationship
* Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills.
* Able to communicate sensitive and highly complex information to the multi-disciplinary team.
* Able to present complex information in papers and reports at local, national, and international conferences, and at internal and external meetings.
* Able to communicate highly sensitive information to patients, relatives, and members of staff, including breaking bad news.
* Coaching skills.
Skills - Analytical/Judgmental
* Able to make autonomous decisions affecting patient care.
* Understanding of ethical, legal, and professional implications involved in changing practice.
* Commitment to achieving the corporate objectives of the Trust.
* Evidence of being able to analyse data from different sources and present complex data to different levels of staff.
Skills - Planning/Organisational
* Able to prioritise and manage own work, both day to day and longer term strategic work.
* Able to plan a considerable role in developing, coordinating, and adjusting strategic plans and strategies for infection prevention and control that impact across the Trust.
* Able to be responsive to changing organisational demands and priorities.
* Evidence of leading education development, including the organisation of local and national education sessions, study days, and conferences.
* Evidence of measuring outcomes.
Skills - I.T
* Able to use Word and Excel to set up documents and spreadsheets and to extract information. Inputting data and maintaining infection control databases; generating and developing reports.
* Able to use databases for the inputting and analysis of patient data.
Skills - Physical
* Able to demonstrate safe use and cleaning of medical equipment.
Abilities - Physical
* Able to visit many different wards/clinical areas across Trust.
Abilities - Mental
* Must be able to communicate with all levels of staff, from Board level to ward level, using appropriate language and presentation.
* Able to concentrate when being frequently and unpredictably interrupted by clinical staff with requests/problems.
* Be adaptable and cope with unpredictable changes to workload, remaining calm and approachable.
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.
Business Manager to Chief Medical Officer
£88,168 to £101,677 a year per annum pro rata
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