Job summary
- Main area
- Quality and Safety Directorate
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent: NA
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 340-QPEM-07-25
- Employer
- North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Bernicia house
- Town
- Newcastle
- Salary
- £55,690 - £62,682 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 14/08/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Quality & Patient Experience Manager
NHS AfC: Band 8a
Job overview
To lead and manage the Trust’s approach to patient experience, complaints handling, regulatory compliance (including CQC standards), and the use of quality and governance databases.
Specifically, the core responsibilities are:
To support the divisional triumvirate to deliver effective and responsive quality governance systems, providing senior specialist support and advice, and participate in the management of the compliance for quality governance across the Trust.
To ensure a culture of continuous improvement, transparency, and patient-centred care across the ambulance service, with a focus on the unique challenges and opportunities within urgent and emergency care settings.
To work in partnership with governors, external and voluntary organisations to gain stakeholder engagement and lead or support service improvements across the whole patient pathway.
To ensure the lessons learned from national reports and the National Quality Board Quality Strategy are embedded within the organisation to ensure that care is safe, effective and provides a positive experience for patients.
Main duties of the job
Make overall strategic responsibility for developing and implementing all aspects of patient experience to ensure an effective and integrated service across the organisation.
Oversee the complaints process, ensuring compliance with NHS Complaints Regulations and PHSO principles.
Develop and implement the Patient Experience Strategy aligned with ambulance service priorities and national guidance.
Lead on development of organisational systems and processes to ensure compliance with (CQC) and other legal and national guidance. Ensure that the Trust meets the outcomes set by the (CQC), NHS England and any other national, service-specific or local performance frameworks.
Oversee the management and optimise Ulysses.
Line management of delegated teams including implementing the Trust’s appraisal system. Ensure they deliver/be involved in patient safety/ experience implementation and improvement.
Work within organisation’s policies, procedures and guidelines develop documents in line with changes to legislation or best practice.
Support the recruitment and development of the Quality and Safety teams.
Formulate long term strategies, lead on development of frameworks for consultation and involvement of patients and public.
Plan and organise management of own workload and others as appropriate. Prioritising initiatives that align with the strategy’s goals.
Lead on strategic planning. Setting objectives for safety, effectiveness, and patient experience.
Working for our organisation
We employ 3,500 staff in 63 locations and serve a population of 2,600,000 in Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, County Durham, and Tees over 3230 square miles.
Many people think the job of the ambulance service is to collect patients and take them to hospital, but we do much more!
Paramedic skills hav developed hugely in recent years, meaning we carry out more treatment at the scene and en-route to hospital.
We have a dedicated clinical assessment service that allows us to provide patients with the most appropriate care from the beginning of the patient journey.
We have a specialised branch of the Trust called HART which deal with explosions or terrorist attacks.
Ultimately patients are the heart of everything that we do to support our mission of "safe, effective and responsive care for all".
We value and respect the diversity employees bring to our workplace. We recruit a workforce that reflects the community we serve, and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds. To ensure we deliver on our aims in relation to diversity and inclusion we assess ourselves against a range of frameworks. We are ENEI Gold employer, Disability Confident Leader, Dementia Friendly, and part of Mind Blue Light programme and the Race at Work Charter from the Princes Responsible Business Network and are achieving across all objectives in NHS Equality Delivery System.
From 01/04/25 If your role needs a DBS you'll be subject to salary deduction totaling £49.50, spread over first and second pay.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For more information on all the duties and responsibilities please see attached job description and person specification.
Person specification
Education, Qualifications and Training
Essential criteria
- Experience of working in a patient experience, patient safety, quality, risk management or clinical governance area.
- Significant experience of working at a senior level within the health service at band 7 (or equivalent).
- Knowledge of health care services legislation/ service management acquired through post graduate qualification or equivalent to Masters Level.
- Demonstrable/detailed understanding of current health and social care sector issues, national policy and local system requirements particularly related to Complaints and CQC.
Desirable criteria
- Additional professional leadership qualification.
Key Skills, Knowledge and Aptitude
Essential criteria
- Specialist knowledge of NHS and DH Complaints Procedure
- Specialist knowledge of NHS policy, national initiatives and organisational culture.
- Broad understanding of organisations such as Healthwatch, Health and Wellbeing Boards and other patient representative/support groups, advocacy and mediation services.
- A clear understanding of quality governance including complaints, risk and litigation management.
- Experience of risk management database systems
Desirable criteria
- Experience of leading and managing a team, including managing conflict.
- Experience of using Ulysses
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of aligning the handling of concerns and complaints to drive and support service improvement and the quality governance agenda.
- Experience of involving patients in service improvement and evaluation/sustaining improvements
Desirable criteria
- Experience of successful change management.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- julie waite
- Job title
- Head of Patient safety and experience
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07976583723
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