Digital Clinical Safety Officer

Job summary

Are you an enthusiastic professional who is passionate about patient safety? Would you like to join and support an organisation as it transforms its current digital health systems?

Public health Wales are seeking to recruit a Digital Clinical Safety Officer who will design a clinical safety process and ensure its implementation as digital health systems are procured, changed or built. The overall purpose is to ensure that safety risks are identified and mitigated in order to protect patients from harm.

The role will be based within the Data, Knowledge and Research Directorate, that includes teams focused on analysis, data science, evidence finding and knowledge management, research and evaluation, surveillance registries and digital services. The role will involve working closely with the digital services team. The post holder will be based with a team working at the healthcare Public Health interface and responsible for the child measurement programme, congenital anomalies and rare diseases surveillance registers

Main duties of the job

The Clinical Safety Officer will implement clinical risk management processes and ensure that this process has been followed during the manufacture, procurement, and implementation of digital health systems. The role will hold responsibility for signing off all clinical safety management records associated with the maintenance of the standards DCB0129 and DCB0160.

The post holder will evaluate and test digital systems as they develop and assess the impact on clinical areas in support of clinical safety, including producing safety case reports, risk and hazards logs to facilitate improvement. The Clinical Safety Officer will understand the details of the Trust digital transformation strategy and consider in detail how this affects clinical safety, designing solutions, in collaboration with digital, informatics, cyber security, clinicians, user design, information governance teams and other specialist areas.

The post holder will be responsible for the reporting, investigating, analysing and resolving clinical safety incidents, including Serious Incidents/national reportable incidents related to digital systems and make recommendations on the safety of health IT systems.

The post holder will also link in with the surveillance team, providing clinical safety input and supporting the team's work with clinicians. As a senior member of the team, the post holder will occasionally deputise for the Consultant in Public Health Medicine.

About us

We are Public Health Wales - the national public health organisation for Wales. Our purpose is 'working together for a healthier Wales'. We exist to help all people in Wales live longer, healthier lives. With our partners, we aim to increase healthy life expectancy, improve health and well-being, and reduce inequalities for everyone in Wales, now and for future generations.

Together, our teams work to prevent disease, protect health, and provide leadership, specialist services and public health expertise. We are the main source of public health information, research and innovation in Wales. Never more has public health been so important as we come through the Coronavirus pandemic, face the challenges of the cost-of-living crisis and tackle and prevent the harmful effects of climate change.

Our organisation is guided by our Values, 'Working together, with trust and respect, to make a difference'. We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that values equality, diversity and inclusion. We welcome applications which represent the rich diversity of the communities we serve and from those wishing to work part time or on a job share basis.

To find out more about working for us and the benefits we offer please visit

For guidance on the application process, please visit

Job description

Job responsibilities

The post holder will assist in the provision of coordinated support, providing a source of clinical safety expertise, to colleagues working across Public Health Wales. This will include:

planning clinical risk management activities in support of the development and operation of clinical information systems across PHW.

influence and enable staff to change their ways of working through utilising effective communication skills.

plan engagement with a wide range of subject matter experts.

liaise with clinical safety teams in external organisations in the development and procurement of IT health solutions, to obtain and share key learning. This will include being part of Clinical Safety Networks.

interpret local and national clinical policies and advise how these should be adhered to when developing or procuring IT health systems.

The post holder will be responsible for:

Raising any unacceptable safety risks.

Identifying the risks associated with the manufacture and deployment of IT health systems and assist in monitoring and reducing these risks.

Identifying the risks associated with the implementation of proposed projects and assist the Programme/Project Managers, Product Managers and Service Leads in monitoring and reducing these risks.

Recording and updating of all risks hazards and issues, including action plans, into the PHW risk system, Datix.

Develop, manage and maintain documentation relating to the Clinical Risk Management Process.

Person Specification Criteria:

Current professional registration with a regulatory body within Health or Social Care ( Medical, Nursing, Allied Health Professional or Social Care)

Post graduate diploma level qualification or equivalent qualification or experience

Patient Safety Investigation qualification RCA/SEIPS

Evidence of continuing professional and/or personal self-development

Degree or equivalent knowledge and skills gained through any combination of alternative study or employment

NHS Digital Clinical Safety Accreditation

Possess excellent communication skills and ability to adapt communication styles to audience.

Deliver high quality update reports as required using a range or reporting tools and mechanisms, advanced skills in MS Office.

Ability to present information clearly and concisely; ability to interpret complex information and present this to others in a way that is simple and understandable.

Have the ability to interpret technical information and information to enable decision making.

Develop and maintain information systems to enable work delivery to be monitored.

Have knowledge of management skills, principles and practice, ability to work to agreed departmental standards

Lead and manage staff associated with the programme and wider clinical IT systems as required, building strong teams and alliances.

Provide training and development to staff and project managers as required.

Ability to demonstrate understanding and application of our workplace values, together with the underpinning behaviours identified for success in this role.

Please review the JD for full details of the job description and person specification.

Person Specification

Qualifications and Knowledge

Essential

oCurrent professional registration with a regulatory body within Health or Social Care ( Medical, Nursing, Allied Health Professional or Social Care) Post graduate diploma level qualification or equivalent qualification or experience Patient Safety Investigation qualification RCA/SEIPS Evidence of continuing professional and/or personal self-development Degree or equivalent knowledge and skills gained through any combination of alternative study or employment NHS Digital Clinical Safety Accreditation

Desirable

oIT related degree or an equivalent qualification oAgile Change Practitioner

Experience

Essential

oPatient safety experience oRisk Management experience oRelevant clinical experience. (In depth knowledge of the practice of related healthcare, clinical workflow and supporting business processes) o In depth knowledge of Health IT Systems, human factors and their contribution and control in the context of patient harm oHave the ability to support the development of new service standards. oExperience as a Clinical Safety Officer oKnowledge of project & programme management methodologies ( Agile) oExperience of involvement in the specification, development, or implementation of information systems o Experience of working with clinicians, managers and other stakeholders o oMeet the key competencies specified in DCB0160 and have knowledge and understanding of all legal and statutory matters in relation to the maintenance of clinical safety in the manufacture and adoption of IT health systems including the DCB0129 and DCB0160 standards and requirements. oExperience of completing Data Protection Impact Assessments and Medical Devices regulation requirements. oCapable of undertaking risk assessments and developing the necessary action plans and monitoring mechanisms to support remedial actions oIn-depth understanding of the ways in which healthcare professionals use information in support of patient care Full understanding of why and how errors occur in the development, deployment and subsequent use of Health IT Systems and how these can result in patient harm oKnowledge of measures that can be effectively applied to reduce associated clinical risk through the procurement, development and deployment of Health IT Systems yo Extensive experience of managing conflicting demands from the various points of view and assessing the requirement of patient safety

Skills and Attributes

Essential

oPossess excellent communication skills and ability to adapt communication styles to audience. oDeliver high quality update reports as required using a range or reporting tools and mechanisms, advanced skills in MS Office. oAbility to present information clearly and concisely; ability to interpret complex information and present this to others in a way that is simple and understandable. oHave the ability to interpret technical information and information to enable decision making. oDevelop and maintain information systems to enable work delivery to be monitored. oHave knowledge of management skills, principles and practice, ability to work to agreed departmental standards oLead and manage staff associated with the programme and wider clinical IT systems as required, building strong teams and alliances. oProvide training and development to staff and project managers as required. oAbility to demonstrate understanding and application of our workplace values, together with the underpinning behaviours identified for success in this role,

Desirable

oWelsh Language Skills are desirable in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing in Welsh

Other

Essential

oEnhanced DBS clearance including an/a Adults and Childrens Barred List check ooAbility to travel between sites in a timely manner to meet the needs of the service