Discharge Lounge and Integrated Flow Lead Nurse

Job overview

We are looking for a highly motivated, enthusiastic Senior Nurse to lead our Discharge Lounge team in St Richards Hospital.  This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of the Discharge and integrated flow team.

The Discharge Lounge is  an essential part of the Trust, and strong leadership is key to its success. The Lounge:

* Support capacity and flow through the emergency and planned care pathways by releasing inpatient bed capacity earlier in the day.

* Enhancing the patient journey by providing a safe environment for patients to wait away from the ward area whilst the final arrangements for discharge/ transfer are being made.

The successful applicant will work closely with Ward Leaders and Matrons and will be key to the Trust breakthrough objective – moving the median hour of discharge, ensuring early flow and increasing the utilisation.

If you are highly motivated with a passion for transformation and leadership, clinically competent, with new ideas and keen for a challenge then this role could be for you. It will be a fantastic opportunity for an exceptional individual to lead a team whilst providing a consistent approach to the discharge process, seeking innovative ways to provide care and continuing the increase in DCL utilisation achieved to date.

Main duties of the job

The Discharge Lounge Lead Nurse will be responsible for:

• Ensuring the safe delivery of care to all patients on their discharge ensuring a standardised approach is maintained by all staff to ensure the patient is fully informed and ready for discharge
• Ensuring positive patient satisfaction and positive patient feedback.
• Being actively involved in service development and personal development
• Working collaboratively and cooperatively with clinical and managerial colleagues to develop services and quality of care delivered using continuous improvement methodology
• Effectively communicating with patients, relatives and all health professionals
• Ensuring the nursing team are adequately supported and developed to deliver excellent care with compassion in line with Trust values
• Being a role model to others and is responsible for the strong leadership and management of the units ensuring safe clinical delivery of care carrying out regular audits and monitoring to support a safe, clean and organised environment based on research and development opportunities
• Ensuring shared decision making is embedded throughout the discharge process
• Undertaking research, audit and quality initiatives

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Provide professional leadership with responsibility for performance and the day to day running of the Discharge Lounge.
• Be able to develop, motivate, innovate and lead a team.
• Demonstrate a logical, flexible and innovative approach to problem solving.
• To act as an expert practitioner demonstrating specialist knowledge, skills and expertise within discharge and within the context of changing health care provision.
• Ensure that a supportive teaching and learning environment is in place.
• Ensure that all staff are working to their required level of clinical and professional competence whilst adhering to their NMC professional code of conduct. Ensuring that all staff are developed to attain competence as highlighted at appraisal.
• Actively audit and proactively manage care against audits, incidents, high impact interventions, complaints and benchmarking.
• Ensure that the discharge lounge reflects infection control standards of cleanliness, be proactive in response to any issues raised through cleaning audits, infection control audits or patient environment inspections.
• Ensure high levels of patient satisfaction; ensure that any required actions are reported back to the matron from patient questionnaires and implemented where applicable.
• When required, deal with patient complaints proactively to minimise the risk of them becoming formal. Appropriately investigate complaints in a timely manner and provide response as required.  Prepare and evaluate staffing rosters, adjust accordingly to provide cover with the required skill mix making best use of resources available. Minimise the use of bank and agency staff by relocation of staff as needed to cover the rota effectively.
• In conjunction with the Hospital Director of Nursing assist with appointing staff to your area in line with the recruitment policy and budget allocation.
• Report/ action any accidents, incidence or undue occurrences reported to you or witnessed by you in line with Trust policy. Ensure the timely management of incidence allocated to you for investigation on Datix. Ensure proactive investigation of any clinical incidence, undertaking root cause analysis if indicated, ensuring action plans are developed as needed.
• To have the responsibility for risk management and health and safety in the workplace, by being proactive in raising risks with the Hospital Leadership team and ensuring adequate controls are in place to manage these risks.
• Ensure staff sickness in the discharge lounge team is managed proactively within Trust policy.