Patient and Public Engagement Specialist | Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Would you like to join the patient and public engagement (PPE) team at one of the country's most successful NHS foundation trusts? Are you committed to involving patients, families and carers in the design and delivery of NHS services?, To discuss the role, please contact Anna.GrinbergsSaull@gstt.nhs.uk, Senior Patient and Public Engagement Manager.

Patient and public engagement is a statutory requirement, but most importantly, a key Trust priority, described by our current strategy, Together We Care. The Patient and Public Engagement (PPE) Specialist is responsible for supporting the Head of Patient and Public Engagement in the development and implementation of the Trust's PPE policy and strategy across the organisation.

The role will provide specialist expertise and advice across clinical groups and non-clinical departments, including on the Trust's statutory and regulatory requirements. It supports staff to involve patients, families, carers and the public as part of everyday business at the Trust across a wide range of activities including:-

• Strategy development


• Major service change /transformation, capital projects (e.g. building design) and digital programmes


• Programmes and projects that form part of strategic partnerships (e.g. working with King's Health Partners, the Integrated care System)


The post holder will interpret government policy and statutory requirements and provide specialist knowledge regarding the Trust's legal 'duty to involve' along with a range of related legal and regulatory duties.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an assessment on 24th June 2024. Interview date is provisionally set for 26th June 2024 (tbc).

The Patient and Public Engagement Team is is led by the Head of Patient and Public Engagement. It is part of the Strategy Directorate - a small corporate department that works closely with clinical groups and corporate directorates across the Trust, with colleagues from other NHS trusts and external partner organisations such as Integrated Care System partners, Local Authorities and Guy's and St Thomas' Charity. Theteam has a large and varied portfolio, across six broad areas:

• Trust policy and assurance


• Trust Patient and Public Engagement Strategy


• Specialist advice and delivery of patient-public stakeholder engagement in strategic and major programmes, including major service change and capital programmes


• Stakeholder management and liaison (e.g. Healthwatch and Local Authority Overview and Scrutiny functions)


• Charity Patient and Public Engagement - co-developing a patient and public engagement function with and for the GST Foundation's three charities


• Patient and public engagement in strategic partnerships (e.g. Integrated Care Systems and partners with other NHS providers)


The team is based at 200 Great Dover Street close to Borough and London Bridge. This is the post-holders main base, but they are expected to work at any location within and served by the Trust, including all hospital and community sites. Local hybrid working arrangements are in place.

Trust patient and public engagement policy and strategy

• To be responsible for supporting the development of, and providing specialist knowledge, support and advice on the objectives of the Trust's forthcoming Patient and Public Engagement Strategy, related policies and key projects and services, as required, across the Trust.


• To gather evidence that demonstrates excellent performance in patient and public engagement against the requirements of our regulators, in particular the Care Quality Commission.


• To support the Head of Patient and Public Engagement to monitor and provide assurance to the Chief Strategy Officer (the accountable Director) and the Trust Board on the Trust's legal 'duty to involve' patients and the public.


• Be responsible for the maintenance and updating of the Trust PPE model, as a means of gathering and maintaining information about the services currently involving patients and the public, e.g. and transformation programmes, service improvement projects, patient feedback, and capital schemes or other such activities. This includes analysing audit data to provide evidence to the Board on how the Trust is meeting its 'duty to involve' and the extent of engagement across clinical groups and corporate functions.


• Support the development, review and implement Trust policy on the reimbursement and reward of stakeholders who participate in patient and public engagement. This includes agreeing on processes with the Finance directorate. Provide advice and guidance to other departments/services on the application of the above-mentioned policy.


• To plan and coordinate a broad range of complex activities or programmes across all parts of the organisation, balancing conflicting requirements to reach consensus, and seeking senior-level approval where appropriate. This will also include the presentation and exchange of complex specialist information with a range of internal and external stakeholders.


• To support senior managers to keep the Board of Directors, the Council of Governors and the Trust Management Executive regularly informed of the patient and public engagement strategy and policy implementation


• To develop, report and disseminate appropriate performance information to promote continuous improvement, including executive committee reports.


Patient and public engagement in strategy, service delivery, transformation and capital investments schemes

• To lead patient and public engagement for the Trust, particularly regarding clinical service transformation, working closely with relevant clinical teams to ensure that all relevant stakeholders' views are taken into consideration in the design and delivery of schemes.


• To work with colleagues in the Patient Experience Team to interrogate existing patient experience survey data (local and national) that may help to inform improvements and changes to services.


• To work with colleagues in capital project design teams to assure that engagement plans and activities are undertaken, in compliance with internal policy and relevant legislation, advise on the appropriate engagement methods, and where necessary worth together to deliver engagement activities


• To ensure, through appropriate consultation with key corporate departments, internal stakeholders and staff, that engagement plans reflect business needs, legislative guidance and best practice. Specifically, to ensure that all engagement plans, materials, or other resources, particularly those relating to patient and public involvement are compliant


• To project manage and facilitate patient and public engagement activities, including arranging events, designing surveys, developing copy, writing and producing presentation materials, and facilitating focus groups and workshops.


• To evaluate, audit and report on the delivery and effectiveness of patient and public engagement projects and plans


• To interpret and communicate information (sometimes highly complex and/or politically sensitive) to a range of stakeholders including, patients, the public, senior clinical and management staff, using complex skills including persuasion and negotiation, training, enabling them to agree and/or co-operate in culture and behaviour change


Training, education and development for the patient and public stakeholder engagement

• To develop and maintain learning resources and planning tools for Trust staff to help them engage effectively with patients and the public. This will include ongoing development and maintenance of the Patient and Public Engagement Hub and any other tools as necessary.


• To develop training and support for patients, carers and members of the public that supports their involvement in Trust activities


• To ensure Trust colleagues are briefed on patient and public engagement policies and procedures as an integral part of their induction process and training provided as appropriate


IT, communications and administration

• To support senior managers to keep the Board of Directors, the Council of Governors and the Trust Management Executive regularly informed of patient and public engagement in service improvement, changes and transformation, by contributing to the preparation of formal reports.


• To develop and maintain appropriate project information systems that support the teams work


• To be responsible for managing and editing the content of the Patient and Public Engagement Team's pages on the Trust intranet (GTi) and to work together with the Communications Department contributing to information to be displayed on the public website, where appropriate.


• To be responsible for the ongoing development and maintenance of the Patient and Public Engagement Hub, ensuring its content is updated and technical functionality


• To develop and maintain a database of internal and external stakeholders which can be used to support communications and engagement activities (e.g. Patient-Led Assessment of the Care Environment)


• To be responsible for the servicing and administration of any project / working groups related to the work of the Patient and Public Engagement Team.


Stakeholder relations, communications and professional networks

• To maintain and develop partnerships with external bodies such as NHS and local authority commissioners, Healthwatch, and local community voluntary sector, to act as a representative of the Trust, and make presentations to, a range of audiences, including local stakeholder groups and organisations.


• To be responsible for writing and producing communications materials for patients, staff and other stakeholders as appropriate, including information for individual projects, liaising with the Communications Department where necessary.
  
  We are looking for a self-motivated individual to join us, to take forward are range of patient and public engagement projects with colleague across the Trust.


You must have proven experience of patient and public engagement strategy delivery in two or more of the following areas, including, clinical strategy development, major service change, capital or digital programmes

You will have a demonstrable working knowledge of the various legal and regulatory duties s relating to patient and public engagement. Specialist expertise across various engagement practices, skills, techniques and approaches are essential.

You will drive good practice, working with colleagues to involve patient-public stakeholders in range of complex projects and programmes.

You will have proven social research and data analysis skills, with the ability to analyse and interpret quantitative and qualitative data.

You will be educated to a degree level (equivalent experience) and have substantial experience of patient and public engagement within the NHS, social research sector or a public or voluntary sector organisation.