Job Advert
Health Services Researcher (Ref: 107327)
Evidence and Evaluation for Improvement Team
£40,872 - £47,846 (pro-rata, Band 7)
Part time (18.75 hrs/wk – 0.50 WTE), Fixed term/Secondment until March 2024
Edinburgh or Glasgow – hybrid working will apply for the foreseeable future
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Improvement Hub (ihub) within Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), which is currently developing a range of new approaches to enable improvements in health and social care in Scotland. The role will sit within the Evidence and Evaluation for Improvement Team (EEvIT) and will work closely alongside improvement delivery teams in the Transformational Redesign Unit, part of the ihub.
The Evidence and Evaluation for Improvement Team provides high quality evidence review and evaluation support for HIS improvement work. EEvIT supports improvement/redesign teams within the ihub to use evidence to inform the planning and development of their work. In addition, a large proportion of EEvIT time is spent supporting improvement/redesign teams with the evaluation of their improvement work and the sharing of learning from service improvement in redesign to support spread.
The Health Service Research team undertake a range of health technology assessment activities including production of systematic reviews and summaries of clinical and cost effectiveness literature to support decision making within NHS Scotland around the introduction and use of healthcare technologies. The team also provide evidence review input to other directorate products including SIGN guidelines and give advice on and support general research activity across HIS.
We are looking for someone with health service research experience who can work flexibly across two teams contributing to different portfolios and products as required.
Applicants should have a broad range of research skills, including experience in reviewing and synthesising evidence. An understanding of evaluation approaches (qualitative and quantitative) within the context of improvement and ability to promote the use of evidence and evaluation in different contexts is beneficial. They should be strong communicators, with good organisational skills, a flexible approach to work and able to consider different perspectives in the development of their work while working collaboratively with others. In addition to a numerate, social science or biomedical discipline degree, the post holder will be expected to have a postgraduate degree in a relevant subject and/or have health services research experience.
The post will work closely with Focus on Dementia programmes in the ihub. The post holder will be supporting two new exiting Scottish Government commissions: Dementia Whole Pathway National Implementation Support (post-diagnostic support and care co-ordination) and Improving Service Models of Dementia Diagnosis.
Dementia Whole Pathway National Implementation Support (post-diagnostic support and care co-ordination)
The aim of this programme is to improve post diagnostic support (PDS) and integrated care co-ordination for people living with dementia and carers in the community, through supporting implementation into practice across HSCPs in Scotland. This programme will be delivered through the development and delivery of a Scotland-wide implementation collaborative.
Improving Service Models of Dementia Diagnosis
The programme will undertake an exploration of the service models of dementia diagnosis that exist throughout Scotland with the aim of identifying good practice in supporting people to seek a diagnosis earlier and reducing the waiting times for assessment and diagnosis.
For further information or informal discussion about the EEvIT team, please contact the EEvIT Team Lead, Jo McPeake, on joanne.mcpeake4@nhs.scot
For further information specifically about the Focus on Dementia programme, please contact Lynn Flannigan, Senior Improvement Advisor on lynn.flannigan2@nhs.scot
Closing Date: Sunday 3 July 2022 at midnight
It is anticipated that interviews will be held on 20 July 2022 via MS Teams.