Job Description

Theatre Scheduling Supervisor, Band 4 (32 hours a week)



We are currently looking for an enthusiastic and flexible person to join our theatre scheduling team at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.



The post holder will lead and supervise the scheduling team to manage logistics within a spatial framework on a live document within constraints and targets.



Manage the theatre Floorplans and Theatre Trak System county-wide to ensure accurate reflection of theatre session allocation



Engage with Theatre management to develop and support delivery of process change and improvement initiatives in regards to the management of Floorplan Templates and engagement with key stakeholders



Support Theatre management with reporting requirements of theatre cross county-wide session allocation and the supervision of the Theatre scheduling administration team.



Knowledge & work experience



Able to work without management supervision and with a certain degree of autonomy



Must have an orderly and methodical approach at all times with attention to detail and accuracy, despite being under pressure from constant telephone calls and interruptions. This includes the foresight and ability to pre-empt problems and being able to guide staff through the appropriate processes



IT Proficiency

Proficient computer skills, including:

Use of relevant hospital systems ( TrakCare, FDP etc.) creating, modifying and printing from the system, and an ability to resolve queries and errors a good understanding of Microsoft Office software, including Excel,



PowerPoint and Word



Able to support audits to match manual and electronic data



Communication and interpersonal skills



Must have excellent communication skills to be able to negotiate with staff in circumstances that require good listening skills and tact



Ability to find ways of solving or pre-empting problems



Skills to coach or train new members of staff



Organisational skills



An excellent understanding of the need to maintain accurate patient information (which is regarded as highly confidential) and keep it securely on both the computer system and paper records



Personal qualities



Strong evidence of team working across professional boundaries



Ability to work under pressure and respond to short timescales on time



The Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the largest employer in the county. And with over 9,000 staff, we're one of the largest NHS trusts in the UK. We offer a huge range of opportunities and benefits in a genuinely supportive working environment.



The scheduling team plays a pivotal role in ensuring that the trust achieves activity targets by coordinating the allocation of sessions cross county. You will be liaising with a wide range of stakeholders from admission team, operational managers to data analysts.



Our team is dynamic and constantly evolving to manage ongoing demand and challenges with on theatre lists. We work closely together to ensure a positive and supportive work environment.



Theatre management is keen to enable development opportunities within the scheduling team to improve relevant skills as required.



Detailed job description and main responsibilities



Theatre Scheduling team



Providing management support for the scheduling team in regards to managing 1:1 performance reviews, sick leave and other relevant HR related aspects with support from the DGM Provide training and coaching for new scheduling officers (with supporting instruction manuals) Ongoing improvements to ensure efficient processes and communication with stakeholders

Theatre floorplans



To undertake the day to day processes associated with the provision of a series of comprehensive theatre floorplan to achieve: A fully-utilised resource which impacts partially on the Trust's ability to achieve the national activity targets and fully impacts on the Trust's ability to achieve the surgical waiting times target A tool for the use of the theatre and anaesthetic staff to allocate resources, (human, equipment and stock), to the right theatre at the right time. Without this function, patients would be cancelled, which, again, would impact on the Trust's surgical targets A tool for the use of Medical Secretaries, General Managers and Booking staff to manage the timetables of medical staff, including the re-utilisation of vacant lists A tool for the use of Pre-Assessment staff, Booking staff and Medical Secretaries to manager the booking of patients on theatre lists A tool that provides the same information concurrently to all of the stakeholders to aid decision-making on capacity and demand A tool to identify any extra capacity in the event of increased demand To ensure that the theatre floorplan is maintained, updated and disseminated rapidly and efficiently, on a regular basis, with the purpose of preventing any personnel logistical errors, (for example, the possibility of two surgeons, with two lists of patients, arriving for the use of the same theatre) Including updating the Specialty and Centralised Medical Leave Worksheets Providing training to the services on how to update their respective medical leave worksheets to ensure the information is captured accurately at all times To ensure that changes on the Medical Leave Worksheets which are driven by outside forces are swiftly reflected on the floorplans, such as: Indicating cancelled lists from the floorplans to inform all stakeholders of vacant capacity The creation of private patient lists so that the data is included in the utilisation figures Creating additional lists as requested by surgeons who want to increase their operating time Creating lists for the emergency patients from data submitted by the Emergency Co-ordinator in theatres Changes implemented by the outside staff, such as PCT staff working in the community hospitals

Stakeholder engagement



To ensure that all the stakeholders are informed of every change that is made to the floorplans, especially the key stakeholders - theatre nursing staff, medical secretaries and anaesthetic medical secretaries. (Failure to communicate effectively could mean, for example, that an anaesthetist is committed to a list that has already been cancelled) Checking and chasing up any computer data not completed by the nursing staff in theatres regarding the movement of patients through the theatres. This key information ensures the accuracy of the theatre utilisation reports for the Trust Board, which are a measure of surgical activity targets

Patient information, Reporting and Data management



To ensure that all information, particularly confidential information relating to patients, is filled in an orderly and secure fashion To conduct audits to ensure accuracy of information and create, run, amend and produce reports from the Theatre floorplans - e.g. monthly figures around the total number of cancelled sessions and split sessions Support with the processes around the patient cancellation post to ensure accurate capture of information and communication with the respective services Support theatre management and BI in the development of automated reports within the scheduling remit

Waiting list Initiative



To undertake the process for approval of Waiting List Initiatives: - Obtain the correct information on date, time and patient case-mix from the relevant Medical Secretary, Pre-assessment, Booking staff or General Manager Verify the list with the Deputy Director of Service Delivery to obtain authorisation to proceed * Set up the list, negotiating with the anaesthetic secretary, theatre staff and other stakeholders to agree dates and times. Should any of the parameters be unachievable in discussion with any of the stakeholders, (such as no theatre staff, no radiographer, and so on), the entire process has to be restarted and a new date renegotiated with the surgeon via the General Manager