Medical Director – Inpatient Pathways, Quality & Safety

A Vacancy at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust.

We are seeking a Medical Director – Inpatient Pathways, and Patient Safety to provide senior medical leadership for the quality, safety and effectiveness of inpatient care across EKHUFT. Working from ward to Board, the post holder will provide medical leadership to trust wide improvement plans and embed a learning and improvement culture.

They will ensure that national standards, learning from incidents, patient feedback and clinical intelligence are translated into reliable, compassionate and person-centred inpatient pathways.

Working closely with Care Group Medical Directors, Nursing and Allied Health Professional leaders and partners across Kent & Medway, the role will strengthen professional standards, regulatory compliance and continuous improvement across all inpatient services.

The post holder will support multidisciplinary teams to deliver high-quality care from admission to discharge, providing clear Board assurance on inpatient safety, experience and outcomes.

As the Medical Director – Inpatient Pathways,

Quality & Safety you will

1. Strategic Leadership for development and implementation of Professional standards for inpatient care.

a. Provide strategic medical leadership to clinical teams to develop, implement and embed professional standards for medical care of inpatients.

b. To lead on transformation of clinical pathways to improve the safety, and quality of care to inpatients and support clinical teams to deliver and embed improvements.

c. To develop assurance frameworks and triangulate against other sources of feedback.

d. Champion a culture of openness, learning and continuous improvement across all clinical services

2. Medical leadership for trust wide deteriorating improvement plan

a. Membership of the Trust mortality steering group

b. Co-chair of the Deteriorating patient Improvement committee.

3. Chair of the Safety standards for invasive procedures committee

We are one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five hospitals and community clinics serving a local population of around 800,000 people. Our vision is 'great healthcare from great people'. Everything we do is guided by our values: 'People feel cared for, safe, respected and confident that we are making a difference’. We have a new way of working at East Kent Hospitals, called 'We care'. It's about empowering frontline staff to lead improvements day-to-day. We're looking for compassionate people to be part of our improvement journey for the patients, families and carers we care for every day.

Please note that if you require a Certificate of Sponsorship to work in the UK you must declare this on your application form, even if you currently have a certificate of sponsorship or a work permit for another role and are already working in the country. Please note we are only able to sponsor candidates on a Skilled Worker Visa applying for roles Band 5 and above.

For further details on the job description and person specification please see attached the job description.

This advert closes on Sunday 7 Jun 2026