Patient Safety Team Lead


Company:	NHS Jobs
Salary:	£32,073 - £39,043
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	Exeter, EX2 9HS
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	27 Jul 2026
Closing date:	11 Aug 2026

Apply for this job

Summary

Communication and Working Relationship Skills The post holder will communicate effectively with staff at all levels across the Trust and with external partners as required, using a range of methods including face-to-face meetings, telephone calls and written correspondence, ensuring appropriate confidentiality at all times. Provide non-clinical advice and guidance to staff on patient safety processes, including incident reporting requirements, escalation routes and signposting to specialist support where appropriate. Work collaboratively with clinical and corporate teams (including governance, risk, safeguarding, information governance and operational management) to support effective management of patient safety events and a joined-up approach to learning and improvement. Support services to engage with patients, families and carers following patient safety incidents, in line with Trust policy and the principles of openness and transparency (including Duty of Candour where applicable to the role). Represent the Patient Safety Team at meetings and forums as required, contributing to professional discussion of risks, incidents, investigations and learning. Analytical and Judgemental Skills Assist in the preparation of periodic high-quality patient safety reports and submissions (written and graphical) for internal governance and directorate reporting as directed. This will include analysis of incident reporting activity, harm levels, themes and trends, investigation completion and quality, and progress on the completion of actions and learning, providing drafts and data for review and sign-off by the Patient Safety Investigations Lead. Use analytical and problem-solving skills to support services in identifying contributory factors, system issues and opportunities for improvement arising from patient safety events. Support quality checks of investigation reports and action plans against agreed standards and templates, liaising with authors to address gaps and ensuring documentation is ready for senior review. Provide regular data and progress updates to the Patient Safety Investigations Lead and other senior colleagues as required. Planning and Organisational Skills Coordinate the day-to-day administrative workflow of the Patient Safety Team, prioritising tasks and supporting colleagues to meet agreed standards and timescales, escalating to the Patient Safety Investigations Lead where required. Prioritise workload within agreed deadlines, balancing competing demands including incident triage, investigation coordination and governance reporting requirements. Coordinate and track the progress of patient safety incidents and supporting services to meet required timescales and ensuring timely escalation where there is risk of delay or non-compliance with Trust processes. Maintain accurate and up-to-date information within relevant Trust systems, including recording of incident details, themes, recommendations and actions to facilitate reporting, assurance and learning. Produce high-quality documentation to support the work of the team, using appropriate Microsoft software and adopting Trust corporate standards and style. Coordinate and support meetings related to patient safety events and learning (e.g. investigation planning, learning reviews), chairing or taking notes where required. Responsibility for Patient/Client Care, Treatment and Therapy Support services to consider and apply the principles of openness, transparency and learning when engaging with people affected by patient safety incidents, including supporting appropriate documentation and follow-up. Recognise and respond appropriately to distressing or sensitive circumstances encountered through incident and investigation work, seeking support and escalating concerns in line with policy where required. Responsibility for Policy and Service Development Implementation Recognise areas where improvements can be made to patient safety policy, processes and working practices within the Patient Safety Team and the wider Experience, Safety and Risk Team (e.g. streamlining incident workflows, improving investigation support, reducing administrative burden and increasing engagement with services), and support implementation of agreed changes. Responsibility for Finance, Equipment and Other Resources Personal duty of care in relation to equipment and resources Use Agresso procurement as required ensuring stationery is ordered in a timely and cost effective manner. To process invoices by raising requisitions as needed for payment on receipt of Purchase Order (PO) Reference. This will be small volumes and values, and may include booking venues, ordering stationary and equipment, to the value of £100s. Responsibility for Human Resources, e.g. Supervision, Training, HR Advice and Management Day to day supervision of the Risk Management System (RMS) Administrator and Patient Safety Administrator including management supervision and career conversations. Support the coordination of day-to-day activity within the Patient Safety Team, including allocating administrative tasks and providing induction support as agreed. Where delegated, contribute to career conversations and ensure compliance with mandatory training and appropriate recording on Trust systems. Support delivery of training, briefings and guidance to clinical and non-clinical staff on patient safety processes (e.g. incident reporting, investigation expectations, learning and action follow-up), within own competence and as agreed with the Patient Safety Investigations Lead. Take responsibility for own personal development and ensure all mandatory and statutory training and updates are completed and recorded. Network with colleagues across the Trust and externally as appropriate to share learning, develop practice and support continuous improvement. Responsibility for Information Resources and Administrative Duties Maintain accurate records within the Trusts incident management and patient safety systems, supporting data quality, consistent categorisation and appropriate documentation to enable effective reporting and learning. Ensure patient safety records and investigation documentation are managed in accordance with agreed standard operating procedures, information governance requirements and confidentiality standards. Liaise with services to support completion of actions arising from investigations and learning reviews and maintain appropriate tracking to provide assurance on progress and completion. Responsibility for Research and Development Participate in audit and evaluation activity in relation to patient safety work, for example reviewing data quality, timeliness and completeness of incident reporting, investigation quality, learning dissemination and action completion. Support the development and testing of improvements to patient safety processes and tools (e.g. templates, guidance and local reporting), sharing learning across the team and relevant governance forums. Freedom to Act Management of own workload with minimal supervision within clearly defined policies and procedures, including knowing when to escalate potentially contentious issues and/or problems in relation to patient safety incidents, investigations, information governance or the work of the team. Any Other Specific Tasks Required Duty of Candour you must adhere to the principles of openness, transparency and the statutory duty of candour in your day to day work and conduct and encourage the same behaviours within the wider organisation. All employees must adhere to the policy on the protection and use of personal information which provides guidance on the use of disclosure of information. The Trust also has a range of policies which outline the appropriate use of computer equipment and computer generated information. All employees are expected to meet the requirements of these policies.

Apply for this job