UHWA Radiographer, Clinical Specialist

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Principal Duties and Responsibilities

The Radiographer, Clinical Specialist (Quality) will:

Clinical / Professional

• Lead and support the continuous improvement, development and delivery of high-quality radiology services in liaison with Radiography Service Managers (RSMs), Clinical Director and the Radiology Management Team.
• Promote a culture of operational excellence, patient-centred care, innovation, quality and patient safety across all radiology services.
• Provide specialist professional expertise in quality management, patient safety, risk management, clinical effectiveness, radiology practice and relevant regulatory frameworks.
• Develop, implement, maintain and continuously improve systems and processes that provide assurance on the quality and safety of radiology services.
• Be accountable for the quality of the service delivery, including technical standards, customer service and efficient use of resources.
• Use professional judgement and management expertise to evaluate issues, make decisions and support service improvement.
• Identify service weaknesses, analyse performance outliers and implement corrective actions and improvement plans.
• Support achievement of service targets, KPI performance, imaging resource utilisation and waiting list management.
• Maintain effective communication with management teams regarding operational issues, service delivery and quality matters.
• Develop collaborative working relationships with internal departments and relevant statutory professional and voluntary organisations.
• Respect and maintain patient privacy, dignity, confidentiality and statutory rights at all times.
• Participate in management meetings, decision-making processes and implementation of organisational policies.
• Embrace change management initiatives and adapt local work practices to meet service needs.
• Contribute to business planning, service strategy and operational planning.
• Deputise for the Radiography Service Manager(s) as required.

Quality & Audit

• Lead the implementation, maintenance and continuous improvement of quality in Radiology services.
• Ensure compliance with national, international and professional standards, accreditation requirements and regulatory frameworks (including HPRA, HIQA and other applicable standards).
• Develop, maintain and control departmental policies, procedures, protocols, PPPGs, SOPs and quality manuals.
• Manage electronic document control systems, ensuring version control, data integrity, validation, retention and accessibility of records.
• Develop and monitor quality indicators, KPIs and performance dashboards in conjunction with RSMs.
• Coordinate internal and external quality assurance programmes, inspections and visits.
• Prepare the department for external audits/inspections and oversee completion of corrective actions.
• Plan, conduct and supervise clinical and non-clinical audits, quality reviews and service evaluations.
• Produce and present quality, audit and performance reports to senior management, quality committees and relevant agencies.
• Monitor patient experience feedback, compliments and complaints, identifying trends and driving service improvements.
• Support the implementation and monitoring of radiology QA standards such as peer review, discrepancy meetings, turnaround times and communication of significant findings.
• Liaise with Radiation Protection Officers, Medical Physics, Quality & Patient Safety teams and other stakeholders regarding audits, research and compliance activities.
• Identify emerging legislation, guidance and standards requiring local implementation.
• Support quality improvement initiatives, advanced practice developments and radiographer-led service innovation projects.

Health & Safety

• Promote and maintain a safe working environment for patients, staff and visitors.
• Ensure compliance with all health and safety legislation, hospital policies and departmental safety procedures.
• Implement and monitor safe professional practice in line with statutory regulations and best practice standards.
• Assist the RSMs in ensuring that the Site Specific Safety Statement is implemented, maintained, and actively used to protect staff, patients, visitors, and contractors. Maintain staff awareness and training in this regard.
• Assist with identifying hazards specific to Radiology, developing risk assessments, introducing control measures and reviewing assessments regularly or after incidents
• Ensure staff compliance with mandatory safety requirements including infection prevention and control, radiation safety, manual handling, fire safety and basic life support.
• Maintain a clean, tidy and safe work environment.
• Ensure safe use, care, storage and maintenance of equipment, including PPE and radiation protection equipment.
• Maintain accurate records of equipment servicing, maintenance, downtime and performance, and coordinate preventative maintenance schedules.
• Advise on equipment selection, procurement, replacement and upgrading in line with procurement policy and service needs.
• Maintain working knowledge of HIQA standards, hygiene standards and associated HSE protocols relevant to radiology practice.
• Support sustainable energy, water, waste and environmental initiatives within the service.

Risk Management

• Lead and support risk management activities across radiology services to minimise clinical and operational risk.
• Identify risks, undertake risk assessments and implement control measures.
• Assist the RSMs in maintaining the Radiology Risk Register
• Ensure incidents, complaints, errors and near misses are reported, investigated and managed in a timely manner.
• Conduct or support root cause analyses and open disclosure processes where required.
• Monitor trends in incidents and complaints, escalate concerns and implement preventative actions.
• Review and advise RSMs on quality, safety and risk concerns, making recommendations for corrective action.
• Support radiography staff to recognise, escalate and effectively manage patient safety risks.
• Maintain accurate and comprehensive records of investigations, actions and outcomes.

Education & Training

• Lead, organise and deliver training programmes for radiology systems, quality systems and departmental procedures.
• Provide induction, training and ongoing support for new and existing radiographers, nursing staff, support staff and non-clinical personnel.
• Ensure the mandatory training records for all radiography and radiographer assistant staff is completed and up to date.
• Maintain current training manuals, learning resources and in-house training programmes.
• Provide peer support, mentoring and coaching where required.
• Facilitate continuing professional development (CPD), in-service education, conferences, research and lifelong learning opportunities.
• Support radiographers undertaking postgraduate study, advanced practice roles and specialist development.
• Promote a learning culture focused on quality improvement, research and professional excellence.
• Participate in personal performance review, appraisal and development planning.
• Maintain personal competence, CPD portfolio and training records.

The above Job Description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.