Commissioning Officer

Key Responsibilities Managing requests for treatment that should not normally be undertaken by the NHS due to limited or no evidence of effectiveness; Ongoing development of the IPFR panel, including recruitment and training of panel members; Managing requests for NHS treatment that needs to be undertaken elsewhere in the UK or European Union because of its specialist nature; Managing prior approval requests for routine NHS treatments that fall within and outside the health board's contractual framework; Establishing protocols and policies for non-contractual activity for services provided by other UK health providers; Provide accurate, appropriate and sensitive complex advice and information, on a daily basis, to members of the public, clinicians and other health professionals about individual patient funding requests; Ensure appropriate communication with patient representatives e.g. Assembly Members, Members of Parliament, stakeholders and other organisations with regard to individual patient funding requests; Provide and receive highly complex sensitive and contentious information in relation to individual patient funding requests and manage this appropriately in line with Data Protection and Caldicott requirements; Improve and maintain a comprehensive and confidential records management system for individual patient funding requests; Obtain and analyse a range of highly complex and sensitive clinical and non-clinical information in order to prepare patient treatment request summaries, present them for decision at a monthly panel meeting and record decisions; Undertake detailed background research on a wide range of treatments and drug therapies in order to inform request summaries and contribute to discussions at panel meetings; Where appropriate, notify doctors, clinicians, providers, health professionals, and patients in relation to the outcome of requests, including managing the sensitive issue of non-approval of funding; Ensure UHB staff are up to date on policy and process requirements and provide in-house training on this as required; Liaise with the Welsh Health Specialist Service Committee (WHSSC) in relation to commissioning responsibilities and the patient funding interface; Ensure monitoring progress reports/minimum data sets are received from healthcare providers on a regular basis for patients receiving treatment out of area and coordinate this information into a regular monthly activity report; Working closely with the UHB Finance Directorate, participate in commissioning discussions and inform the contracting process by identifying areas of concern and proposing solutions; ensure data processing/invoicing is validated and suitably authorised within the allocated budget in accordance with the Local Health Board Standing Financial Instructions; Recruitment of IPFR panel members from clinical UHB employees and lay members; Provide training of IPFR panel members, both directly and via the commissioning of training from external providers; Close liaison with Clinical Board senior managers to ensure effective communication on IPFR issues and working with them to address areas of concern; Undertake detailed research on a wide range of clinical topics and provide briefings on issues / develop proposed policy statements for use across the health board; Working closely with information and finance colleagues, manage the monthly reporting against Interventions Not Normally Undertaken (INNU), analysing activity levels, identifying areas of concern and proposing solutions; Monitor activity against NCA protocols in conjunction with Finance and work with Clinical Boards to ensure activity remains within agreed levels; Work with colleagues in All Wales Therapies and Toxicology Centre (AWTTC) to collect evidence on outcomes for approved IPFR requests to inform future All Wales cohort decisions on medicines; Input complex and sensitive information into the AWTTC IPFR database to allow for regular generation of reports; Maintain the local electronic archive system in line with information governance guidelines; Undertake a qualitative assessment of all material to create a physical and digital archive appropriately indexed that enables swift retrieval of patient records; Use of advanced digital packages in order to undertake all word processing duties, including databases, spreadsheets, graphical displays and the preparation of presentations; Respond appropriately to Freedom of Information requests; Produce a detailed timeline (chronology) of key events and decisions to aid the organisation's internal review for Concerns or Freedom of Information Requests; Produce and present quarterly IPFR and NCA reports for the bimonthly Tactical Commissioning meetings; Contribute to and maintain information held on risk logs and asset registers; Contribute specialist knowledge to the Commissioning Team Annual Report; Undertake internal quality assurance checks and provide a quarterly file for independent quality assurance review panel; Represent Cardiff and Vale UHB at the All Wales IPFR Network and support the network to standardise practice across Wales and share good practice; Work with All Wales Network to produce All Wales policies and procedures, ensuring the legal and ethical framework relating to healthcare is considered; The post holder will need to be especially flexible to adapt to changing priorities and to adapt to different daily demands. Commissioning Responsibilities Develop and maintain strategic links with wider NHS Wales, broader public service and third sector communications teams as well as developing close working relationships with stakeholders; Ensure commissioning function is outcomes focused and person-centred; Maintaining an up to date knowledge of prevailing and ongoing NHS initiatives affecting Health Board, ensuring an understanding of the current social and economic climate and the pressures faced by public sector organisations; Horizon scanning to inform colleagues of new / emerging treatments and technologies so that the health board can respond accordingly; Provide support to and represent individual patient funding at the Tactical Commissioning Meetings; Work with Clinical Boards to develop protocols and reporting systems for small cohort non-contractual activity (NCA). Staff Management Line manage the Administrator for Individual Patient Funding Requests, ensuring that the IPFR system, as a whole, functions properly and efficiently; Have delegated authority for any IPFR budget and authorise spending against agreed limits. Application Information We are committed to promoting inclusion, where all staff have a sense of belonging. We welcome applications from everyone and recognise the need for our workforce to represent the diversity of the population we serve. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment where staff treat one another with dignity and respect and where diversity is celebrated. We aim to create a working environment where every individual can fulfil their potential no matter their disability, sex, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, age, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity or marriage and civil partnership status. We are keen to break down barriers in the UHB, and encourage applications from under-represented groups. Applicants are invited to apply in Welsh. Any application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application made in English. The UHB reserves the right to close this vacancy after 24 hours if a large number of suitable applications are received. Therefore, we encourage early applications to ensure consideration for this post. Please check your email account regularly. Successful applicants will receive all recruitment related correspondence via the email account registered on the application form. To work in the UK, all candidates who are not UK or Republic of Ireland (RoI) nationals require sponsorship to obtain either a Health and Care visa or Skilled Worker visa, unless you have permission to work via another route. Non UK / RoI candidates wishing to apply should self-assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship by visiting Work in the UK. If you are eligible for the Health and Care visa, application costs are lower and you do not need to pay the annual Immigration Health Surcharge. #J-18808-Ljbffr