Paediatric and Neonatal Matron

Job overview

We are delighted to offer an exciting opportunity for a Paediatric and Neonatal Matron at Walsall Manor Hospital. We are seeking an experienced and dynamic senior nurse with a strong commitment to quality, patient safety, and service excellence to lead and further develop our paediatric and neonatal services.

This is a pivotal time to join the Paediatric and Neonatal teams at Walsall, as we continue to expand and transform our services. We are currently expanding our Neonatal services following further investment. Our Paediatric services are at the forefront of innovation and digital advancements. A newly evolving team structure supports a progressive and collaborative approach to care delivery.

The Paediatric and Neonatal services include:

• Inpatient paediatric ward
• Paediatric Assessment Unit
• Eective day care unit
• Level 2 Neonatal Unit  NCOT
• A Children’s Community Nursing Team (virtual ward)
• An outpatient department

As Matron, you will provide visible, compassionate, and professional leadership, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, safe, and effective care across all areas. You will play a key role in driving the quality and patient safety agenda, supporting staff development, and fostering a positive, inclusive team culture. We are looking for an individual who demonstrates strong leadership, excellent communication skills, and a genuine passion for improving outcomes.

PLEASE NOTE, WE MAY CLOSE THIS VACANCY EARLY IF WE RECEIVE A HIGH NUMBERS OF APPLICATIONS.

Main duties of the job

The Paediatric and Neonatal Matron provides senior clinical, professional and operational leadership across children’s and neonatal services, ensuring the delivery of safe, effective and high-quality patient-centred care. The post holder acts as a visible clinical leader, supporting ward managers and multidisciplinary teams to improve patient outcomes, enhance experience and maintain high standards of nursing practice across the care group. The Matron is responsible for providing clinical and managerial leadership within their areas of responsibility, strengthening ward leadership, supporting staff development and ensuring compliance with Trust objectives, governance and quality standards. The role works as part of the Care Group leadership team alongside the Clinical Director and Care Group Manager to drive improvements in patient care and service delivery. The post holder will lead quality improvement initiatives, monitor standards of care, manage incidents and complaints, and promote collaborative working across multidisciplinary and multi-agency teams to ensure children, young people and neonates receive safe, coordinated care throughout their pathway. The Matron also provides assurance to senior leadership regarding patient safety, workforce performance and service effectiveness.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP

1.1To continually act as a highly credible, professional clinical leader providing a strong professional role model for others to emulate by:

• Being involved in the delivery of clinical care in a developmental capacity.
• At all times exhibiting high standards of professional dress and behaviour.
• Being responsible for ensuring current practice is evidence based and continually updated.
• Using highly developed and varied management skills actively challenge and direct own and others traditional practice, to improve service delivery, patient care and communication.
• Chairing monthly senior sisters meetings within their area of responsibility to facilitate communication and debate on professional and operational issues.
• Lead and direct the implementation of nursing KPI’s and local and national clinical governance initiatives in close collaboration with the Corporate Nursing and Assurance teams by:
• Incorporating any directives within area of responsibility, taking into account specific implications for their speciality.
• Leading the negotiation and discussion with Senior Sisters/Charge Nurses / Dept Managers / Care Group Managers to devise action plans with clear responsibilities and deadlines that facilitate implementation.
• Being responsible for ensuring that care is planned, implemented and evaluated utilising care pathways where these are established and developing others where appropriate in conjunction with the MDT.
• Monitoring clinical areas compliance with nursing key performance indicators and ensure robust systems are in place to audit and develop actions plans in response to audit finding.
• Be responsible for the facilitation and identification of opportunities to develop.
• Actively participate in Trust and Care Group management teams, as well as the broader multi-disciplinary team, attending and where necessary presenting in appropriate forums both internal and external to the Trust.
• Work at all times within the Nursing & Midwifery Council Professional Code of Conduct taking accountability for professional actions and ensuring that others do the same.
• Develop a culture to empower Sisters/Charge Nurses to achieve their full potential which will contribute to future succession planning for senior nursing across the Trust.
• Be responsible for ensuring that the Senior Sisters/Charge Nurses/Department Managers ensure safe staffing levels across area of responsibility that maintain patient safety and as required.
• Undertake regular visits to all wards and departments within area of responsibility, maintain a visible presence and maintaining advanced levels of communication by:
• Implementing local escalation procedures to resolve professional and operational issues, such as staff shortage or capacity issues.
• Being responsible for all decision making when the need to optimise bed availability/create capacity to cope with additional clinical demand arises.
• Attending bed meetings when necessary.
• Continuously assessing and ensuring patient placement is appropriate being mindful of nursing skills and needs of individual patients, prioritising depending on bed availability. Identifying and resolving delayed discharges and attending MDT meetings where appropriate.
• Advising and contributing to clinical management plans by working with medical staff colleagues to ensure timely ward rounds and expedite discharge.
• Developing nurse-led initiatives that improve and expedite patient discharge.
• Ensuring staff are aware of and apply escalation policies in relation to bed management.
• Facilitating inter and intra hospital transfers, leading the liaison within the MDT to ensure safe and appropriate care of patients.
• PATIENT AND STAFF SAFETY
• Ensure that all staff within spheres of responsibility are aware of their individual responsibilities regarding patient safety and quality by:
• Reviewing clinical incident and ensuring these are managed in accordance with Trust Policy
• Identifying clinical incident trends and liaise with the Divisional governance teams to ensure that robust action plans are in place and monitored to improve safety and quality
• Ensuring that Risk Registers are maintained and reviewed in accordance with Trust Policy.
• Ensuring a clean, healthy, safe and productive working environment in line with legal, organisation and professional requirements
• Leading formal and informal investigations when patient or staff safety have been compromised
• Taking immediate action to preserve patient and staff safety where appropriate
• FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
• Be responsible for the efficient and cost effective management of pay and non- pay budgets, supporting and directing Senior Sisters and Charge Nurses and within area of responsibility.
• Analyse budget reports on a monthly basis, explaining and reporting issues of variance to the Care Group and developing action plans to correct any budget deficits. Contribute to Divisions financial plans.
• Regularly acting as an authorised signatory for non-pay budgets within designated levels of authority as outlined in standing financial instructions.
• Be responsible for ensuring that all processes are in place to ensure the safe handling of patients property / valuables whilst in hospital
• Work closely with the finance teams to ensure that ward and department managers are fully aware of their financial responsibility by:
• Ensuring Senior Sisters / Charge Nurses meet monthly with their nominated finance advisor.
• Ensuring all Senior Sisters / Charge Nurses have received appropriate training on budgetary management.
• Conducting a monthly review of pay and non-pay and agency/bank spend.
• Assisting the Care Group Management team to identify cost improvement programmes and cost pressures in a timely manner.
• SITE MANAGEMENT
• Regularly participate in the on-site rota as necessary.
• HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
• Where necessary, and in accordance with Trust policies, become directly involved in managing disciplinary, performance and attendance issues, working closely with HR and Staff Side colleagues:
• Lead on or act as investigating manager for any relevant professional or human resource issues.
• Monitor, analyse and address promptly and proactively any deficits in service delivery due to attendance management issues – for example maternity leave, sickness and absence.
• Ensure Senior Sisters and Charge Nurses fulfil their responsibilities in managing disciplinary, performance and attendance management issues by:
• Ensuring they have received appropriate training.
• Acting as an advisor and support providing there is not a conflict of interest.
• Offering alternative avenues of support where this is the case.
• PATIENT / CARER SUPPORT
• Be proactive in seeking patients’ views, ensuring that feedback from patients is valued and acted upon and lessons disseminated by:
• Attending where appropriate patient focus groups.
• Involving patients and the public in service developments.
• Utilising feedback from patient surveys, PALS, complaints and informal day to day interactions with patients. Monitor the development and implementation of action plans to effect positive change
• Be proactive within area of responsibility in resolving issues that may give rise to dissatisfaction from patients and their carers by ensuring strategies exist at Ward / Department level to diffuse / minimise possible escalation by:
• Ensuring staff are aware of their individual responsibilities in taking ownership of situations and addressing and actioning issues raised where possible.
• Meeting personally with complainants to explore issues with the aim of seeking resolution
• Feedback to staff concerned in order to share learning from each complaint and develop action plans as appropriate
• Monitoring information from the PALs and Complaints department to facilitate change where areas of concern are identified.
• Ensure that the Trust Policy for handling complaints is adhered to within the area of responsibility. This includes:
• Leading the investigation into complaints of a nursing / midwifery element, liaising with the MDT and preparing written replies and action plans.
• Ensuring Senior Sisters / Charge Nurses and other nursing staff contribute to the Trust response to complaints and are involved in the development and implementation of action plans that may result as a consequence of complaints
• STAFF DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION
• Ensure the development of senior nurses in their role enabling them to acquire and maintain appropriate management and leadership skills ensuring they are able to discharge their responsibilities effectively by:
• Organising and providing local robust induction programmes for new staff.
• Facilitating a learning culture that enables the sharing of ideas and experiences providing individuals with peer advice and support.
• Ensuring compliance with Trust Appraisal Policy.
• Undertaking annual performance reviews of all appropriate staff in line with the Trust Appraisal Policy.
• Liaising with Senior Nurses to action themes arising from Appraisal process.