Meet our Patient Safety and Compliance Teams

#HelloHumber

Our Patient Safety and Compliance Teams are made up of several different professionals who work in the realms of safety at work. These multi-disciplinary roles include Patient Safety Management, Tissue Viability, Risk Management and Allied Health Professions.

We recently spoke to several members of the teams, who are based across our patch from Willerby to Whitby, to get to know more about what they do, what they love about working here and what they would say to aspiring healthcare professionals.

Colette Conway, Assistant Director of Nursing, Patient Safety and Compliance

How would you describe your day to day work?

Each day is different and I am continually managing conflicting priorities depending on recent Patient Safety Incidents and events, and also responding to any CQC concerns or queries.

What is your favourite thing about being a part of this team?

Everyone in the team is really supportive and adaptable. It really is a good team to be part of, and every single member works extremely hard and I am proud to be a part of it.

What is one of the most interesting things you have learned in your role?

I am constantly learning in this role, I would say I learn something new nearly every day so it’s very difficult to pick one thing.

What would you say to anyone aspiring to be a Nurse?

Nursing is a fantastic career. I have been working in the NHS for 34 years now. I have been lucky enough to work across a variety of clinical areas and settings, and have been able to undertake a BSc (hons) in Specialist Community Practice along the way. I also completed a Commuter Programming degree. Nursing is such a flexible and rewarding career.

 

Samantha Jaques-Newton, Head of Allied Health Professions and Practice Development

How would you describe your day to day work?

I work across the local health and social care system with partners providing credible and visible leadership for Allied Health Professionals (AHP) at a local, regional and national level.

My days vary greatly. One day I could be leading on the work of AHP professional leads to actively raise the profile of AHPs across the Trust, through supporting innovation in practice in line with the Trust Professional strategy. Another day I could be advising the executives and divisional leaders on matters of strategic development that have an impact on the AHP workforce and services. This includes ensuring that the role and development of AHPs is reflected in Trust strategic and operational plans, highlighting AHP workforce issues and priorities within the Trust or as a member of the Humber Coast and Vale AHP ICS council.

The safety part of my role is to lead the practice development function of the directorate through management of the directorate subject specialists for practice and policy development, clinical audit, tissue viability and resuscitation ensuring their professional practice remains current, issues are appropriately escalated and resolved within an effective clinical governance framework.

What is your favourite thing about being a part of this team?

The team are hardworking and supportive.  

What would you say to anyone aspiring to work in Allied Health Professions?

AHPs provide system-wide care to assess, treat, diagnose and discharge patients across various settings and sectors. As the Head Allied Health Profession you are in an unique position to work strategically, to be the voices of these professions to shape the AHP workforce, and to provide and ensure there is a leadership structure for AHP’s with a career pathways, so that they can work with individuals to improve their health and wellbeing so they can live full and active lives.  

 

Oliver Sims, Corporate Risk and Compliance Manager

How would you describe your day to day work?

Very busy and interesting. My role allows me to get a real feel for how important the services are that the Trust provide. Although from an incident and risk perspective I often see what has gone wrong in the delivery of Trust services, or areas that require further mitigation, I also see how hard our staff work to ensure the safety of patients and how passionate they are about the services they provide.

What is your favourite thing about being a part of this team?

My favourite thing about working as part of this team is the people I have around me. We have a talented group of individuals from different backgrounds and professions who have come together with a shared goal and passion for patient safety which is inspiring and strongly motivates me to continue to deliver my role.

What is one of the most interesting things you have learned in your role?

One of the most interesting things I have learned in the role is how far our services go to improve the lives of patients, their families and carers.

In 2020, the Trust implemented the GREATix process which gave Trust staff the opportunity to recognise where individuals or teams had gone above and beyond in the delivery of patient safety, and we have seen some very inspiring examples, especially during the pandemic, of how our Trust teams really take patient safety seriously and work tirelessly to improve the experiences of patients using our services.

What would you say to anyone aspiring to be a Corporate Risk and Compliance Manager?

If you enjoy working as part of a close-knit team and are passionate about patient safety, in particular incident and risk management, then this could be for you. The role can be demanding at times, and there is a lot of reporting and assurance requirements that are fundamental to the role, but if you have good attention to detail and are comfortable in a fast paced environment, then this is a very rewarding career path.

 

Michelle Ireland, Patient Safety Manager

How would you describe your day to day work?

My role is to oversee all Significant Event Analysis and Serious Incidents. My day is very varied and can consist of chairing the Safety Huddle, raising any patient safety incidents to management, attending Clinical Network meetings. This includes supporting staff who are undertaking a Significant Event Analysis (SEA), liaising with staff, clinical leads, divisions and the CCG regarding patient safety incidents. I am also going to be going out to the teams to support with patient safety and incident investigations.

What is your favourite thing about being a part of this team?

The team are so friendly and helpful. Being new to the role, there is never a silly question, just support and guidance.

What is one of the most interesting things you have learned in your role?

I started the role in January 2021, when working from home was the norm, starting a new role in Covid is very different to being able to sit with your colleagues and learn from them. I came from children’s services, so suddenly had to learn about the 4 divisions within Humber and covering mental health has been a big learning curve for me, but I have to say every day is different, you don’t know what incidents will be reported and what makes them be declared as a SEA or SI this has been a huge learning point for me.

What would you say to anyone aspiring to be a Patient Safety Manager?

If anyone is aspiring to be a Patient Safety Manager, I’d say do it. It’s varied and different, and you are making a difference to individual lives.

I came into nursing to make a difference and believe this role does that. Though you may not be on the frontline, you are in the background supporting staff to help them along the way.

 

Simon Barrett, Tissue Viability Specialist Nurse

How would you describe your day to day work?

My day to day work is very varied and therefore always interesting - it involves clinical reviews of complex wound patients, chairing meetings, training and education, policy, protocol, audit, report writing and clinical evaluations/research.

What is your favourite thing about being a part of this team?

I am part of many teams that combine to provide the best possible care to all of our patients within the Trust.

The teams are the Nursing and Quality and the community teams and those teams within the community, who all work together. The fact we are a team of multi-agency professionals is the best part, as we can all use each other’s skills, experience and knowledge to help each other support our patients to achieve the best outcomes, whether that is healing, symptom control or anything in between.

What is one of the most interesting things you have learned in your role?

After almost 37 years in the NHS there are almost too many things to consider. Every day is different!

I have learnt many clinical and theoretical skills to help me diagnose, plan, treat and document patient care. One of the best is having the opportunity to watch listen and learn from others life experience and accept that all people are different, with different opinions and those views which all should be considered when working with them to help achieve the best outcomes for all involved.

What would you say to anyone aspiring to be a Tissue Viability Nurse?

My advice would be that wounds are a symptom of an underlying cause. If you have the ability to listen to what the patient and the wound are saying, enjoying investigating the root cause, delivering training and education as well as making a difference, you should consider tissue viability as a career pathway.

 

Alexandra Samoila, Risk and Patient Safety Administrator

How would you describe your day to day work?

Every morning I pull together the report of all of the incidents from Datix that happened on the previous day, which is used for our daily Corporate Safety Huddle. On a daily basis I would be completing all of the actions from the Huddle, anonymising incidents and correcting their errors in order to upload them to the NRLS. Additionally, I am in charge of taking the minutes for the Clinical Risk Management Group (CRMG) that takes place every Thursday.

What is your favourite thing about being a part of this team?

I am a new starter and I have been very pleasantly surprised that everyone, no matter what role, is very willing to help.

What is one of the most interesting things you have learned in your role?

I am originally from Romania, and whilst I worked in the NHS before, I never knew what kind of incidents happen in a UK-based mental health ward and how these are diffused. It was very interesting to read and to fully understand the amount of work and care that goes into every patient.

What would you say to anyone aspiring to be a Risk and Patient Safety Administrator?

Experience-wise, it helps if you have worked in the NHS before as an Administrator, but it’s not needed if you have the passion for the role. I would definitely recommend looking more into what the NRLS does and how to navigate the Datix system.

 

Darran Hillerby, Risk and Patient Safety Systems Officer

How would you describe your day to day work?

My role is an administrator function. The role provides administrative support to the Clinical Risk Management Group and systems support regarding the use of Datix system and providing various standard and ad-hoc reports.

What is your favourite thing about being a part of this team?

The team is extremely helpful and supportive.

What would you say to anyone aspiring to be a Risk and Patient Safety Systems Officer?

It helps to have a strong background in problem solving due to the issues that are often raised.

 

 

Jane Foster, Clinical Governance and Patient Safety Administrator

How would you describe your day to day work?

I deal with the administrative side of Serious Incidents and Significant Event Analysis, as well as various other administrative tasks. Every week is different as we never know when an SI or an SEA will be declared.

What is your favourite thing about being a part of this team?

Making a difference to patient’s safety by ensuring all the governance processes run smoothly and appropriately.

What is one of the most interesting things you have learned in your role?

Appreciating the complexity of SIs and SEAs and the hard work and dedication put into them by the staff involved.

What would you say to anyone aspiring to be a Clinical Governance and Patient Safety Administrator?

I would say it would suit someone who is very organised and a good communicator, and enjoys working with a wide range of individuals and teams.