Head of Safeguarding, MH, LD

We are looking to appoint Head of Safeguarding, Mental Health, Learning Disabilities & Complex vulnerable adults & children to join our high performing and dedicated Senior Nursing & Midwifery Leadership Team at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust (WHT) and the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT). The two Trusts work collaboratively in a group model and this post is a position across the group.

Walsall is a large market town and Wolverhampton is a modern and vibrant city. Both are in the Black Country and are part of the Black Country Provider Collaborative and within easy reach of Birmingham and rural Staffordshire.

PLEASE NOTE, WE MAY CLOSE THIS VACANCY EARLY IF WE RECEIVE HIGH NUMBERS OF APPLICATIONS.

Managerially and professionally accountable to the Chief Nurses, the Head of Safeguarding, MH & LD will be the Groups subject matter expert for MH & LD child and adult services and the Mental Capacity Act regulation requirements. They will provide oversight and guidance to the Trusts named Lead Professionals for Safeguarding and associated regulatory requirements including PREVENT.

Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust is an integrated Trust and the only provider of NHS acute care in Walsall, serving a population of 284,300. It provides inpatient and outpatient services at the Manor Hospital as well as a wide range of services in the community. Walsall Manor houses the full range of district general hospital services under one roof. The £170 million development was completed in 2010, and ongoing upgrades ensure the Trust now has state-of-the-art facilities, including a Critical Care Unit, Neonatal Unit, Obstetric Theatre, and Integrated Assessment Unit. A new Urgent and Emergency Care Centre, opened in March 2023, has significantly improved emergency care facilities and capacity, providing almost 5,000 square metres of additional clinical space.

You will be someone with excellent leadership and communication skills who can positively engage with patients, families, staff, senior multi-disciplinary leadership teams and other partners, continually innovating and driving forward the Trust's shared vision of continuous improvement, providing safe, effective, and high-quality care for all our service users.

The Head of Safeguarding, Mental Health, Learning Disabilities & Complex vulnerable adults & children is responsible for RWT & WHT (Group) oversight and leadership of Safeguarding, Learning Disability and management, leadership and oversight of Mental Health Services. You will ensure that our most vulnerable child and adult patients are safeguarded and ensure they receive the right response to protect them, in the right place and by staff who are skilled, competent and sensitive towards their needs. You will also retain oversight of all patients in the Trusts detained under the Mental Health Act, to ensure statutory obligations are fulfilled.

You will be the Group representative across the system-wide safeguarding and Mental Health partnerships to support effective multi-agency working for safeguarding, Mental Health & learning disability practice. You will be responsible for providing assurance via the Groups governance structure to the Executive Board and external partner agencies regarding compliance against all appropriate professional, organisational and national regulation standards.

The role requires you to be responsible for ensuring the provision and delivery of training in: statutory safeguarding, the Mental Capacity Act, PREVENT and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding training across the Group. You will act as the Group's representative for stakeholder groups as required. You will have overall responsibility for the oversight and assurance for RWT/WHT statutory functions of Safeguarding, Mental Health Act, Learning Disabilities and Complex Adults & Children

Being flexible, proactive, responsive and sensitive to the needs of both staff and service users is essential alongside demonstrating kindness and civility in your approach to leading both the agenda and teams.