Head of Patient Access and Flow

Head of Patient Access & Flow

Permanent Contract

Bed Management Department

Beaumont Hospital , affiliated sites and services

Chief Operations Officer

Appointment will be made on the Functional Officer (0161) salary scale

( €88,344 to €108,267) at a point in line with Government pay policy.

Full time, 35 hours per week  

12 noon on 14/9/2026

The Head of Patient Access & Flow is a senior leadership position within Beaumont Hospital with responsibility for the strategic and operational leadership of patient flow, capacity management and unscheduled care performance across the organisation. The post holder will lead the development, implementation and continuous improvement of hospital-wide patient flow and capacity management strategies to ensure patients receive timely access to safe, effective and person-centred care.

Reporting directly to the Chief Operations Officer, the  Head of Patient Access & Flow will provide strategic leadership and expert operational oversight of:

• Bed Management Services
• Patient Flow Services
• Delayed Transfer of Care Services
• Off-Site Management Services
• Capacity Escalation Processes
• Hospital Flow Improvement Programmes
• Demand and Capacity Planning Functions
• Relevant operational efficiency
• Quality and patient safety
• Service improvement and transformation
• Capacity optimisation
• Sláintecare implementation

The Head of Patient Access & Flow will work collaboratively with the Head of Surgical Operations and  the Head of Medical & Emergency Operations to achieve unscheduled and scheduled care targets and support the hospital's response to increasing demand and complexity whilst ensuring effective utilisation of available capacity and resources.

·         Provide strategic leadership for patient flow and capacity management across Beaumont Hospital.

·         Lead the development and implementation of the hospital's Patient Flow and Capacity Management Strategy.

·         Support the Executive Management Team in delivering organisational performance objectives.

·         Act as the principal adviser to the COO on patient flow, hospital capacity and access management matters.

·         Provide leadership for hospital-wide initiatives designed to improve patient access, reduce delays and enhance the patient experience.

·         Develop innovative models of care and operational solutions that improve patient flow across scheduled and unscheduled care pathways.

·         Contribute to organisational planning, service development and transformation programmes.

·         Represent Beaumont Hospital on regional and national working groups relating to patient flow, access and operational performance.

·         Participate on the Senior Executive Call Rota.

·         Provide executive oversight of hospital bed capacity management processes.

·         Lead the development of capacity planning systems and operational escalation frameworks.

·         Ensure robust forecasting and demand modelling methodologies are in place to support decision-making.

·         Oversee the management of occupancy levels and patient placement processes.

·         Lead organisational responses to periods of increased activity and capacity pressures.

·         Ensure effective utilisation of available inpatient capacity across all clinical services.

·         Work with Clinical Directorates to identify opportunities for capacity creation and improved utilisation.

·         Drive initiatives that reduce avoidable delays and maximise patient throughput.

Lead organisational efforts to improve patient flow across all care pathways. Develop performance improvement programmes that reduce delays in admission, transfer and discharge. Monitor organisational performance against key access and flow indicators. Lead multidisciplinary initiatives to improve:

• Emergency Department performance
• Length of Stay
• Discharge performance
• Delayed Transfers of Care
• Bed Occupancy
• Elective Access
• Patient Experience

Ensure appropriate governance and accountability arrangements are in place to support performance improvement. Provide regular performance updates to the Executive Management Team and Board Committees as required.

• Monitoring organisational performance against relevant KPIs
• Producing regular performance reports for the COO and senior management.
• Analysing trends and identifying opportunities for improvement and modernisation.
• Lead major service improvement initiatives relating to patient flow and hospital capacity.
• Benchmarking against national metrics.

·         Provide effective leadership and management of the Bed Management Department, creating a high performance culture of, accountability, collaboration, innovation, continuous improvement and Patient-centered care.

·         Develop and maintain a high-performing, engaged and motivated multidisciplinary team through effective communication, coaching, performance management and recognition.

·         Ensure departmental staffing establishments, skill mix and roster arrangements are planned and managed to provide safe, effective and responsive services that meet the operational requirements of the hospital seven days per week.

·         Ensure workforce resources are deployed flexibly to respond to changing patterns of demand, service pressures and organisational priorities while maintaining safe patient care.

·         Lead workforce planning for the department, identifying future staffing requirements and supporting recruitment, retention and succession planning in collaboration with Human Resources.

·         Ensure all staff have clearly defined roles, responsibilities and performance objectives, with regular performance review and development planning in line with hospital policy.

·         Foster a culture of innovation, empowerment and continuous quality improvement, encouraging staff to identify opportunities to improve patient flow, departmental performance and patient experience.

·         Promote collaborative working across clinical directorates and operational departments, ensuring the Bed Management Department is recognised as an integrated partner in achieving organisational objectives.

·         Ensure compliance with all Human Resource policies and procedures, including attendance management, mandatory training, health and safety, equality, dignity at work and organisational values.

·         Lead the identification and management of operational risks associated with hospital flow and capacity, and ensure effective governance structures are in place.

Ensure compliance with:

·         HIQA Standards

·         HSE Policies

·         Health and Safety Legislation

·         Data Protection Requirements

·         Corporate Governance Requirements

·         Take responsibility for enquiries and parliamentary questions relating to the bed management department

Selection criteria outline the qualifications, skills, knowledge and/or experience that the successful candidate would need to demonstrate for successful discharge of the responsibilities of the post. 

Applications will be assessed on the basis of how well candidates satisfy these criteria.

·         Clinical background in Nursing or Health and Social Care profession.

·         Indept knowledge of Acute hospitals and Operations

·         Minimum of 7 years senior management experience in the acute hospital environment (In the last 10 years)

·         Level 8 degree qualification.

·         Demonstrable track record in strategic planning, operational management and service development.

·         Demonstrable evidence of leadership and management of large multidisciplinary healthcare teams.

·         Master’s degree in healthcare management or related field.

·         Executive/Senior Management on call experience

·         Strong leadership, management and influencing skills.

·         Excellent negotiation and diplomacy skills.

·         Resilience and ability to deliver objectives under pressure.

·         Strategic thinking and change management expertise.

·         Ability to analyse complex data and make informed decisions.

Informal Enquiries to

Claire Noonan

Chief Operations Officer

coo@beaumont.ie