PCN Safeguarding Specialist Practitioner/ Care Co-ordinator- Children and Adults

Responsible to: Kingston PCN Clinical Director

Hours: 30-37.5 per week

Salary: Depending on experience – salary will be based on AFC bands 5-7 (range £30-45K WTE)

Location: Kingston Primary Care Network- working the 3 practices spread across the Royal Borough of Kingston (50, 00o patient population)

Summary

We are seeking a highly motivated, dynamic and forward thinking practitioner to work within our PCN. We are looking for someone who can work autonomously, is reliable and flexible and can demonstrate expertise in safeguarding.

You will have a key role in overseeing the quality of safeguarding practice within the PCN, providing support to clinical practitioners and ensuring timely and smooth information exchange between relevant safeguarding partners within the legal framework and supporting the strategic direction across the organisation.

You will have a relevant health/social work qualification and significant professional experience working with children and adults with evidence of exposure to safeguarding casework and an emphasis on the principles outlined in Making Safeguarding Personal.

We expect an excellent knowledge of the legislation that supports work to safeguard children and adults. Experience of report writing, audit, supervision/ teaching will be important to help you in this role.

You will need to be able to demonstrate good communication skills and effective team working within the PCN and with other agencies including the local authorities and healthcare providers. This post will provide expert clinical leadership and direction for safeguarding children and adults and ensure that the PCN and practices fulfil statutory obligations in the services they deliver.

Job summary

• Work with GPs within the PCN to identify, manage and prioritise a caseload of patients in accordance with need and where appropriate refer to other professionals/ organisations
• Take a leading role in overseeing and managing the recording and coding of safeguarding information so that there is uniformity across the PCN.
•  Work within the practices by co-operating with other service providers to share information in adherence with confidentiality, data protection legislation and data sharing agreements.
•  Ensure regular and consistent communication with each GP practice, providing updates on patient caseload and actively managing quarterly meetings
• Have mechanisms in place to engage with patients who are using the service
•    Be able to work reflectively and collaboratively to improve, develop and evolve the service and patient experience
•   Ensure that at all times service users experience support that is friendly, accessible, warm whilst professional and responsive to individual need

Main responsibilities

•    Record, action and follow up caseload where safeguarding issues are present and ensure relevant GP practices are informed
• Timely completion of safeguarding reports-e.g. information requests from local authority or relevant agencies such as MARAC
• Attendance at meetings relevant to your caseload such as child case conferences and strategy meetings
•  Work with clinicians and service users/ patients to ensure actions are being followed up, evaluated and co-ordinated around the needs of the user
•  Liaison role- ensure good communication with professionals in relevant organisations such as local hospital, health visitor, children’s services and multidisciplinary health care team.
•  Act as the first port of call for service users/ patients / families as appropriate
• Make referrals to other professionals/agencies where these will be beneficial.
• Completion of monitoring, evaluation and assessment processes for all appropriate and relevant services.
•   Devise and participate in audit, working with practice safeguarding leads on Section 11 audit.
• Maintain and support practice staff with their safeguarding duties. This includes restorative safeguarding supervision.
• Devise and deliver safeguarding training to GP practice staff. This includes identifying educative lessons from safeguarding that are relevant to primary care staff
• Development and updating of Practice & PCN safeguarding policies.

Confidentiality

•  Patients/ service entrust us with, or allow us to gather sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They have the right to expect they do so in confidence and that staff will respect their dignity and privacy
• In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the GP practices or PCN as a business organisation. All such information from any source must be regarded as strictly confidential.

Health and safety

The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others health safety and security. This includes

•  Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines
•   Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking these in a way that manages those risks
• Make effective use of at training to update knowledge and skills
•   Work within existing practice health and safety policies
•  Use appropriate infection control procedures, maintain work errors in a tidy and safe way and free from hazard
•  Report any identified potential risks

Equality and diversity

The post-holder will support the equality diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues at to include:

• Acting in a way that recognises the importance of people's right, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies and current legislation.
• Respecting the privacy dignity needs and beliefs of patients/service users, carers and colleagues.

Personal and Professional Development

Maintaining continued education through attendance at relevant courses and study necessary to ensure that professional development requirements are met. The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment. This also includes

• Participation in an annual are individual performance review, annual appraisal including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and professional development.
• Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.

Quality

The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the GP practices and will

• Alert other team members to issues of clinical governance, quality and risk and participate in significant and learning event analysis review.
• Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions either directly or under supervision
•  Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on way to improve and our enhance the team’s performance
•  Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patient needs
•  Effectively manage own time, workload and resources to contribute to the overall team working of the GP practices and PCN

Contribution to the planning and implementation of services

The post-holder will:

•   Apply practice policies standards and guidance
•  Discuss with other members of the team how the policies standards and guidelines will affect their own work
• Participate in audit where appropriate
•  Work with the Safeguarding Leads and PCN Director to achieve standards of quality and performance without compromising levels of patient care
•  Contribute towards the development and implementation of new standards policies and procedures it will be required of GP practices now and in the future.

Communication

•   Be able to effectively communicate at all levels of the PCN and GP practices with a variety of health professionals users and carers, independent and voluntary sector to provide the best outcome for service users
•   Provide interface between hospital, primary, community and social settings, participate where appropriate in clinical meetings relating to patient care and outcomes.
• Communicate effectively with patients / service users and carers
•  Be able to keep accurate contemporaneous documentation both return and computerised. Will need to use EMIS Web software for recording this information.
•  Recognise people's needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly.

Clinical Governance

• To participate and operate within the clear clinical governance frameworks for the PCN and GP practices at all times.
• To actively participate in the practices, becoming familiar with and abiding by their plans, policies and procedures.

Key relationships

• PCN Clinical Director
•  Practice Safeguarding Leads
•  Designated Nurse Safeguarding Children Kingston
•   Named GP for Safeguarding Adults and Children Kingston and Richmond
•  Safeguarding Named Nurse and Doctor at Kingston Hospital
•  Designated Nurse Safeguarding Adults Kingston
• Kingston & Richmond MASH

How to apply

Applications should be made in writing including a cover letter and CV to  alixpolley@nhs.net

The closing date for applications is Monday 5th December with initial interviews for shortlisted candidates due to take place on Friday 9th December 2022.