Head of Clinical Practice - Forensic Service and Primary Care

Key Responsibilities Forensic Healthcare Clinical Leadership Set the clinical vision and standards for forensic healthcare services, acting as the senior clinical authority across custody healthcare teams and SARCs. Provide clinical assurance that care in custodial environments is safe, lawful and aligned to equivalence principles, national expectations and contractual requirements. Define and maintain organisation-wide forensic clinical practice standards in line with Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine (FFLM) guidance and relevant medico-legal frameworks. Lead clinical preparedness for external scrutiny, ensuring services can evidence compliance with CQC, HMICFRS, IOPC and other oversight expectations. Champion high-quality clinical decision-making and professional standards in custody settings. Direct the clinical risk agenda for forensic services, using insight from incidents, claims and themes to reduce harm and improve custody safety. Embed trauma-informed and compassionate approaches across forensic pathways. Primary & Community Services Clinical Leadership Set the clinical direction and standards for Primary Care services, assuring safe, accessible and high-quality care aligned to NHS expectations and contractual requirements. Develop clinical leadership capacity within Primary Care and ADHD directorates through professional leadership, coaching and a strong learning culture. Assure safe clinical systems across Primary Care, including prescribing governance, long-term condition pathways, continuity of care and effective escalation of clinical risk. Influence and support integrated care pathways across primary care, mental health, urgent care and neurodevelopmental services. Provide strategic clinical leadership for ADHD services, ensuring alignment with NICE guidance, national standards and best practice. Assure safe, effective ADHD pathways including assessment, diagnosis, treatment and shared care. Strengthen system interfaces between specialist ADHD services, primary care and wider partners. Provide clinical leadership on complex neurodevelopmental presentations and comorbidities. Workforce Leadership and Clinical Performance Develop and deliver an integrated clinical workforce strategy across forensic healthcare, Primary Care and Community Services. Provide strategic clinical leadership across the multidisciplinary workforce. Lead a focused programme of clinical workforce resilience, addressing capability, competence, retention and clinical leadership capacity. Provide professional leadership and strategic direction for Allied Health Professionals across all service lines. Partner with the Group Medical Director to shape medical workforce strategy, clinical leadership structures and standards of practice. Set expectations and provide assurance for professional practice systems including induction, supervision, appraisal, revalidation and competency assurance. Provide oversight of clinical performance and professional standards. Sponsor and champion a culture that supports staff wellbeing, engagement and retention. Shape workforce models, skill mix and capacity plans. Clinical Governance, Quality and Patient Safety Strengthen governance maturity and consistency across the portfolio, with particular emphasis on high-risk forensic environments. Assure compliance with relevant regulatory and statutory frameworks including: CQC standards FFLM guidance and forensic practice standards PACE-related custody healthcare requirements NHS and contractual governance requirements Assure effective systems for safeguarding, infection prevention and control, medicines optimisation, clinical audit and quality assurance. Work collaboratively with the Head of Compliance and Risk to provide senior clinical oversight of investigations into incidents, complaints and serious concerns. Ensure learning is translated into sustained change. Model and promote a culture of openness, accountability and patient safety. Strategy, Service Improvement and Innovation Provide senior clinical input to business development, service design and bid activity. Translate strategic objectives into effective clinical models, pathways and workforce solutions. Drive clinical standardisation and assurance across the portfolio. Lead quality improvement initiatives focused on safety, risk reduction, access and patient experience. Use data, audit and patient feedback to identify variation and drive improvement. Promote innovation in digital systems, forensic healthcare pathways and multidisciplinary models of care. Lead proactive assurance and continuous readiness for inspection and review. Operational Integration and System Working Partner with Directors of Operations and service leaders to align clinical strategy, quality priorities and delivery plans. Provide senior clinical leadership to inform portfolio planning, mobilisation and transformation activity. Build and sustain senior relationships with commissioners, ICBs, ICSs, police services, safeguarding partners and regulators. Provide clinical leadership to contract assurance and service development discussions. Ensure executive decisions and recommendations are informed by patient safety, clinical evidence, legal/regulatory requirements and patient experience impact. Represent the organisation as a senior clinical leader in external forums. On-Call and Escalation Contribute to senior clinical escalation and on-call arrangements as required. Provide senior clinical leadership during major incidents and significant operational pressures.