Modern Matron

Job overview

Are you a visionary nursing leader passionate about quality, safety and improving forensic mental health care?

Join Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust as Clinical Matron at The Chichester Centre, our low secure forensic unit.

This pivotal clinical leadership role focuses on care quality, patient safety and service-user experience. We seek a dynamic, inspiring leader who empowers staff and champions high standards.

Why This Role is Different

Our structure protects your time to focus on what matters most:

• Clinical Leadership, Not Operational Overload: Day-to-day operations sit with the Service Manager, enabling you to concentrate on clinical and professional leadership.
• Supportive Professional Structure: Receive professional supervision and mentoring from the Head of Nursing, plus clinical supervision from Nurse Consultant John Canning.
• Develop the Next Generation: Line manage a Clinical Nurse Specialist and help develop future nursing leaders.

Main duties of the job

As Clinical Matron, you will be a visible, accessible and trusted nursing leader, modelling compassionate, person-centred care and advocating for patients and staff. Your key responsibilities will include:

• Championing Quality & Safety: Lead clinical governance, including infection control and safeguarding, using data and patient feedback to improve safe, evidence-based care.
• Leading and Empowering our Nursing Team: Provide expert leadership to nurses, nursing associates and healthcare support workers, developing skills and fostering a supportive learning culture.
• Transforming the Patient Experience: Put patients’ and carers’ voices at the heart of care through co-production and constructive responses to feedback, improving privacy, dignity and experience.
• Driving Clinical Excellence: Promote evidence-based practice, lead clinical audits, support research and encourage innovation and continuous quality improvement.
• Supporting a Therapeutic Environment: Respond effectively to clinical incidents and crises. Complete PMVA training to help teams maintain a safe, therapeutic and least restrictive environment.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post provides strategic, professional and clinical nursing leadership across services or geographical areas determined by Chief Nursing Office and the division. The post holder will provide expert nursing intervention within their area, whilst influencing more broadly in the development of the wider workforce. The post holder will ensure the delivery of safe, effective, evidence-based, person-centred care whilst supporting clinical innovation and quality improvement in line with the Trust strategy and national guidance for the relevant area of practice (e.g. NICE, LeDeR, STOMP, Transforming Care, NHS Long Term Plan) with the aim of reducing health inequalities. The post leads on the development and delivery of specialist training, education and development for nursing staff and others in their specialist area. The postholder must adhere to NMC code of conduct and ensure that all nurses under their leadership comply with code requirements. This post will act as professional lead for all nurses, nurse associates and HCSW within their area and has lead accountability for the delivery of objectives outlined below and included within the area of ‘patient experience’.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.