secondment to an NHS trust
the challenge:
Following the sudden sick leave of a member of an NHS trust’s
legal team left we offered assistance and support to the
team. The long term nature of the illness resulted in
assistance being required with file reviews and general support for
the department.
our approach:
Initial secondment of a solicitor to the Ttust on a two day a
week basis to assist with inquest file reviews, queries and
claims. Due to the number of cases involved, the secondment
grew to three days a week with a paralegal providing additional
cover. They ensured that their time at the trust overlapped to
provide proper levels of supervision and continuity of
service. We worked closely with the in-house legal team,
provided regular reports to the department director, supported the
complaints team and Freedom of Information officer and provided
internal training to clinicians. We also assisted with the
external recruitment of staff to fulfil the role undertaken by our
paralegal.
the result:
The secondments took effect quickly, ensuring that cases continued
to progress in a seamless manner and legal support was provided for
staff queries; new legal services member of staff recruited;
successful handover to new in-house trust solicitor; we were
flexible in our approach, helping ensure the extent of the
secondment was focused on the trust’s needs.