Ocean Color Study (northern Sea)

I have been working as a Team leader in NHS 24 Cardonald Contact Centre since June 2015 in an eighteen month seconded post. This post has given me the opportunity to experience and gain a full understanding of the multiple aspects of team leading. I have regular meetings with my team members where all aspects of their roles are discussed including call reviews. Any adverse feedback is discussed including the impact on safe, effective, patient centred care. This links to NHS 24 20:20 vision for healthcare in Scotland. Identified learning issues are addressed as appropriate and coaching implemented if required. I have a greater understanding of attendance management and always adhere to NHS 24 policy. Understanding and interpreting statistics is important in a Team Leader role and I have had the opportunity during my secondment to develop in this area. On shift I have participated in facilitating Rapid Triage and regularly offer clinical support to multi-disciplinary staff within the contact centre. I am competent in queue co-ordination and queue management. I also now have a full understanding of issues such as access to the service and the importance of staff monitoring to enable the organisation to meet its Key Performance Indicator targets.

I communicate regularly with my team, all grades of staff within the contact centre and staff in other centres. My previous experience as a Nurse Advisor in a satellite centre has given me an excellent understanding of the challenges of working out-with a main NHS 24 centre and the support required by the staff in the remote sites.

Supported by a bursary from NHS 24 I am currently studying at West of Scotland University for a Post-Graduate (Masters level) in Child Protection. This is an area I have a background in from my ten years of working in Public Health. I also now regularly attend meetings of NHS 24 Child and Adult Protection Action Group. This has improved my understanding of the process of appropriate referrals for vulnerable callers and increased my awareness of organisational policy and national legislation including the changes in legislation which will take place later this year.

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