Critical Care Clinical Operations Manager

1. Job Details

Job Title:

Critical Care Clinical Operations Manager (Advanced Paramedic)

Pay Band:

Band 8a

Clinical & Non-Clinical time (self-rostered)

Reports to:

Operating Unit Manager (Critical Care)

Accountable to:

Consultant Paramedic – Critical Care & Resuscitation

Responsible for:

Critical Care Team Leaders

Critical Care Paramedics

Location/ Site/ Base:

Trust Base location

(geographical spread)

Travel Trust-wide

2. Job Purpose

To provide operational and clinical management and leadership of the Trust wide Critical Care Operating Unit. To manage the Critical Care Team Leaders. To hold responsibility for the operational service delivery of the Critical Care Service. To provide assurance regarding the clinical practice and clinical governance of CCPs. To manage the clinical education, training and development activity of the CCPs. To hold a defined portfolio responsibility related to the CC OU.

3. Role of Department

1. Duties & Responsibilities

Some duties may be shared as a leadership team or be held as individual portfolio responsibilities.

Clinical

• Undertake clinical practice with a CCP scope of practice;

• To work with a CCP scope of practice, under appropriate supervision as required, to deliver critical care treatment in a variety of situations.

• To collect, analyse and utilise patient information from the patient’s history, physical examination, laboratory, and radiographic and other diagnostic data and identify relevant problems.

• Maintain required standards of clinical competence and qualifications.

• To administer medications under Trust and National guidance, within the appropriate legislative framework including patient group directions (PGDs).

·       Point of contact for specialist clinical advice relating to resuscitation, trauma and high acuity pathways for internal and external stakeholders.

Management/Leadership

Service Delivery;

• Responsible for operational delivery of the CCP programme including but not exclusively, fleet, logistics, equipment, medicines, staffing.

• Maintain good corporate governance arrangements, including risk management.

• Undertake investigations within the scope of critical care practice and provide specialist advice to other investigating managers.

• Responsible for line management of Critical Care Team Leaders, such as but not limited to, performance reviews, Sickness reviews, Appraisals, using Trust information systems as required.

• Responsible for OU based CCP teams.

• Monitor use of the delegated operational budget for the Critical Care teams.

• Responsible for assessing and managing risk within the CCP programme.

• With project management support, lead projects related to critical care  practice or provide specialist input to wider trust projects.

• Undertake roles related to ‘care in special circumstances’ as an MTFA Commander as required.

• Accountable for decisions on behalf of the CCP OU at tactical level, working as part of an on call out of hours rota, covering days, nights and weekends.

Clinical Leadership;

• Provide operational and clinical leadership and supervision.

• Accountable for maintaining oversight of CCP clinical practice and providing quality assurance of practice.

• Provide assurance to the Consultant Paramedic and Assistant Medical Director regarding the quality of clinical practice and patient safety.

• Accountable for coordinating and delivery of operational clinical supervision of CCPs.

• Point of contact for specialist advice relating to critical care activity within the Trust.

• Facilitate a positive culture of openness, learning and wellbeing.

• Represent the OU and the Trust at internal and external stakeholder events.

• Facilitate debriefing following challenging cases.

• Provide welfare support to OU based CCP teams as required.

• Support local management team with activity relating to CCP scope of practice.

• Support recruitment and selection activity.

• Promote critical care practice and contribute to its development

Education

• Responsible for the planning and delivery of the training and governance activity related to the critical care practice including but not exclusively; skills assurance, case review forums, procedural training.

• Support the delivery of programmes of education and training for both student CCPs and trained CCPs.

• Plan and deliver supervision and mentoring for student CCPs.

• Support training and education activity across the wider Trust within area of specialism.

• Facilitate supervision and mentoring in practice for all CCPs.

Audit, Research and Quality Improvement

• In partnership with the Head of Clinical Audit and the Consultant Paramedic, develop and manage an audit programme related to CCP clinical practice.

• Participate in clinical audit activity.

• In partnership with the Head of Research and the Trust Research Team promote and support research activity within Trust critical care practice.

• To participate in research activity as required to promote and develop the critical care agenda.

• In partnership with the Trust QI Lead plan and participate in quality improvement activity related to critical care practice.

• Support Trustwide and local clinical quality improvement and innovation.

• Actively participate in development of the clinical governance framework for critical care practice.

• Support development of clinical management plans and PGDs.

• Support development of critical care practice.

General

Demonstrate personal accountability in their everyday practice and an understanding of their responsibility for staff to which they delegate actions.

The post holder will be expected to adopt a flexible attitude to take account of the changing needs of the service

Be required to support and move patients under the manual handling rules and regulations and use appropriate moving and handling equipment.

To deal with bodily fluids on occasions.

Performance Management

Disciplinary / Grievance: second line management authority for disciplinary action or grievance resolution

Capability: CC-COM is authorised to recommend to local Operational Management Team/Professional Standards cases where performance/capability monitoring should be applied.                     

Finance: Monitor budget appropriately and in-line with strategic aims. Ensure that the Trust’s funds are properly used, represent value for money and can withstand public scrutiny. Act within Standing Orders and Standing Financial Instructions of the Trust.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check           

We are committed to the safeguarding and welfare of children and vulnerable adults.

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. The process will be completed as part of your pre-employment checks and repeated every 3 years as a minimum.  Your suitability for this position (based on the results of the DBS) will form an important condition of your ongoing employment.

Values

The Post holder will be required to demonstrate compassionate care in their daily work and adopt the 6 Cs - NHS values essential to compassionate care: Care, Compassion, Competence, Communication, Courage and Commitment.  Post- holders will also be required to understand and work in accordance with the NHS constitution and put the patient at the heart of their work.

Safeguarding Children, Young People and Adults at risk of abuse and neglect

South East Coast Ambulance NHS Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk of abuse and neglect, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All staff are required to adhere to the trust’s safeguarding policy and understand their individual safeguarding responsibilities

Equality and Diversity/Equal Opportunities

The Trust recognises the need for a diverse workforce and is committed to Equal Opportunities. It seeks to eliminate unlawful discrimination against colleagues, potential employees, patients or clients on the grounds of sex, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, race, ethnic or national origin, religion, pregnancy/maternity, political opinion, or trade union membership and to promote equality of opportunity and good relations between staff and clients.  Individuals, including volunteers, contractors and temporary workers, must at all times indicate an acceptance of these principles and fulfil their responsibilities with regard to equality legislation and the Trust’s Equality Diversity and Human Rights Policy and protocols. Similarly, all individuals have a responsibility to highlight any potentially discriminatory practice to their line manager, human resources department or trade union/professional associations, ensure that they treat everyone with respect and consideration and attend relevant mandatory training.

As a member of the senior leadership team/ management team, the post-holders is expected to take responsibility for embedding equality and diversity in their work and areas of management responsibility.  This will include leading on specific E&D related work streams and ensuring that the Trust is compliant with the appropriate equality legislation. 

Corporate governance:

High standards of governance are vital in healthcare organisations. Good governance sets the boundaries and structures in which we are able to function safely and provide the most effective care to our patients. We ask all employees to:

·       Familiarise yourself with and apply Trust-wide and local policies, procedures and other formal instructions;

·       Act within the scope of your authority and/or practice at all times. Limits of financial authority are set out in our Standing Financial Instructions;

·       Undertake the statutory and mandatory training suitable to your role and maintain any relevant professional registration(s);

·       Maintain accurate and timely records wherever required; and

·       Notify the Trust if you identify any areas for improvement in any areas of corporate governance so that we can learn and improve.

Infection Prevention and Control

The prevention and control of infection is recognised as everyone’s responsibility. All staff, bank workers, volunteers and contractors, both clinical and non-clinical are required to make every effort to maintain high standards of infection control in accordance with the Trust’s Infection Prevention and Control Policy and The Health and Social Care Act 2008

Financial Management

Ensure that the Trust’s funds are properly used, represent value for money and can withstand public scrutiny.

Where applicable, provide strong budget management for the defined area of management responsibility and monitor expenditure against those budgets.

Act within Standing Orders and Standing Financial Instructions of the Trust.

Health, Safety and Security

Meet Health and Safety legislation and move towards an environment where health and safety considerations are firmly embedded in the planning and decision making processes and the ‘culture’ of own area of responsibility.

Promote, monitor and maintain best practice in health, safety and security

All individuals have a responsibility, under the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) and subsequently published regulations, to ensure that the Trust’s health and safety policies and procedures are complied with to maintain a safe working environment for patients, visitors and employees. All staff have a duty to protect their own health and safety and that of others persons who may be affected by their acts or omissions.

In addition, managers have specific responsibilities relating to health and safety activities including consenting to breaches; conniving to breach legislation or neglecting their duties under the legislation. Trust’s objectives in accordance with the Trust’s risk management strategy and policies. 

Policies

The duties and responsibilities of the post will be undertaken in accordance with the policies, procedures and practices of the Trust, which may be amended from time to time.

Patient Safety is a key priority for the Trust. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are fully compliant with SECAmb policies and procedures in respect of patient safety, for example Risk Management, Infection Prevention and Control, Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.

Confidentiality / Data Protection / Freedom of Information:

Individuals (including volunteers, contractors and temporary workers) must maintain the confidentiality of information about patients, staff and other health service business in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. Individuals must not, without prior permission, disclose any information regarding patients or staff.   If any individual has communicated any such information to an unauthorised person that individual(s) could be liable for disciplinary action which could result in dismissal.   Moreover, the Data Protection Act 1998 also renders an individual liable for prosecution in the event of unauthorised disclosure of information.

Following the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) 2005, individuals must apply the Trust’s FOI procedure.

In addition, managers have specific responsibilities to ensure that their staff maintain the confidentiality and security of all information that is dealt with in the course of performing their duties it is in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the principles of Caldicott. Managers should also ensure that their staff are aware of their obligations under legislation such as the Freedom of Information Act 2000; Computer Misuse Act 1990, and that staff are updated with any changes or additions relevant to legislation.

Review

This document provides an outline of the main responsibilities of the post. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of duties. Its content will be subject to regular review in conjunction with the postholder.