Perinatal Expert By Experience

Job overview

Permanent Part-time 22.5 hours

The Perinatal Expert by Experience role has been developed in response to a range of recommendations from various reports identifying that the voice of people using services in their pathway is often not heard and can be excluded from essential decisions.

People using services have a unique perspective on their own  care needs and should be embraced as part of the decision-making team with the patient at the heart of the pathway. This role will enable the person to be seen, heard and involved; subject to the appropriate consents.

Please note for this role you will be required to travel independently around the county meeting strict time deadlines. You will need to hold a full UK driving licence* and have use of a vehicle. You cannot use public transport for this role as this is not a reliable form of transport and will not allow you to meet service needs. Please confirm in your application that you meet the specified criteria.  *DVLA have a number of reciprocal arrangements with overseas countries, for further information please visit the DVLA website

Main duties of the job

This is a new post therefore although having clear parameters and expectations there will be opportunities to positively shape and influence the role and build and develop important relationships with stakeholders and partners.

The post holder will work with the People Participation Lead and Clinical Leads within the East of England Provider Collaborative to achieve the following core objectives:

• Work with people from admission to the mother and baby unit to discharge.
• Help patients/carers understand the inpatient system and processes – be a source for high quality information that is easy to understand.
• To work proactively with the allocated mother and baby units. Supporting communication processes between the clinical unit and patients; enabling units to create a compassionate and responsive approach to patients and where appropriate their carers.
• Empower patients to access information and to be part of planning.
• Have knowledge and networks of the local area to support people with information and signposting.
• To be a point of liaison with the Unit on patient matters, specifically quality improvement initiatives to enable more robust and inclusive engagement.
• Help patients raise concerns where necessary and take action to escalate those concerns if necessary

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities

Improving quality and outcomes

• Champion the role of “Perinatal Expert by Experience ” within units, Supporting the patients and where appropriate carers to ensure their voice is heard and they are seen as equals in the care pathway.
• To work with colleagues across the regions to ensure the delivery of improvements through Expert By Experience roles of engagement and involvement across all Mother and Baby units and demonstrate the value of Expert by Experience roles.
• Actively contribute to the evaluation of the Expert by Experience  Programme.
• Where indicated using local escalation processes to raise with the Clinical Director of the Provider Collaborative or lead commissioner if local resolution is not possible.
• Sharing concerns and/or escalating unresolved concerns to the People Participation Lead as required.
• Maintain accurate records and comply with local procedures for record keeping, confidentiality and security

Enabling patient and public involvement

• To act as a champion for patients and their interests and involve the public and patients in the policy development and decision-making of NHS England and NHS Improvement.
• To ensure all public and patient contact with the office is of the highest professional standard.
• To embed patient and public involvement within NHS England and NHS Improvement at all levels of decision making.

Promoting equality and reducing inequalities

• To uphold organisational policies and principles on the promotion of equality.
• To create an inclusive working environment where diversity is valued, everyone can contribute, and everyday action ensure we meet our duty to uphold and promote equality.
• Highlight where there may be a need for reasonable adjustment.

Promoting Rights and Signposting

• Sharing information to support understanding of the Care Plan Approach (CPA) meetings; Understanding the Care and Treatment Review (CTR) Process
• Family and individual’s rights including legal frameworks (MHA, MCA, Human Rights Act, Child and Families Act).
• The community teams and their roles (CAMHS, IASS, CCGs).
• Signpost to groups in their local area and on Social Media.
• Information about key policies (eg. NICE, Transforming Care).
• Signposting when they may need legal advice and how to go about this.

Developing an excellent organisation

• To ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of all staff within the department.
• To ensure compliance with all confidentiality and governance requirements within the department.