Scheduled Care Business Lead

Position Summary:

The primary focus of the scheduled care team is the achievement of access targets for both outpatients and inpatient & day cases. The  purpose of this post is to assist in providing patients with equal access to safe, quality services by utilising all available resources in the most effective and efficient way possible.  There will be a specific focus on the utilisation of data to support the hospital in achieving national targets through access initiatives for both outpatients and inpatient/day cases.  The post holder will work collaboratively with the directorates and business intelligence unit to drive sustainable reform and will take a lead role in the delivery of service improvement projects to this end.

The post holder will also work more generally as part of the scheduled care team to deliver on service improvement initiatives as set out by the Office of the Chief Operations Officer, including but not limited to the delivery of minor capital projects, development of systems / processes to support the wider hospital objectives.

Waiting List Governance, Oversight and Delivery

• Support the operational oversight and performance monitoring of scheduled care waiting lists, including Outpatient (OPD), Inpatient/Day Case (IPDC), Endoscopy and Diagnostics where applicable.
• Assist the Scheduled Care Lead and service managers in the day-to-day management of waiting list processes, ensuring adherence to hospital and national policies.
• Support the implementation of the National Waiting List Action Plan and related access initiatives through coordination of local operational actions.
• Monitor waiting list activity and performance metrics and provide regular reports and analysis to support operational decision-making.
• Assist in maintaining accurate and up-to-date waiting list records, ensuring compliance with national protocols relating to validation, removals, partial booking and data quality requirements.
• Support the coordination of waiting list validation exercises and other data quality initiatives to ensure integrity of scheduled care datasets.
• Contribute to the maintenance of local scheduled care governance arrangements, including preparation of reports, issue logs and action trackers.
• Identify emerging risks or issues relating to waiting list performance (e.g. long wait cohorts, data anomalies) and escalate to the Scheduled Care Lead where appropriate.

Pathway Development and External Collaboration

• Support initiatives aimed at improving patient access and reducing waiting times across scheduled care services.
• Work with internal departments and external providers to assist in the implementation of alternative patient pathways where required.
• Assist in coordinating operational activity relating to regional and national scheduled care programmes.
• Support engagement with relevant stakeholders, including clinical teams, administrative staff and regional structures, in relation to waiting list performance and access initiatives.

Leadership, Team Management and Capability Building

• Support the management and coordination of the Scheduled Care team, ensuring clear work priorities, appropriate supervision and effective delivery of operational tasks.
• Assist in setting team objectives and performance expectations, ensuring alignment with hospital scheduled care priorities.
• Support staff development through training, coaching and knowledge sharing in areas such as waiting list validation, protocol compliance, access pathways and data reporting.
• Identify training needs within the scheduled care function and assist in coordinating training and capability development initiatives.
• Promote a culture of high standards in patient access, data quality and continuous service improvement.

Scheduled Care Meetings and Performance Management

• Coordinate and support the organisation of scheduled care operational meetings, including preparation of agendas, data packs and action trackers.
• Maintain clear documentation of decisions, actions and follow-up items arising from scheduled care meetings.
• Support the review of specialty-level waiting list performance by assisting with data analysis and performance monitoring.
• Provide structured reports and summaries to support management oversight and escalation where required.

Data Quality, Reporting, Capacity Mapping and Utilisation

• Support the maintenance of high-quality scheduled care datasets, ensuring waiting list and activity data are accurate, complete and compliant with national reporting requirements.
• Assist in preparing performance reports, dashboards and analysis relating to scheduled care activity and waiting list management.
• Support capacity mapping exercises across scheduled care services, including clinic utilisation, session planning and operational resource use.
• Assist in identifying opportunities to improve capacity utilisation and patient flow.
• Support the development and maintenance of standardised scheduled care KPIs and reporting structures.
• Analyse trends in waiting lists, service demand and resource utilisation to support operational planning and service improvement initiatives.

Quality, Safety, Risk and Compliance

• Support the implementation of patient safety and quality standards within scheduled care processes, including equitable access and transparent prioritisation.
• Assist in maintaining a scheduled care risk and issue register, ensuring risks are documented and escalated appropriately.
• Support audit and compliance processes, ensuring relevant documentation and evidence of protocol adherence are maintained.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen governance, compliance and operational performance within scheduled care services.

Qualifications

Selection criteria outline the qualifications, skills, knowledge and/or experience that the successful candidate would need to demonstrate for successful discharge of the responsibilities of the post.  Applications will be assessed on the basis of how well candidates satisfy these criteria.

Qualifications – Essential

• Third level qualification or;
• Demonstrated experience in a similar role or;
• Career progression through continuing professional development

Desirable:

• Postgraduate qualification in management, healthcare, leadership or related field

Experience - Essential Criteria

• Proven track record in supporting operational leadership and management in a healthcare setting
• Minimum of 5 years working in a healthcare or similar environment
• Ability and experience leading teams and multi-faceted decision making
• T. and data analytical skills, including experience preparing, developing and interpreting management information to support delivery of the hospital’s strategy
• Experience with preparing correspondence for PQ’s and FOI requests
• Proven analytical problem solver in a variety of complex situations ensuring correct action is taken.
• Experience in working toward and achieving National & Organisational KPIs
• Evidence of utilising and implementing operational and quality management tools whilst revising service function and delivery

    Desirable Criteria

• Experience in working with and applying improvement methodologies such as PDSA
• Experience in supporting service redesign across multiple healthcare settings from initial scope to implementation and evaluation stage
• Have an understanding of UAN Process Support for Urgent Emergency Care Activity in Private Hospitals
• Experience developing and updating appropriate policies to ensure standards are maintained.
• Monitor and evaluate existing processes to ensure a quality service is developed and delivered.
• Evidence of continuous professional development
• Awareness of hospital strategy.
• Awareness of HSE transformation agenda
• Project Management experience