Part 1 – general NHS England introduction

Thank you for your interest in becoming a patient and public voice (PPV) partner with NHS England. In the Maternity and Neonatal Programme, we refer to PPV partners as service user voice reps (SUVs). This is generic NHS England documentation so refers to PPV partners.

Working in partnership with people and communities creates a much better chance of ensuring services meet people’s needs, improving their experience and outcomes. Becoming a PPV partner is one of the important ways that we can hear people’s voices.

Please read this application information pack before completing the application form for this role. It will help you decide if the role is right for you.

If you would like support or this information in another format, please contact england.maternitytransformation@nhs.net.

The closing date for applications is Tuesday 10 September 2024.

Please note that correspondence will be primarily via email, unless otherwise requested. If you do not have access to email and would like to be contacted via telephone or post, please state this on your application form.

These posts attract an involvement payment in line with the PPV partner expenses and involvement payments policy.

Please note: Involvement payments are classed as a form of income by HMRC and are subject to deductions including tax and National Insurance (depending on individuals’ circumstances).

Involvement payments are made via payroll for tax purposes only, to ensure that NHS England makes payments in a tax compliant way in line with HMRC guidance. PPV partners are not employees, workers or agents of NHS England.

Before accepting an offer of a role with an involvement payment you are advised to get independent advice. You may wish to contact the Job Centre or Citizens Advice.

NHS England is not able to provide benefits advice (or any other financial advice) to PPV partners. However, we commission a helpline from Citizens Advice for people who are in receipt of benefits and currently involved, or considering being involved, as a PPV partner in NHS England work. Please contact england.engagement@nhs.net to access this service.

You can choose to decline an involvement payment if you wish.

How to apply

Please complete the following:

• application form
• equal opportunities monitoring form

We understand that filling in forms is not the most accessible way for some people to apply for roles. We do not want the application process to be a barrier to your involvement. If you would like to apply for the role in a different way, for example by telephone, or by sending a voice recording or if you would like support to apply for this role, and/or information in another format please contact england.maternitytransformation@nhs.net.

We will rely on the information you provide in the application form to assess whether you are a good fit for the role.

Diversity and equality of opportunity

NHS England values and promotes diversity and is committed to equality of opportunity for all. To help us understand if we are achieving this, we ask you to fill out an equal opportunity monitoring form as part of the application process.

NHS England is a Disability Confident employer. Disability Confident applies to all recruitment opportunities, including PPV Partner recruitment. Applicants who state that they have a disability and successfully evidence the essential criteria will be offered an interview. Please note: In certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, disabled candidates who best meet the essential criteria will be interviewed rather than all of those that meet the essential criteria.

Once we receive your application

The steps will be as follows:

1. we will acknowledge receipt of your application form via email. If you do not receive an acknowledgement within 10 days, please get in touch
2. applications will be shortlisted by a panel, which will include existing PPV partners in the Maternity and Neonatal Programme
3. applications will be assessed against the skills and experience required. Selection will be made on the basis of the content of the application form
4. interviews will take place via MS Teams in September
5. please note that two references will be taken up for successful applicants before the role is confirmed
6. all applications will receive a successful or unsuccessful notification. The successful notifications will include information about next steps

If you have any queries about the application process or would like an informal discussion about the opportunity – please contact england.maternitytransformation@nhs.net.

You can see examples of people getting involved in the work of NHS England here: NHS England » Examples of how people are getting involved

Part 2 – role specific information

Background, context and aims of the programme

The Three-year Delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services sets out how the NHS will make maternity and neonatal care safer, more personalised, and more equitable for women, babies, and families.

NHS England has engaged a wide range of stakeholders who supported the development of this plan. This includes women and families who have used or are using maternity and neonatal services, members of the maternity and neonatal workforce, leaders and commissioners of services, NHS systems and regional teams, and representatives from Royal Colleges, charities and other organisations.

There was clear agreement on what the plan’s focus should be, so for the next three years, services are asked to concentrate on four themes:

• listening to and working with women and families, with compassion
• growing, retaining, and supporting our workforce
• developing and sustaining a culture of safety, learning, and support
• standards and structures that underpin safer, more personalised, and more equitable care.

Delivering this plan will continue to require the dedication of everyone working in NHS maternity and neonatal services in England who are working tirelessly to support women and families and improve care.

We are appointing people to support the following sub-programmes/projects and committees:

• culture and leadership
• maternity and neonatal independent senior advocate
• equity and equality
• data and digital
• perinatal pathology
• quality performance and surveillance committee (strategic SUV rep)

PPV partners will bring important views, perspective and constructive challenge to the above groups. This role is essential in championing a service user, patient and/or carer/family viewpoint, ensuring that their needs are met through the outcomes of the programme.  

What is the role of PPV partners?

PPV partners will bring important views, perspective and constructive challenge to the above groups. This role is essential in championing a service user, patient and/or carer/family viewpoint, ensuring that their needs are met through the outcomes of the programme. The role of the PPV partner is to:

• influence the programme in an emotionally intelligent way so that it considers and prioritises the perspective of those using maternity and neonatal services
• champion the diversity of the views of all people using maternity and neonatal services, rather than just represent own experience
• provide ‘critical friend’ challenge to the programme and contribute specific subject experience and/or expertise 
• champion and advocate for increasing the public’s awareness of the programme’s outcomes and achievements
• coproduce documentation with programme/project leads; including agendas, guidance and communications
• prepare well for meetings and other events to be able to provide informed input, e.g. attending pre-meets/debriefs, reading papers, etc
• commit to be a part of the national team of SUV Reps to give and receive peer support and facilitate networking
• commit to have an active involvement in the local Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership or Local Maternity System 
• utilise the national and regional Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership networks and other maternity and neonatal service user networks, for representation of service user voice
• comply with the Confidentiality agreement, Declaration of interest, Statement of values and code of conduct, respecting the confidential nature of some discussions

All PPV partners will need to comply with the standards of conduct and respect the confidential nature of some discussions. The team will make it clear when a topic is confidential.

Skills and experience desirable for this role

• understand the need for confidentiality
• passionate about maternity and neonatal services
• able to communicate with lots of different people
• able to speak about their views, and where appropriate represent the views of others
• have an awareness and commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
• have an awareness that organisational and operational constraints may limit options

Time commitment

• membership is for 2 years initially, at which point membership will be reviewed
• you will be required to attend meetings which will usually take place on MS Teams but will sometimes be in London or Leeds
• meetings will normally last for 2 hours and be between 9-5pm and these are likely to be weekly or fortnightly
• there will be opportunities to contribute to other areas of maternity and neonatal work in between meetings

We particularly welcome applications from:

• people from an ethnic minority background
• people living in the most deprived areas of England
• people with experience of an adverse outcome in maternity or neonatal care

If you are applying for the quality performance and surveillance committee role, this is a strategic SUV rep role and therefore the following role description applies:

Strategic service user voice rep – role description  

Purpose  

We recognise the importance of involving service users in a wider range of work across the Maternity and Neonatal Programme, including cross-cutting policy and programme areas. Having strategic SUV representatives, with formal responsibilities, will support service user voice to be better embedded across the programme.  

Key responsibilities  

• provide a service user voice perspective on the Board and the sub-committees of the Board 
• offer a solution focussed and supportive approach in identifying improvements to service user involvement across the programme
• contribute to recruitment panels for senior roles
• attend cross-cutting Maternity and Neonatal Programme team meetings (examples listed in Appendix 1) in addition to specific policy areas or project groups 
• help to shape the direction of the programme as a whole by providing ‘critical friend’ challenge to the programme at a strategic level, and seeking to understand the organisational and operational constraints which may limit options
• prepare well for meetings to be able to provide informed input
• respect the confidential nature of some discussions

Skills and experience required for the role 

• ability and experience of listening well to the voices of people who use maternity and neonatal services and their supporters, giving priority to minority groups, and representing their voices
• experience of strategic leadership and accountable decision-making
• ability to work creatively, respectfully and collaboratively, as equals
• experience of speaking confidently in large groups and interacting with multiple stakeholders at senior management level 
• the ability to influence in an emotionally intelligent way to achieve impact
• ability to understand, evaluate and use a range of information and evidence 
• experience of formal, multi-disciplinary meetings, preferably an local maternity and neonatal system (LMNS)/maternity and neonatal voices partnership (MNVP) or similar maternity and neonatal- based working group
• experience of working in partnership with healthcare organisations or programmes
• ability to display sound judgement and objectivity
• have an awareness of equality and diversity, and commitment to seeking solutions to address health inequalities in maternity and neonatal services 
• in-depth understanding of co-production and ability to advise others in working successfully in co-production
• a commitment to the ‘seven principles of public life’, known as the ‘Nolan Principles’: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, leadership

Time commitment 

• dependent upon level of involvement in team meetings
• time required to prepare ahead of key decision-making meetings and for recruitment panels

Support for strategic representatives 

• meeting documents, and if necessary, pre-meeting briefings will be provided

Support for PPV partners

From your team

• you will receive an induction from the programme team that is leading this work. All meeting documents, and if necessary, pre and post meeting briefings will be provided

From NHS England

• NHS England is not able to provide benefits advice (or any other financial advice) to PPV partners. However, free confidential advice is available for people who are in receipt of benefits and are involved, or considering involvement, with NHS England. Please contact england.engagement@nhs.net to make use of this service
• we have a digital support offer for PPV partners who may need a laptop, internet data, or other IT equipment to do their role. If you will require this support, please contact england.engagement@nhs.net for more details
• there are a range of learning and development opportunities available to PPV partners
• we have an online PPV Partner network and regular drop-in sessions for partners to support one and other, access free training resources and ask questions
• NHS England has an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which is available to anyone who works with or supports NHS England, including contractors and PPV Partners