Clinical Ward Sister / Charge Nurse

Job overview

The post holder will be responsible for utilising specialist skills and expertise to provide high standards of assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of individualised care pathways.

The post holder will contribute to the management and coordination of the ward, including resource management, and providing leadership and supervision to others.

Liaise and communicate with Neonatal networks  and  contribute to setting and maintaining a high standard of nursing care.

Clinical Ward Sisters / Charge Nurses are expected to be role models in setting and upholding agreed clinical standards; promoting awareness of child protection procedures and enabling patients to receive high quality evidenced based care.

Main duties of the job

Corporate Responsibilities

• To work collaboratively with other colleagues across the Trust
• Act as a role model in customer service towards visitors to the hospital

• To facilitate any measures to help achieve Directorate and Trust targets and disseminate all appropriate information to all members of the nursing team

Supporting Clinical Excellence

• To promote effective communication both within the ward /department /directorate
• Keep the neonatal ward manager informed of all the relevant issues affecting patient care e.g. risk, staffing levels, and skills and equipment needs
• To participate in recruitment and retention of staff

• Work in partnership with the Ward manager / Neonatal Matron to support the complaints process.

• To ensure the coherence of work effort by all team members
• Manage incidents ensuring that all incidents are reported as per trust policy

• Ensure effective 24 hour off duty rotas are maintained using workforce efficiently, anticipating staff shortages and taking appropriate action
• To assist in the assessment for and booking of bank staff within the clinical area
• To monitor and maintain a safe and clean clinical environment in accordance with local and national policies, undertaking IPC audits as required
• Liaise with the multidisciplinary team and external agencies
• Understanding of emergency procedures and escalation policies and ensuring that all managed staff are aware of their role
• To act up for the Neonatal Ward manager and attend meetings as require.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Supporting Patient Excellence

• To act as a clinical leader and role model for staff, maintain competence in and facilitate the development of extended skills for other staff
• To support patient and public participation in service development
• To monitor patient dependency, reporting high activity to the Ward manager
• Consider new ways of working, which enhance patient care, presenting proposals to the Ward manager.
• Ensure the clinical area is a safe working environment in which all patients receive high quality individualised care, which maintains their privacy and dignity

People/Management Excellence

• To facilitate and implement clinical supervision and support in practice
• Ensure staff achieve and maintain Trust and professional mandatory and role specific training
• Work in partnership with the Ward Manager, in ensuring all ward/department staff have a formal annual appraisal, which enables the development of their personal professional development plan, in line with the Knowledge and Skills Framework
• To identify training and learning needs of all staff and responding and/or forwarding those to the Neonatal Ward manager and Practice Development Facilitator as deemed necessary
• Work in partnership with the Ward manager to ensure student and learners’ placements are met and that they are adequately supported and assessed while on placement
• Participate and assist in the continual learning of all staff so that personal development plans progress and succession planning is promoted
• To facilitate and promote a suitable learning environment, which embraces evidence based practice, for new members of staff, students and families

Supporting Financial Excellence

• To consider the use of resources and highlight ways to reduce waste and unnecessary costs.

Professional Responsibilities

• To maintain own professional responsibilities including compliance with mandatory and role specific training.
• To undertake annual appraisal with ward Manager.

Quality Assurance and Monitoring

• To ensure that all ward/department documentation is completed.
• To participate in the Care Quality Indicators as required, receive feedback from audits and produce/monitor action plans as required.
• Work in partnership with the Ward manager and neonatal educators, in ensuring that all agreed action plans from both national and local strategies, benchmarking standards and clinical audits are achieved.
• To support the ‘Pathway to Excellence’ and assessment and accreditation
• To support the development of guidelines, protocols and practices that enhances the patient experience

Policy and Service Development Responsibilities

• Ensure staff have access to and are made aware of the content of Trust policies, protocols and take appropriate action where compliance is breached

Research and Development Responsibilities

• To support the units participation in research as per individual baby criteria