Senior Information Governance Officer

Job overview

• To support the wards, bed mangers and Discharge Co-ordinators (DISCOSs) in the management of patients through the trust from admission to discharge. Key roles are:
• To provide support to the ward teams to manage patient flow, investigations, tests and general co-ordination of work
• To support the bed managers with a cohort of patients discharge planning and support.
• To identify all complex discharges and hand over to the DISCO.
• To be a two-way conduit for information to wards, DISCOs on board rounds and at MDM.
• To attend trust meetings identifying escalation points within the division.
• To help support and facilitate the repatriation of trauma and long stay patients

Main duties of the job

Patient Flow Planning

To work with the nurse in charge to facilitate and co-ordinate all aspects of discharge

Administration

To support with administrative tasks such as transport bookings, porting requests, updating EPIC with admissions and discharges

Management

To support with collection of I want great care data. Participate in audits and support the ward manager and bed management team with escalations of blocks to flow and the patient pathway

Working for our organisation

The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King’s to another level.

We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.

King’s is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone’s contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust’s carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Patient Flow Planning

• To track patient investigations, identifying any delays and taking appropriate actions to make sure they are carried out in a timely manner
• To monitor, white boards, ward reviews and EPIC to facilitate patient investigations and communicating with the nurse in charge regarding problems with these
• To have an accurate and up-to-date overview of daily discharges that will be happening within the wards and to be responsible for providing information about available bed numbers to the bed manager
• To be the main communication point for ongoing tests/investigations, ensuring that requests are acted on and that patients not delayed unnecessarily
• To attend daily board rounds and MDM and to act on requests, feeding back to the appropriate person
• To facilitate timely writing of TTAs so as to ensure the patients are discharged in a timely manner working with the junior doctors and pharmacy
• To review all patients daily, identifying any new cases requiring case management by the DISCO
• To support the ward staff by managing the timely submission of appropriate social work documentation, specifically notification for assessment and discharge
• To support the ward with setting up community nursing services with early identification for the need of this service
• To undertake simple discharge planning with the support of the DISCO and SW Manager
• To be responsible for a daily communication liaison to reduce duplication of effort
• To be the main conduit for information regarding planned discharges
• To attend the daily trust meetings to support the early escalation of delays
• To be responsible for maintaining a current list of all patients on their team wards

Administration

• To document all actions on EPIC in a timely manner
• To prepare for board rounds ensuring that all patients are correctly allocated to consultants on EPIC and the white board
• To take responsibility for liaising with Ward Administrators to ensure old notes are requested and merged with new ones and to follow-up with Patient Information Services any outstanding
• To be responsible for preparing a weekly ward-based MDM list as directed, ensuring liaison with relevant professionals and effective distribution prior to meetings
• To act as a central communication point across for all professions involved in planning patient care both within the ward-based team and within primary care and other agencies
• To act appropriately on all information, problem solving and finding solutions wherever possible
• To use initiative to work independently

Management

• To actively support the process of risk management – ensure incidents are reported appropriately and helping identify ways of preventing errors and accidents to both patients and staff
• To effectively manage a patient’s simple discharge, ensuring adequate communication and documentation across all teams
• To communicate varied and complicated information (verbally and in writing) in a way that is understood and gets the important facts across
• To maintain confidentiality with regard to personal information pertaining to staff
• To attend and contribute to departmental meetings as required

Person specification

Essential

Essential criteria

• Good communication skills
• Excellent English – written and spoken
• Computer skills qualification with word processing skills
• Ability to use and learn other software packages, i.e. Excel or Patient Administration System
• Previous NHS experience
• Basic understanding of the discharge process
• Willingness to undertake relevant NVQ qualification
• Reliability
• Ability to work as part of a multi disciplinary team whilst also using own initiative
• Evidence of strong interpersonal skills
• Ability to prioritise and to work under pressure

Desirable criteria

• Working knowledge of medical terminology

IMPORTANT

• Check your email account regularly as this is how we will communicate with you
• If you delete the job from any of your accounts, you may be prevented from accessing further communications
• To enquire about your application or inform us of any changes in your circumstances, please contact the named person on this advert
• Please provide email addresses for referees where possible
• Please review the documentation on our recruitment microsite, particularly the Trust’s criminal records checking policy
• All staff have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and for ensuring they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role.
• Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. On occasion, we might close a vacancy early due to a high number of applications being received. You are advised to submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

AI tools like chatbots and virtual assistants can support you as you complete your application. For example, they can check for spelling or grammar errors, or help you to decide what to include. They shouldn’t however replace your own responses or be used to write the application for you.

Relying too much on AI can negatively impact your chances of success because automatically generated answers:

• might not be specific or relevant enough to address the criteria in the recruitment profile
• often seem generic and not personalised enough – an AI response won’t show your unique voice and perspective
• could misrepresent information about you, such as your qualifications, skills and experience

We monitor applications for any behaviour that could create an unfair advantage, and we check all references carefully. You are likely to be tested on your experience at interview, so be honest and make sure all the information in your application is correct.

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Annual Reports and Other Corporate Publications

King's Health Partners Academic Health Science Centre Website

King's College Hospital is part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC), a pioneering collaboration between King's College London, and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts.