Position Description
Position Title
Maternity Specialist
Location
Wellington
Work Role Group
N/A
Delegated Authority
HR
N/A
Job Size-Band
18
Financial
N/A
The Health Quality & Safety Commission is a Crown Entity, established in November 2010, with a
Board responsible to the Minister of Health. The Commission is responsible for assisting providers
across the whole health and disability sector, both private and public, to improve service safety and
quality and therefore outcomes for all who use these services in New Zealand.
Improving the quality and safety of care will provide better value for money and more efficient and
effective use of taxpayer funding. The Commission is charged with:
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providing advice to the Minister of Health to drive improvement in quality and safety in health and
disability services
leading and coordinating improvements in safety and quality in health care
identifying data sets and key indicators to inform and monitor improvements in safety and quality
reporting publicly on the state of safety and quality, including performance against national
indicators
disseminating knowledge on and advocating for safety and quality.
Our strategic priorities are:
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identifying areas for quality and safety improvement through reviews, measurement and analysis
providing advice and commentary – being an intelligent commentator and advocate for change
assisting the sector to effect change – delivering improvement programmes and supporting the
sector and consumers as they strive for high-quality, safe health care.
The Commission has accountability for the functions of the Mortality Review Committees. These are
statutory committees under Section 59E of the NZPHD Act and are required to review deaths that are
within their scope, with a view to learning and systems improvement to prevent further deaths. The
scope of the Act also includes morbidity review.
The following values guide our Board members and staff in the way they engage with each other, with
Government, with the sector and with patients and consumers.
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Person-centred: By having the patient/consumer at the heart of everything we do, we support
individual and family/whānau participation and decision-making about health and disability
support services at every level.
Evidence-informed: By basing our programmes and initiatives on strong evidence, and evaluating
their effectiveness, we demonstrate the value of quality improvement in reducing harm and costs
and identify our priorities.
Partnership: By working alongside stakeholders we improve health quality and safety. We value
the views of others and respect diversity of culture and opinion.
Open and transparent: We encourage sharing of ideas and knowledge. We communicate in clear
language for all to understand. We encourage sharing of information in a just environment so we
can identify best practice, learn from mistakes and make health services better and safer.
January 2016
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Leadership: By showing leadership, we set the direction for health quality and safety in New
Zealand and encourage innovation and change to achieve our shared vision.
We promote a number of generic principles, including the need to:
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increase patient involvement in their own care, and its quality
use robust measurement and information to inform and encourage debate and identify key
opportunities for improvement
increase capability within the health and disability workforce and among consumers to make
quality improvement ‘business as usual’
support and encourage respect and teamwork
inform and mobilise the population to assist in preventing harm
promote evidence-based practices and the sharing of good practice
support and encourage good communication.
Position purpose and responsibilities
The position will primarily provide expert advice and review to the Commission’s maternal morbidity
project under the auspices of the Perinatal and Maternal Mortality Review Committee and other
Commission programmes relevant to the maternity sector. This role will work with maternal morbidity
review panels and the wider maternity sector to identify areas of quality improvement in maternity.
The position will primarily work with the Mortality Review Committee team, but maintaining and
building maternal morbidly review across the sector will be important. The role will initially focus on
maternal morbidity review processes and reporting, but will lead to developing quality improvement
initiatives in maternity.
The person in this position will have an in-depth knowledge of New Zealand’s maternity system,
taking a holistic systems approach to improving quality and safety of the system.
Key elements of the role involve:
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Overseeing collection of data from maternal morbidity reviews and works with data provider to
generate reports about maternal morbidity
Developing the review process for maternal morbidity cases, ensuring a robust methodology –
consistent with current best practice
Enhancing and developing prioritisation criteria to select cases for review
Being the key clinical contact with maternal morbidity review panel members, overseeing the
management of the review process
Focusing on integration of maternal morbidity review within the wider context of the Perinatal and
Maternal Mortality Review Committee and other maternity-related review and reporting processes
of the Commission.
Providing expert maternity advice to the work programme and wider Commission.
Working with maternal morbidity review panels and the wider maternity sector to identify areas of
quality improvement in maternity
Facilitating maternity improvement initiatives in the sector, in liaison with Commission staff and
technical and clinical specialists.
January 2016
Key responsibilities and expectations
These include but are not limited to:
Key responsibilities
Maternal morbidity review
Performance expectations
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Supporting maternity
quality improvement
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Relationship management
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January 2016
Develops and oversees the review process for maternal morbidity cases,
ensuring a robust methodology
Enhances and develops prioritisation criteria to select cases for review
Oversees collection of data from reviews and works with data provider to
generate reports about maternal morbidity
Oversees data quality
Key clinical contact with maternal morbidity review panel members,
overseeing the management of the review process
Focuses on integration of maternal morbidity review within the wider context
of the Perinatal and Maternal Mortality Review Committee and other
maternity-related review and reporting processes of the Commission.
Provides expert maternity advice to immediate team and wider Commission.
Works with maternal morbidity review panels and the wider maternity sector
to identify areas of quality improvement in maternity
Facilitate maternity improvement initiatives in the sector, in liaison with
Commission staff and technical and clinical specialists
Maintain up-to-date knowledge and understanding of best practice quality
improvement and patient safety approaches
Support specific programmes to use best practice quality improvement
approaches, including being available on a day-to-day basis to provide
quality improvement support and advice
Use appropriate evidence-based improvement methodologies to design,
guide and evaluate specific quality improvement and patient safety
programmes for the maternity sector – and then support implementation of
these programmes
Ensure any measures used to evaluate programmes or projects are robust,
easily understood and fit for purpose
Proactively work to engage consumers in the Commission’s maternity
improvement initiatives and in sector initiatives more generally
Work with provider organisations to understand their specific quality
improvement challenges and advise on appropriate approach/s to
implementing change
Build strong relationships with relevant Commission clinical leads and
expert advisory groups, particularly the Perinatal and Maternal Mortality
Review Committee and its sub-groups
Initiate, develop and maintain close liaison and consultation with providers,
academics, consumers, clinicians and others to ensure relevant and
effective implementation of Commission maternity projects
Promote and foster cooperation and collaboration between teams and
organisations in the health and disability sector
Build relationships with other Commission programmes and share
knowledge and expertise across the programmes
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Team activities
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Cultural competency
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Prepare and provide briefings, papers and project reporting to management,
governance, steering and advisory groups as required and provide input into
ministerials, parliamentary questions, briefings and other requests for
information
Assist appropriate programme staff to develop material for communication
with the sector
Undertake other tasks as allocated by management
Apply the principals of cultural safety to the projects being managed
Display respect, sensitivity and cultural awareness in interpersonal
relationships
Acknowledge cultural differences by respecting spiritual beliefs, cultural
practices and lifestyle choices
Key relationships within the Commission
General Manager
Operations
MORTALITY REVIEW
PROJECTS & PROGRAMS
PLANNING ACCOUNTABILITY
& GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Policy development
Manager
Portfolio managers
Senior policy analyst
Project managers
Lead Coordinators (SME)
Project coordination
Information & Research support
mixed models - contractor
Input from Clinical advisors
Secretariat
Committee Coordination
Medication specialists
Government relations
January 2016
SENIOR ADVISOR
Reportable Events
All Commission employees have a responsibility for managing relationships in some or all of the key
sectors we work with. In this role, the key relationships to be developed are as follows:
Reports to:
Manager, Mortality Review
Key internal relationships
Perinatal and Maternal Mortality Review Committee and related
working groups and sub-committees, members and advisors, other
members of the Commission team
Relationships with the
Public sector:
Government departments and other key stakeholders with related
interests
District Health Boards and health services, particularly maternity
services
Relationships within the
Health and disability
sector:
Professional colleges and societies, DHBs, Ministry of Health
Key Selection Criteria
To be considered for this role, the ideal person will need to demonstrate:
Essential experience and skills
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A relevant tertiary qualification or clinical education related to this position
A strong understanding of New Zealand’s maternity system and credibility in this sector
Qualitative and quantitative research skills
A strong understanding of the principles of health care quality including key international trends
and a commitment to improving the quality and safety of services for New Zealanders
An understanding of current review best practice (e.g. Root Cause Analysis, London Protocol.)
An understanding of and commitment to consumer engagement and participation and cultural
competency
An ability to effectively provide quality improvement and patient safety advice internally and
externally – this should include experience and success in coaching, mentoring and facilitation
An ability to develop appropriate networks for collaborative work
Excellent written and oral communication skills, particularly the ability to communicate clearly,
concisely and in plain language
Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to foster good stakeholder relationships through
consultation and partnership.
Essential qualities
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The ability to quickly adjust and adapt to changing conditions and still perform to the required
work standards
Good judgement and the ability to recognise mistakes and learn from them
An understanding of the need to scan the environment they work in
The ability to generate new and innovative ideas and concepts to deal with quality and safety
challenges and opportunities.
January 2016
Desirable experience and skills
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An understanding of the machinery of government and the New Zealand health and disability
system
Experience in the Government sector.
An established clinical network
January 2016