BACKGROUND
Welbodi Partnership is a UK-registered charity working to reduce maternal and child mortality and morbidity in Sierra Leone. Since 2008, Welbodi Partnership has worked in partnership with hospital management, health facility staff, and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation to improve maternal and child health outcomes in the Western Area of Sierra Leone. We do this through a range of health system strengthening activities, staff training, hospital improvement projects, and community engagement.
Our visionis that all women and children in Sierra Leone will have access to effective essential healthcare services characterised by respect and dignity for all, including patients, communities and staff. Our mission is to build the capacity of the health system in Sierra Leone to reduce the number of women and children who are sick, suffer, or die unnecessarily.
Ola During Children’s Hospital serves a crowded and deprived local population, is in easy reach of around 1 million people (1/7 of the population), and is the only national referral centre for paediatrics. Similarly, Princess Christian Maternity Hospital is the only tertiary referral maternity facility in Sierra Leone and only healthcare facility providing Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal services (C-EmONC) across the Western Area District. Based here, we implement capacity building activities to catalyse improvements in maternal and child care delivery.
OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES
1. Deliver Lasting Results: Our overall aim is to reduce the number of women and children who are sick, suffer, or die unnecessarily in Sierra Leone. To achieve this, we build the capacity of the institutions, organisations and people that make up the public health system. However, we ultimately hold ourselves accountable for delivering lasting results for women and children, their families and communities, throughout Sierra Leone.
2. Working in Partnership: Our work is conceived, designed, led and implemented in partnership with those most affected by the barriers to health in Sierra Leone: patients, families, providers, and policy makers. We are embedded in the facilities and communities with which we work, and we commit ourselves to listening to our partners, valuing their expertise, and supporting their visions for change.
3. Health Systems Approach: Our approach means that we consider the health system as a whole, attending to how different elements interact and overlap. Rather than pushing individual “solutions” in isolation, we intervene at multiple points simultaneously, and we watch closely for unintended consequences. We identify, and work collaboratively with, agents of change in different parts of the health system and the community.
4. Valuing People: We support our partners and members of our team to develop as individuals and as leaders. We treat our partners and team with respect and compassion, and believe that this helps ensure the same treatment is extended to patients and their families.
5. Reflective Practice: The problems we face are complex and difficult to solve, and we do not presume to have all the answers. We strive to acknowledge and learn from our mistakes and to instil a culture of learning among our team and partners. We regularly question the assumptions underlying our work, evaluate the efficacy of our approach, and adapt accordingly.
For further information, please see: www.welbodipartnership.org
CONTEXT
One in eight children in Sierra Leone die before their fifth birthday (UNICEF 2015), mainly from preventable and treatable diseases. A lot of work remains to be done if Sierra Leone is to reach Sustainable Development Goal 3; ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages. Whilst there are interventions which address child health, there are few providing the high-level technical support needed, meaning care remains rudimentary. There is an urgent need for quality tertiary healthcare for children, requiring trained staff and well-equipped facilities to enable clinicians to make appropriate decisions about care.
The Ebola outbreak highlighted severe challenges to Sierra Leone's health system: a limited health workforce in numbers and quality, ineffective supply chains and challenged management systems. Sierra Leone has one of the weakest health infrastructures in the world and continues to be liable to outbreaks and other considerable public health issues.
ODCH is a national teaching hospital with over 300 clinical staff; around 75% are nurses, as well as a continuous stream of nursing and medical students who rotate through the facility as a part of their undergraduate training. Since students and junior doctors, who may later take up jobs at district hospitals, have mandatory rotations through the paediatric hospital, our capacity building work has the potential to impact the quality of clinical care across the country.
Welbodi Partnership is recruiting a Paediatric Clinical Mentor who, under the supervision of the Project Manager, will collaborate with ODCH management to support its nurse training office. This will involve working with senior staff and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) to identify priority areas for improved paediatric policy and education, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) practices, and cost-effective Quality Improvement projects. This builds on our commitment to respond to the needs of health workers and patients, and to support the MoHS in addressing issues at ODCH in line with their strategic plan and available resources.
MAIN PURPOSE OF THE ROLE
The primary focus of the Paediatric Clinical Mentor will be to support training, mentorship and Quality Improvement (QI) activities in the Ola During Children’s Hospital.
The Clinical Mentor will divide their time between supporting the co-ordination, design, implementation and quality assurance of clinical education through Continuing Professional Development, systems strengthening and also direct engagement in Quality Improvement activities. They will support Matron’s Office to help ensure the continuous implementation of high-quality in-service training for nurses.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILTIES
This is a joint clinical and non-clinical role. The Clinical Mentor will be based in the Ola During Children’s Hospital and will provide support to identified wards and staff through clinical co-presence. They will work alongside the local medical and nursing staff to support best clinical practice and improve health outcomes for children. Whilst the specific clinical and non-clinical roles and responsibilities will be agreed in collaboration with the Hospital Top Management Team and the ODCH Project Manager, and reviewed throughout the programme, primary areas of focus will include:
OVERVIEW
TECHNICAL
MANAGEMENT
PERSON SPECIFICATION
ESSENTIAL:
Qualifications:
Experience:
Knowledge:
Skills:
Values:
Other:
GENERAL POLICIES PROCEDURES AND PRACTICES
In addition to the key job responsibilities detailed in this job description all employees and volunteers at Welbodi Partnership are expected to comply with the general duties outlined below and detailed in full in our policies.
SAFEGUARDING
Welbodi Partnership is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All staff and volunteers are therefore expected to behave in such a way thatsupports this commitment. Applicants for this position should be aware that if successful, they will be requested to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, or equivalent in countries other than the UK. The Welbodi Partnership complies fully with the DBS Code of Practice.
DATA PROTECTION
Welbodi Partnership complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY
Welbodi Partnership is committed to a comprehensive policy of Equal Opportunities in volunteering and employment in which individuals are selected and treated on the basis of their relevant merits and abilities and are given equal opportunities within the organisation. It is the Welbodi Partnership’s policy as an employer to treat all people equally irrespective of race, ethnic origin, nationality, sex, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, creed, disability, age or political belief.
WORKING CONDITIONS
Welbodi Partnership operates in tertiary and primary healthcare facilities in one of the world’s poorest countries. Consequently, working conditions can be challenging, including many things we take for granted in other working environments, such as running water, power, communications, staff competency and regular supplies of essential medicines and equipment – many of these things are not a given in the environments where we work. Whilst every reasonable effort is made to ensure a safe working environment, this is a challenging context, much of which is out of our control. Welbodi Partnership places a strong emphasis on staff health and well-being and strives to ensure staff comfort at all times.
JOB REVISION
This job description should be viewed as a guide to the duties required and is not definitive or restrictive in any way. The duties of the post may be varied from time to time in response to changing circumstances.
SALARY/BENEFITS
This vacancy is archived.