Family Liaison Lead

Site Tolworth Hospital Town Surrey, London Salary £63,665 - £70,887 per annum inclusive of Outer London HCAs Salary period Yearly Closing 22/10/2026 23:59

South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We provide a full range of local mental health services to the Kingston, Merton, Richmond, Sutton and Wandsworth London boroughs, as well as specialist forensic mental health services, including specialised services such as national deaf adults and CAMHS inpatients and OCD.

We are committed to providing high quality integrated health and social care for local people with mental health problems in South West London and more specialist mental health services for people throughout the UK. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’ however we aim to be ‘outstanding’.

Our Values

We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values; being consistent, compassionate, collaborative, respectful and open is at the heart of everything we do. Our mission is "making life better together".

When you join us, you’ll be part of something special – an innovative and rapidly growing organisation that is helping to redefine the Mental Health, education and social care landscape in the UK.

As a Trust, we are happy to talk flexible working.

Job overview

We are seeking an experienced and compassionate Family Liaison & Governance Officer to join the Trust on a part time basis, in a trust wide position sitting within the Nursing and Quality Directorate. This is a unique and influential role that combines patient safety, governance expertise, and family-centred support following serious patient safety incidents and unexpected deaths.

The Family Liaison & Governance Officer will work as part of the Quality Governance Team, and will function as the Trust’s lead specialist in family liaison and relational patient safety practice, providing expert advice and support to support families, friends and carers through the difficult process of an investigation into an unexpected death or significant patient safety incident which has occurred within a service provided by the Trust, promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion in all aspects of service delivery.

The postholder will support the Associate Director of Quality Governance & Risk, Head of Quality Governance, patient safety colleagues, and service lines, with the overview and co-ordinating function for leading and developing the Trust approach to supporting families, friends and carers post a patient safety incident.

Main duties of the job

The postholder will lead and contribute to the local delivery of the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework and Learning from Patient Safety Events, ensuring we meet system-wide and national requirements and expectations particularly around the engagement of those affected following a significant incident.

Working across the Trust and with external partners, including Coroners, legal representatives and healthcare providers, you will help shape and embed a culture of learning, transparency and continuous improvement in line with the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) and Duty of Candour requirements

We are looking for an individual with skills and significant expertise and experience in patient safety, governance, risk management or complex case management. You will possess exceptional communication skills and the emotional intelligence required to support people through distressing and sensitive situations

Working for our organisation

Unless expressly stated in the job advert this role is not subject to sponsorship, please be advised that all offers of employment are subject to evidence of right to work in the UK.

We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust.

We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. T he Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’ - we aspire to be ‘outstanding’.

This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027.

We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.

We offer flexible working, career development and a varietybenefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.

Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

This is an interesting, varied and high-profile post working across the whole organisation. You will be working with a committed team of individuals to help shape future ways of working which will help our Trust to become an outstanding organisation for our patients and staff. You will provide expert support and guidance to bereaved families, carers and friends throughout investigation and inquest processes. Lead sensitive discussions with families, ensuring their voices are heard and their questions inform investigations. Work closely with investigators, patient safety teams, service lines, Coroners and external agencies to coordinate effective engagement and support. Embed learning from family experiences into organisational governance, patient safety and quality improvement activities. Design and deliver training to improve communication and engagement with families following harm events and deaths.

Person specification

Experience

• Substantial senior-level experience in patient safety, governance, risk management or complex case management
• Demonstrable experience of leading organisation-wide initiatives or service development
• Experience of managing highly complex, sensitive and emotionally charged situations, including bereavement or harm
• Experience of influencing and working effectively with senior stakeholders across organisational boundaries
• Significant knowledge of mental health or community health services
• Experience undertaking Patient Safety Incident Investigations (PSII)
• Experience of education, training or practice development
• Experience of Managing Budget

Training & Qualifications

• Master’s degree or equivalent level of experience
• Evidence of ongoing professional development and senior leadership development
• Registered healthcare professional or equivalent senior professional background
• Specialist training in patient safety / human factors / investigation methodology

At South West London St Georges Mental Health Trust we are committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Committed Employer, and welcome applications from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We are Members of Stonewall Diversity Champions and Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion.

As part of the Trust's commitment to Equalities and Diversity, the Trust supports the establishment of Staff Networks groups to promote diversity in the workplace:

• BME (Evolve) Staff Network
• DiverseAbility
• Mental Health Staff Forum
• Women's Staff Network
• LGBTQIA+

We are committed to supporting the Armed Forces Community and has signed the Armed Forces Covenant.

We provide reasonable adjustments to the interview process for any candidates with a disability.

South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process, including job applications, sponsorship arrangements, or employment offers. The contact details published on our official website are the Trust’s authorised contact channels and should be used for all recruitment communications, job applications, and verification of employment offers.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Name Charlie Young Job title Associate Director of Quality Governance Email address Charlie.Young@swlstg.nhs.uk Telephone number 00000000000

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