Barts Health NHS Trust is the largest NHS organisation in the country. It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research.

The Trust comprises of 5 hospitals - St Bartholomew's Hospital, The Royal London Hospital, Mile End Hospital, Newham University Hospital, Whipps Cross Hospital.

The Legal Services team falls within Corporate Development and works closely with colleagues across the trust to resolve legal issues and contribute to the governance structure. The main roles the team provides is:

advice and representation at inquests

input on clinical negligence and personal injury claims

medico-legal advice and

governance input on learning from claims and trends in the legal caseload.

We are recruiting to two available posts. 1 x permanent post and 1 x Fixed term maternity cover until 12 months until 14/09/2025

Main duties of the job

We have two exciting opportunities to be a part of the experienced legal team at Barts Health NHS Trust. The role will involve taking on a varied caseload in a very busy but friendly department, working to tight deadlines. Although there is some room for developing the right candidate, due to current workloads the successful applicant will need to have prior experience of working in a relevant legal environment and ideally experience of working in a hospital legal team as well as managing inquests, claims and medico-legal advice. The successful applicant will need to be confident representing the Trust and undertaking advocacy at Inquests. The full remit of the job can be found within the job description.

About us

Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain's leading healthcare providers.

The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.

Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.

We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Although this position is a 12 months fixed-term contract, the actual contract duration will be adjusted to account for the time taken to advertise the post, complete the hiring process, and finalise pre-employment checks. This means the contract will begin when the candidate starts the role and may be slightly shorter than 12 months.

We are dedicated to being an outstanding place to work and will work with you to get the best experience. We know flexible working is not a one size fits all and will mean something different to everyone. We are inclusive, so if you are interested in flexible working, please speak to the recruiting manager.

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.

For further details, please contact: Annie McBain, Annie.McBain1@nhs.net

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• oEducated to degree level
• oEnglish legal qualification

Desirable

• oProfessional legal qualification such as LPC or BVC

Experience

Essential

• oClaims Management and Inquest Management experience running a large caseload.
• oPresentation to a range of audiences
• oCourt advocacy experience.

Desirable

• oSpecific experience of advocacy at complex inquests
• oIn-house legal experience.
• oPrior experience of working for a busy NHS legal team
• oNHS Report writing and data analysis.

Knowledge

Essential

• oCNST & NHSR guidelines
• oKnowledge of inquests/Coroner's Rules
• oKnowledge of the legal system
• oA good working knowledge of general legal processes
• oA high level Knowledge of NHS claims processes.
• oA high level knowledge of the Coronial process including a knowledge of technical aspects of the law and running cases from start to finish.
• oUp-to-date knowledge of recent cases and changes in legislation.
• oA good knowledge of litigation
• oKnowledge of data protection and information laws

Desirable

• oSerious Untoward Incident Management/Investigation
• oComplaints Management/Investigation

Skills

Essential

• oPC literate in the following software packages: Word, Excel and MS
• oPresentation skills
• oMeticulous attention to detail
• oManage competing demands on time from multiple organisations and departments
• oAbility to assess a legal problem based on highly complex sets of medical and legal facts and provide analysis on a number of competing options.
• oTranscribing/note-taking in a Court environment
• oDrafting formal letters of instruction to legal Counsel.
• oMaintaining Trust and departmental databases, including Datix.

Desirable

• oLegal database experience

Skills

Essential

• oHigh level of both written and verbal communication

Other

Essential

• oTeam Player
• oAble to work on ones own initiative and when appropriate seek guidance or advice
• oGood interpersonal skills
• oExcellent written and oral communication skills for court and written legal documentation and presentation.

Employer details

Employer name

Barts Health NHS Trust

Address

Canary wharf

London

E14 5HJ

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

259-6597512GSS