Legal Services Officer

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen within the Tobacco Dependence Team at King’s College Hospital. 

The main focus of the role is to provide admin and clinical support to the tobacco dependence team.  This will include assisting with the preparation of data submissions at a regional and national level, alongside data relating to team activity with a view to enhance and develop service provision.  Working with team colleagues the role will help ensure effective delivery of Tobacco Dependence Treatment across the following pathways:

· NHS Inpatient Tobacco Dependence Treatment Delivery Model, comprising:

o Providing personalised support to inpatients and post-discharge care.

· Cessation of Smoking Treatment in the Emergency Department (CoSTED)

o Provision of nicotine vapes to patients attending ED.

· Stop B4 the Op initiative

o Delivery of routine tobacco dependence treatment prior to elective surgery.

Main duties of the job

The role will provide appropriate routine post-discharge remote support for patients via a Trust health app and telephone, to assess patient’s smoking status, concordance with treatment and escalating patients as appropriate to senior colleagues in the tobacco dependence team. The post holder will also have administrative duties including arranging follow up appointments, maintenance of a clinical database, preparation of service reports and evaluation.

This is a full-time post, 37.5 hours per week Monday–Friday.  The contract is offered on a fixed term basis.  The position is based at the Princess Royal University Hospital with cross-site working at King’s College Hospital, Denmark Hill.

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

Key responsibilities

• Provide routine remote support (phone based and/or health app) for patients post discharge.
• Deliver evidence-based tobacco dependence treatment in accordance with Department of Health, NICE and NCSCT guidance.
• Record patients smoking status and concordance with patient treatment plans.
• Check support and continuity of care of patients post discharge.
• Escalate patients to tobacco dependence specialists and advisors when required, arranging follow up calls or appointments
• Support Tobacco Dependence Team Specialists and Advisors to deliver treatment for patients.
• Liaise with GP practices to ensure optimal access to treatment for smokers.
• Provide information for staff on tobacco dependence treatment.
• Support the Tobacco Dependence Team colleagues to promote and deliver bespoke training to a range of staff within the hospital on the tobacco dependence care pathways.
• Keep informed of developments and innovation in practice and ensure all training, information and advice is up to date and evidence based. 

• Use patient record systems to ensure routine calls are scheduled and carried out.
• Collate and provide reports on service data, ensuring data entry is accurate and input in a timely manner.
• Assist TDT colleagues to gather and analyse service outcome data.
• Liaise with local Stop Smoking Services to ensure ongoing support is provided as part of the patient’s care pathway.
• Support Tobacco Dependence Advisors and Specialists to liaise with medical, pharmacist and nursing teams to ensure optimal care and withdrawal management for smokers.
• Utilise electronic patient record reporting facilities to ensure routine post-discharge contact with patients is scheduled
• To contribute to the ongoing development, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of the tobacco dependence treatment team.
• Coordinate promotional events such as national campaigns Stoptober, Lung Cancer Awareness and No Smoking Day.
• Support and promote the KCH Smokefree Policy.

Research and Service Development

· Support the delivery and development of the Tobacco Dependence team.

· Provide continuity of support between hospital and discharge.

· Identify barriers to project development and making appropriate recommendations.  

· Maintain comprehensive service data to capture activity levels and outcomes.

· Maintain appropriate confidential records and data systems.

· Ensure patient records and service data is accurate and up to date.

· Maintain supervision records for quality and audit purposes.

· Use data to analyse and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions,

· making recommendations to inform project development.

Personal and Professional

· Plan and organise own workload to ensure service demands are met.

· Act as an ambassador for the Tobacco Dependence Team.

· Review and share best practice with other health care professionals to maintain high standards of service delivery.

· Develop knowledge, skills and expertise to support tobacco dependent patients with a range of health conditions.

· Participate in training and in-house supervision sessions.

· Use a reflective practice approach to aid learning and development.

· To work independently when providing advice to patients, recognising when there is a need to defer to a more senior member of staff for advice and support.

· Liaise with GPs, pharmacies and local NHS stop smoking services to facilitate ongoing support and treatment for patients in line with local protocols and procedures.

· Thrive in a team orientated environment, communicating effectively, actively contributing to group efforts, open to feedback and willing to share ideas.

· Work flexibly to ensure service continuity and demands are met.

Education and Training

· Promote and support delivery of Very Brief Advice (VBA) and bespoke tobacco dependence training to a range of staff within the hospital, using the NCSCT online training modules or face to face training.

· Assist colleagues delivering training and support to ward-based staff to implement the Admission Care Bundle.

· Keep informed of developments and innovation in practice and ensure all training, information and advice is up to date and evidence based.

· Attend and actively participate in training and development sessions.

Person specification

Shortlisting - person specification

Essential criteria

• GCSE or equivalent in Maths and English
• Demonstrate basic knowledge of the health benefits of smoking cessation for hospital patients
• Experience of providing remote support or information to patients
• Basic knowledge of behaviour change techniques
• Effective interpersonal, motivational and influencing skills.
• Able to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends, and across sites if required to ensure service delivery.
• Able to perform basic extraction and analysis of data, presenting findings to colleagues

Desirable criteria

• Experience of supporting training delivery to a range of health professionals
• Evidence of previous effective team working.

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.

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• 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.

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