25UHWMA2803 Grade VII, Quality Assurance and Improvement Manager
* Waterford, Ireland
* Full time, Permanent
Who We Are
University Hospital Waterford is a Model 4 teaching hospital that provides general medical, surgical, paediatric and maternity care to people living in South Kilkenny, Waterford City and County. The hospital provides specialty services to the population of the southeast c. 500 000 in the following areas of clinical practice: Cardiology (including Interventional Cardiac Procedures), Trauma Orthopaedics, Ophthalmology, Neurology, Nephrology, Rheumatology, Urology, Vascular Surgery, ENT, Neonatology.
Skills and Attributes
* Communication and Interpersonal Skills
* Commitment to a Quality Service
* Professional Knowledge and Experience
* Teamwork Leadership and Building and Maintaining Relations
* Critical Analysis, Problem Solving and Decision Making
* Planning and Organising and Delivery of Results
Description
********PLEASE COMPLETE THE APPLICATION FORM FULLY, CV'S ARE NOT ACCEPTED**********
Principal Duties and Responsibilities
The initial focus of the post will be informed by the HSE National Service Plan, HIQA National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare and the National Patient Safety Strategy. This focus will change/grow over time as the hospital Quality Improvement programme continues to develop.
Quality Assurance and Improvement
* Lead in the ongoing development and implementation of the Quality Assurance and Improvement programme, including audit/clinical audits, patient/staff surveys etc., across disciplines and services to support the overall Quality programme.
* Identify key performance indicators (KPIs) and measures of improvement to be continuously monitored. Ensure that measures identified and monitored are relevant to clinical teams, hospital management and the requirements of external bodies.
* Ensure that measurement and analysis of data is incorporated into all Quality Improvement projects.
* Carry out analysis of results in surveys and audit and identify trends and areas for improvement.
* Understand trends in incident management and patient complaints as identified by the Risk Manager and Patient Services Manager. Include this information when reviewing the Quality programme on an ongoing basis.
* Lead on, and participate in, the implementation of national audits and surveys e.g. National Inpatient Experience Surveys, HSE Internal Audit.
* Lead on, or provide support for, the development of Quality Improvement Plans/projects at team/directorate or hospital level to address actions/areas for improvement identified via audit, surveys, trends, etc. and ensure delivery of the identified benefits of the project.
* Act as Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement support to individual Directorates as allocated by the QPS Manager.
* When evaluating QIPs, ensure where possible that the perspective of the patient is heard and included.
* Ensure that any implemented changes are effective and sustainable in the long-term.
* Lead on the management, development and monitoring of the hospital Document Management System (currently Q-Pulse), and act as a point of contact for staff queries.
* Contribute to the development of QPS reports and action plans.
Audit
* Lead on the management and ongoing development of the hospital audit/clinical audit programme, including development, maintenance and progression of the UHW/KROH Audit register and resulting QIPs.
* Develop a system for prioritising requests for audit/clinical audit support in line with local issues and with local and national priorities.
* Use/Develop audit tools as necessary to support the measurement of hospital structures and practices against national and local standards and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), PPPGs and national/local reviews.
* Identify indicators of best practice and support the measurement of the hospital’s clinical systems against these indicators, and against clinical care programmes, care pathways and hospital standardised procedures.
* Provide specialist advice and support on all aspects of the audit cycle to clinicians and clinical teams in order to support them to audit their clinical practice against national, regional and standards, KPIs and PPPGs.
* Assist auditors to communicate and disseminate audit results and recommendations for change in practice. This can include posters, presentations and publications.
* Collaborate on the development of a hospital Patient Survey questionnaire/Audit tool and implementation of same.
* Lead on and contribute to the development of Evidence-based Quality and Patient Safety related PPPGs as required.
* Design and manage a system to monitor adherence to hospital PPPGs.
* Maintain own knowledge of national and local PPPGs to perform the role effectively and to ensure standards are met.
Change Management
* Promote, lead and participate in the implementation of change.
* Provide encouragement and support to teams to implement improvement changes in practice. Provide support on initial auditing of practice to establish baselines, then subsequent audits to measure the success of change in practice. Assist teams to identify when the intervention worked, whether it served patient interest, where change has caused unanticipated problems, and whether it is sustainable.
* Provide expertise to the group in the methods and practical considerations in undertaking implementation and evaluation of changes accessing both quantitative and qualitative data.
* Encourage and support the sharing of learning between services.
Education & Training
* Provide training and advice to all staff on the implementation of Clinical Audit, analysis of results, development of QIPs and the Quality Improvement programme through teaching sessions and workshops.
* Contribute to and promote other Quality Improvement training to build capacity and capability within the hospital on Quality Improvement methodologies and processes.
* Present at information sessions /training opportunities (e.g. Grand Rounds, Induction days, Conferences) as required on Quality and Patient Safety topics.
Management
* Keep the QPS Manager informed of trends and gaps identified and work in progress.
* Deputise for the QPS Manager if required.
* Represent the QPS Department at meetings and other events as required.
* Participate in hospital committees representing QPS as required and agreed with QPS Manager.
* Work collaboratively with other managers and staff in the QPS department.
* Promote a culture of involvement and consultation within the team, welcoming contributions from others.
* Keep timely and accurate records of all Quality Assurance and Improvement activity including audits, QIPs and re-audits.
* Present quarterly and annual reports to the QPS Committee and Executive Management Team on QPS activities.
* Provide cross-cover during periods of leave for other team members as directed by the QPS Manager.
* Pursue continuous professional development in order to develop management expertise and professional knowledge.
* Maintain confidentiality in relation to all information across the QPS and Patient Services Department and deal with sensitive information in a calm and professional manner.
General
* Have a working knowledge of relevant legislation, national policies and Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) Standards and other standards as they apply to the role for example, Standards for Healthcare, National Standards for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections, Hygiene Standards etc. and comply with associated HSE protocols for implementing and maintaining these standards as appropriate to the role.
* Understand the principles of patient confidentiality, data protection and open disclosure as relevant to the role.
* Support, promote and actively participate in sustainable energy, water and waste initiatives to create a more sustainable, low carbon and efficient health service.
The above Job Description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.
University Hospital Waterford is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
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