Band 8a
Community Diabetes Team Lead

Job Title: Community Diabetes Team Lead
Band: 8a
Directorate: Adult Community Services (ACS)
Initial Location: O'Hagan House, Daisy Hill Hospital (subject to review)
Reports To: Head of Dietetics & Community Diabetes services
Accountable To: Assistant Director of Enhanced Services
Flexible Working: Full-time working, Compressed/elongated hours

Job Summary
The Community Diabetes Team Lead is responsible for providing professional, clinical and operational leadership for the Community Diabetes Service, ensuring the delivery of safe, effective, person-centred and evidence-based care for individuals living with diabetes across the Trust.

The postholder will lead and manage a multidisciplinary team, supporting high standards of clinical practice, service performance, quality improvement and clinical governance. Working in partnership with primary care, secondary care, community services and regional stakeholders, the postholder will contribute to the development and delivery of integrated models of care that improve patient outcomes and experience.

The Team Lead will be responsible for service planning, workforce development, resource management and continuous service improvement. They will support innovation and service transformation, including the implementation of digital technologies and evidence-based approaches to care, ensuring the service remains responsive to population need and aligned with Trust priorities.

The postholder will provide expert professional leadership, promote a culture of learning and continuous improvement, and ensure that diabetes services are delivered in line with relevant professional, clinical and governance standards.

As lead clinical specialist, the post holder will be responsible for their own highly specialist clinical caseload in diabetes services.

Key Duties / Responsibilities

• Service Delivery and Quality: Lead the planning, delivery and evaluation of a high-quality Community Diabetes Service, ensuring care is safe, effective, person-centred and evidence based for adults with diabetes, as appropriate to the service model.
• Ensure service provision complies with Trust policies, professional standards, clinical guidelines and regional priorities.
• Provide leadership for the development, implementation and review of clinical pathways, policies, protocols and standards of care.
• Monitor and evaluate service performance using activity, workforce, quality and outcome measures.
• Analyse and interpret service information to support decision-making, capacity planning and service improvement.
• Lead quality improvement initiatives, service evaluations and clinical audit programmes to improve patient outcomes and service effectiveness.
• Ensure robust arrangements are in place for clinical governance, risk management, patient safety, incident management and complaints handling.
• Ensure lessons learned from incidents, audits, service reviews and patient feedback are translated into improvements in practice.
• Maintain oversight of service demand, capacity and waiting lists, ensuring effective use of resources and timely access to care.
• Promote the use of evidence-based practice and support implementation of new evidence, technologies and innovative approaches to diabetes management.
• Work collaboratively with primary care, secondary care and community partners to strengthen integrated diabetes pathways and improve patient experience.
• Prepare and present reports relating to service performance, quality, governance and improvement activities.
• Contribute to service redesign and transformation projects in response to changing patient and organisational requirements.

Clinical

• Lead and develop delivery of the specialist diabetes service, acting as a source of expert clinical advice, ensuring dissemination of current evidence and best practice.
• Provide expert clinical leadership in the management of adults with Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes and other complex diabetes conditions as appropriate to service provision.
• Support the delivery and development of structured diabetes education programmes and self-management support initiatives.
• Monitor and respond to diabetes outcome measures to support improvements in glycaemic management and reduction of diabetes-related complications.
• Ensure a high standard of clinical care for patients under their care, leading and supporting other members of the team to do likewise. Deal with the most complex cases referred to the service and delegate appropriately.
• Utilise advanced diagnostic, reasoning and clinical skills to ensure delivery of an expert level of care for the treatment of patients, who have complex and/or chronic presentations.
• Undertake and formulate individualised management and treatment plans, using advanced assessment skills and detailed clinical reasoning, utilising a wide range of advanced treatment skills and options to formulate an individualised programme of care to meet the patient's physical, psychological, social and emotional needs where they have a complex, chronic or palliative presentation. To evaluate patient progress, reassessing and altering treatment programmes for other staff as required.
• Provide specialist advice, teaching and training to relatives, carers and other professionals, to promote understanding of the aims of diabetes management, empowering and motivating the patient / carers with regard to self-care and ensuring a consistent approach to patient care across the Trust and the region.
• Lead the clinical implementation and governance of diabetes technologies including continuous glucose monitoring, flash glucose monitoring and insulin pump therapy.
• Work as an integral member of multi-disciplinary teams across the Trust and promote good interpersonal relationships within the teams to achieve optimal diabetes care for all patients.

Leadership and Management

• Provide professional and operational leadership to the multidisciplinary Community Diabetes Team.
• Provide professional leadership and specialist support to healthcare professionals delivering diabetes care across community and primary care settings.
• Support the development of specialist clinical expertise and advanced practice within the multidisciplinary diabetes workforce.
• Manage, motivate and support staff to achieve high standards of clinical practice and service delivery.
• Develop a positive culture of accountability, continuous improvement, learning and wellbeing.
• Undertake recruitment, induction, supervision, appraisal and performance management responsibilities.
• Support workforce planning and succession planning activities.
• Identify and address staff development and training needs.
• Manage staff absence, capability and conduct issues in accordance with Trust policies.
• Provide leadership during periods of change and service development.

Strategic and Service Development

• Contribute to the development of integrated models of diabetes care that support prevention, early intervention, self-management and reduced hospital utilisation.
• Represent the Community Diabetes service on Trust and regional diabetes groups, networks and service improvement programmes, as required.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of operational and strategic plans for diabetes services.
• Support business planning processes and the development of proposals for service developments.
• Contribute specialist expertise to organisational and regional initiatives relating to diabetes care.
• Ensure service developments are informed by evidence, population need and patient feedback.

Financial and Resource Management

• Responsible to the Head of Service for the management and monitoring of the delegated budget for the purchase of Insulin Pumps, Continuous Glucose Monitors and pump consumables.
• Financial approver for resources within the Community Diabetes Service eg community equipment, travel. Thereby ensuring effective utilisation of staffing and non-pay resources.
• Ensure the effective implementation of all Trust Financial policies and procedures within the Community Diabetes Service.
• Contribute to budget planning and monitoring processes.
• Identify efficiencies while maintaining quality and patient safety.
• Ensure appropriate use of equipment and clinical resources.

Communication and Partnership Working

• Establish effective working relationships across primary, secondary and community care services.
• Provide specialist advice on diabetes management to healthcare professionals and stakeholders.
• Represent the service at internal and external meetings as required.
• Communicate complex and sensitive information effectively to patients, families, carers and professionals.
• Support collaborative working across organisational boundaries to improve service delivery.

Education, Training and Professional Development

• Lead and support programmes of diabetes education for healthcare professionals, patients, carers and partner organisations.
• Promote and support delivery of recognised structured diabetes education programmes.
• Ensure the multidisciplinary team remains current with developments in diabetes therapies, technologies, guidelines and best practice.
• Support pre-registration, post-registration and specialist training activities.
• Ensure staff maintain competence in contemporary diabetes management, including diabetes technologies, medication management and structured patient education.
• Participate in teaching and educational programmes.
• Participate in student training.
• Maintain own professional registration and continuing professional development.

Research, Audit and Governance

• Practice within the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)/Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Standards and Professional Codes of Conduct (as applicable) and ensure all team members practice within the code.
• Lead and coordinate clinical audit, service evaluation and benchmarking activities relating to diabetes outcomes, diabetes technologies, service quality and patient experience, ensuring findings are used to improve practice and service performance.
• Support the implementation of findings from diabetes research, national audits and emerging evidence into clinical practice.
• Promote the use of research and evidence-based practice.
• Contribute to the dissemination and implementation of new evidence.
• Support participation in research and innovation opportunities where appropriate.
• Ensure governance requirements are met and maintained.

Information Management

• As delegated by the Head of Service, ensure the effective implementation of all Trust Information Management policies and procedures within the service.
• Ensure systems and procedures for the management and storage of information within the multidisciplinary Community Diabetes service meet internal and external reporting requirements.
• Keep legible, comprehensive and accurate written records to agreed Departmental Standards and ensure patient confidentiality is maintained.

Human Resource Management Responsibilities
The Trust supports and promotes a culture of collective leadership where those who have responsibility for managing other staff:

• Establish and promote a supportive, fair and open culture that encourages and enables all parts of the team to have clearly aligned goals and objectives, to meet the required performance standards and to achieve continuous improvement in the services they deliver.
• Ensure access to skills and personal development through appropriate training and support.
• Promote a culture of openness and honesty to enable shared learning.
• Encourage and empower others in their team to achieve their goals and reach their full potential through regular supportive conversation and shared decision making.
• Adhere to and promote Trust policy and procedure in all staffing matters, participating as appropriate in a way which underpins the Trust values.

Raising Concerns – Responsibilities

• The post holder will promote and support effective team working, fostering a culture of openness and transparency.
• The post holder will ensure that they take all concerns raised with them seriously and act in accordance with the Trust's 'Your Right to Raise a Concern (Whistleblowing)' policy and their professional code of conduct, where applicable.
• The post holder will, in the event of a concern being raised with them, ensure that it is managed correctly under the Trust's 'Your Right to Raise a Concern (Whistleblowing)' policy and ensure feedback/learning is communicated at individual, team and organisational level.

General Requirements
The post holder will be required to:

• Assist the organisation in fulfilling its statutory duties under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 to promote equality of opportunity and good relations and under the Disability Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 2006. Staff are also required to support the organisation in complying with its obligations under Human Rights Legislation.
• Ensure the Trust's policy on equality of opportunity is promoted through his/her own actions and those of any staff for whom he/she has responsibility.
• Co-operate fully with the implementation of the Trust's Health and Safety arrangements, reporting any accidents/incidents/equipment defects to his/her manager, and maintaining a clean, uncluttered and safe environment for patients/clients, members of the public and staff.
• Adhere at all times to all Trust policies/codes of conduct, including for example: Smoke Free policy; IT Security Policy and Code of Conduct; standards of attendance, appearance and behaviour.
• Contribute to ensuring the highest standards of environmental cleanliness within your designated area of work.
• Co-operate fully with regard to Trust policies and procedures relating to infection prevention and control.
• Take responsibility to minimise the Trust's environmental impact wherever possible, including recycling, switching off equipment when not in use, reducing paper waste, reducing water usage, reporting faults and heating/cooling concerns promptly and minimising travel.
• All employees of the Organisation are legally responsible for all records held, created or used as part of their business, including patients/clients, corporate and administrative records whether paper-based or electronic and also including emails. All such records are public records and are accessible to the general public, with limited exceptions, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Employees are required to be conversant with the SHSCT policy and procedures on records management and to seek advice if in doubt.
• Take responsibility for his/her own ongoing learning and development, in order to maximise his/her potential and continue to meet the demands of the post.
• Represent The Organisation's commitment to providing the highest possible standard of service to patients/clients and members of the public, by treating all those with whom he/she comes into contact in the course of work, in a pleasant, courteous and respectful manner.

This Job Description will be subject to review in the light of changing circumstances and is not intended to be rigid and inflexible but should be regarded as providing guidelines within which the individual works. Other duties of a similar nature and appropriate to the grade may be assigned from time to time.
It is a standard condition that all Trust staff may be required to serve at any location within the Trust's area, as needs of the service demand.
We are an equal opportunities employer. All staff are expected to display the HSC Values at all times.