Detailed job description and main responsibilities

All employees who have access to personal data in relation to patients or employees will be aware of their responsibilities under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679.  Any breach of the Regulation could result in disciplinary action being taken and criminal charges being brought against the individual who has breached the Regulation.

Health and Safety

Individual employees of Walsall Healthcare Trust and other NHS employees contracted to work on the organisation’s premises have an equal responsibility, along with managers and supervisors, for maintaining safe working practices for the health and safety of themselves and other persons who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work.     

All employees must adhere to their duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and other associated safety legislation, including all new Health & Safety Regulations. In addition employees must comply with all the Trust’s policies relating to Health & Safety and Risk Management to secure a safe workplace and will draw management’s attention to any deficiencies and/or hazards, which might prove detrimental to themselves or others. 

There is a general responsibility for employees to act sensibly and reasonably, and attend mandatory health and safety training sessions.

Clinical Governance

All employees are required to actively contribute towards the organisation’s clinical governance systems, taking responsibility as appropriate for quality standards and work towards the continuous improvement in clinical and service quality.

Safeguarding

Children Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, working with partner agencies, is committed to safeguarding children and promoting their welfare. All employees have a responsibility to ensure that children and young people are safe from abuse and harm, regardless of their role or where they work. Children include young people up to the age of 18 yrs.

Employees must comply with Walsall Local Safeguarding Board Child Protection Procedures and Trust Child Protection Procedures and recognise the importance of listening to children. All employees must attend child protection training relevant to their role and know how to seek advice or support from their manager or the Safeguarding Children team if required.

Vulnerable Adults

All employees have a responsibility to support the safety and well-being of vulnerable adults and to practice in accordance with legislation. Knowledge, skills and competency are to be maintained according to role and responsibilities in order to fulfil Vulnerable Adults responsibilities.  All employees must comply with organisational and Walsall Local Authority Vulnerable Adults policies and procedures.

Equality and Diversity

The Trust is committed to promoting equality opportunities to achieve equity of access, experience and outcomes, and to recognising and valuing people’s differences.   All employees have an obligation to help achieve this through personal example, open commitment and clear action.

Each individual will take responsibility for promoting inclusive and accessible service provision, employee development and a culture that values and respects difference. All employees should be familiar with, actively promote and work within Equality and Diversity policies at all times ensuring that they do not unlawfully discriminate, either directly or indirectly, on the grounds of race or ethnicity, nationality, religion or belief, sex, marital or civil partnership  status, sexual orientation, disability, gender reassignment, age, pregnancy/maternity or any other grounds. 

This applies to all activities as a service provider and as an employer. All employees must adhere to the Equality Act 2010

Patient Experience and Public Involvement (PEPI)

The Trust is committed to gaining feedback from all patients using a variety of methods including electronic, paper based and verbal. Within this Trust that feedback is monitored by the patient experience group and used to ensure that future services meet the needs of the patients and demonstrate continuous improvement. Volunteer, staff and families participate in the collection of this data

Customer Care

The aim of the organisation is to provide patients and other service users with the best possible care and service, therefore all our staff are required at all times to put the patient and our service user first and to do their utmost to meet their requests and needs courteously and efficiently. 

Infection Control

Employees will work to minimise any risk to clients, the public and other employees from Healthcare Associated Infection including MRSA and C. difficile by ensuring that they are compliant with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 – Code of Practice (and as amended from time to time) for the prevention and control of Healthcare Associated Infections (The Hygiene Code); and by ensuring that they are familiar with the organisations Infection Control polices located on the Intranet.

Further responsibilities involve employees in ensuring that service users and members of the public are actively engaged (using a variety of methods) in appropriate service delivery, service development and decision making within their service area and the wider organisation. Determination of these responsibilities should be in conjunction with your line manager and delivered accordingly.

Smoking

The organisation operates a No Smoking policy.

Duty of Candour

There is also a contractual duty of candour imposed on all NHS and non-NHS providers of services to NHS patients in the UK to 'provide to the service user and any other relevant person all necessary support and all relevant information' in the event that a 'reportable patient safety incident' occurs.

The Duty of Candour is a legal duty on hospital, community and mental health trusts to inform and apologise to patients if there have been mistakes in their care that have led to significant harm

Duty of Candour aims to help patients receive accurate, truthful information from health providers

The NHS LA’s duty of candour guidance seeks to demystify how health providers can deliver on candour, achieving a wholly transparent culture in health provision – being open when errors are made and harm caused

All NHS provider bodies registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have to comply with a new Statutory Duty of Candour

Policies and Procedures

All employees need to be aware of the organisations policies, procedures and protocols relating to their service and work within the guidelines at all times.

Employees have a major role in suggesting and implementing improvement to services and in exercising professional responsibility for both themselves and their peers within an open ‘no-blame’ culture.