Senior Infection Prevention and Control Practitioner

If you are Kind, Fair, Ingenious and Determined then we want you to come and join our #PennineCarePeople

https://www.penninecare.nhs.uk/values

Job overview

Secondment Cover for Maternity Leave

The post holder would be expected to participate in developing the learning needs of the Infection Prevention and Control Link Staff in liaison with the clinical leads and other members of the Infection Prevention and Control Team. The post holder will be a strong patient advocate, providing visible leadership and ensuring that the care of patients reflects best clinical standards and that all patients are treated with dignity and respect in line with Trust Values.

Main duties of the job

Pennine Care NHS Trust NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health and learning disability services in parts of Greater Manchester and Derbyshire. It provides mental health and learning disability services in Stockport, Tameside, Oldham, Rochdale and Bury, so a car driver is essential to this role.

The senior practitioner for infection prevention and control (IPC) Practitioner will support staff and patients within the mental health and learning disability Trust by giving advice on IPC issues relating to IPC practices and patient care in all wards and community clinics and recording this advice on electronic record keeping systems.

The post holder will be expected to provide a proactive approach to prevention, surveillance, investigation, and control of infection within the Trust. This will include the review, formulation, implementation, and education of evidence-based infection control practices.

Daily monitoring of Ulysses, investigating incidents reported by staff and making IPC recommendations and giving support.

Take a leading role on undertaking the IPC audits as per IPC Annual Workplan. Auditing patient environments, hand hygiene, PPE, and community clinics. Liaising with the Clinical Effectiveness department to produce reports and assist wards to identify risks and implement improvement plans.

Working for our organisation

We are proud to provide high quality mental health and learning disability services, both inpatient and in the community across five boroughs of Greater Manchester - Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport and Tameside and Glossop.

Our vision is for a happier and more hopeful life for everyone in our communities and our staff work hard to deliver the very best care for the people who use our services. We're proud of our #PennineCarePeople and do everything we can to make sure we're a great place to work.

All individuals regardless of race, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership are encouraged to apply for this post.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post holder will be expected to provide a proactive approach to prevention, surveillance, investigation, and control of infection within the Trust. This will include the review, formulation, implementation, and education of evidence-based infection control practices.

Please see attached Job Description and Person Specification for further information

Person specification

Education/ Qualifications

• RGN/RMN/RNMH/AHP plus short courses and experience to Masters level
• Evidence of continuous professional development
• Current registration

• Infection control post graduate qualification (e.g., infection control module/Foundation Course)
• Relevant teaching qualification (e.g., ENB998, City & Guilds 730 or equivalent)

Experience

• Substantial experience at Band 6 or above
• Current Operational Infection Prevention and Control experience
• Ability to cover for Lead Nurse and colleagues.
• Experience of training or supervision of staff involved in ANTT
• Experience of activities related to infection control (e.g., Link Practitioners/IPC Champions)
• Teaching/education in formal and informal situations
• Delivering improvements in patient care
• Experience with change management
• Experience in the use of computers to access internet for research and other software e.g., laboratory results and patient information systems, and MS Office for report writing and presentations.

• Experience in undertaking audits or quality improvement relating to infection control
• Experience of IPC challenges within a mental health organisation
• Experience or involvement with audit and/or surveillance
• Range of experience in delivering face to face education/training to groups of varying sizes
• Evidence of developing and delivering change management and/or quality improvement projects

Knowledge

• Substantial post registration experience in a clinical role
• Ability to demonstrate experience in infection control activity.
• Awareness of current communicable disease issues
• Good knowledge of infection prevention and control policies and guidance

• Knowledge of current national guidelines for IPC
• clinical knowledge/ experience of infection prevention and control and how these principles are applied within a mental health & learning disability healthcare setting.

Skills and Abilities

• Excellent Communication and Interpersonal skills
• Understand the role of the multidisciplinary Team
• Good leadership skills
• Good communications skills, verbal and written with the public, and internal contacts at all levels.
• Plan & deliver bespoke training package
• Ability to use a variety of IT packages
• Ability to develop good working relationships with all disciplines
• Ability to prepare and present to others in a clear and concise manner
• Experience of analysing and presenting data
• Able to work with children and vulnerable adults
• Work under pressure to meet deadlines
• Ability to work as an agile worker from multiple bases

Work Related Circumstances

• Use of a car or access to a means of mobility to travel across the Trust footprint in line with service needs

Hints and tips for completing your application can be found here. We also offer virtual application support sessions each month, where you will learn some hints and tips to support you in completing your application form. To secure your place, and to find out more visit the jobs events page on our website.

Sponsorship - We are an approved sponsoring organisation. Applications will be considered from applicants requiring sponsorship alongside all other applications. Please be aware, not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible role and requirements on the government website.

What happens after your application has been received?

You will be informed about the progress of your application following shortlisting via email. Only applicants who clearly demonstrate the criteria listed in the person specification will be shortlisted for interview. Interview invites will be sent out via email.

What happens if I am offered the position after interview?

The hiring manager will make contact with you to verbally offer you the position. The hiring manager will then inform Recruitment of the decision and provide relevant paperwork. You will be sent a formal conditional offer via email.

What pre-employment checks will I need to complete?

By conducting pre-employment checks, the recruitment team will verify that you meet the pre-conditions of the role you have been offered. Pre-employment checks will be carried out according to NHS Employment Check Standards. The checks are:

• Identity verification
• Right to work check
• Disclosure and barring service (DBS)/Criminal record check (dependent on role)
• Professional registration and/or qualification check
• Occupational health assessment
• Employment history and reference validation

All applicants external to NHS will be required to provide HMRC employment history to cover the most recent three years. This information will used to validate employment history and references as part of pre-employment checks.

If you are offer a position with is and you require sponsorship to support your right to work, we will review your eligibility in line with government guidance. If the role you have been offer is not eligible for sponsorship, and you are not able to evidence your right to work, your conditional offer could be withdrawn.

What happens when pre-employment checks are complete?

Recruitment will liaise with you and the hiring manager to arrange a start date for your new position. You will then be booked on to a Trust Welcome Session and be sent your Pennine Care NHS Terms and Conditions.

• We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) and recognise the importance of ensuring our diverse service user population is reflected within our workforce. Unfortunately, we know that, at present, there is underrepresentation of our communities in our workforce. We welcome applications from people from diverse communities to help us grow, learn, be better and consider brilliant innovation diverse people bring.
• If you would like to be considered under the disability confident scheme, you will be guaranteed an interview if you meet the essential criteria on the person specification for the post.
• If you require reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process please phone us on 0161 716 3181 at the earliest opportunity. We will support you to complete your application.
• Unfortunately we are not able to guarantee the transfer of lease cars, or cover the costs of early termination charges.
• We have a strict policy on unsolicited contact from recruitment agencies. Please do not contact our hiring managers directly.

We reserve the right to close a vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date if a sufficient number of applications have been received. To ensure you application is considered, please submit at the earliest opportunity.