Paediatric Ward Sister/Charge Nurse

Job overview

Working in conjunction with the Clinical Manager, nursing staff, paediatricians, service users and the Directorate and Divisional senior management teams, the post holder will co-ordinate, prioritise, appropriately delegate and organise the safe and effective running of the department on a day-to-day basis.

The department includes Ward 3 and the Paediatric Same Day Emergency Care unit at Calderdale Royal Hospital and Ward 4 at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.

The post holder will undertake delegated non-clinical duties to support quality, safety and service improvement in accordance with the Trust vision and values.

Main duties of the job

• To effectively co-ordinate the ward area to ensure a seamless and timely pathway of care for children and families.
• To manage roster allocation for present and future shifts in order to provide safe staffing levels in line with the agreed workforce model.

• To be responsible for ensuring the provision of compassionate, safe and high quality care of all patients.
• To lead the multidisciplinary team on a daily basis using resources efficiently.
• To ensure the delivery of quality care to patients and to supervise the working of junior staff during the span of duty.

• To provide nursing clinical expertise, leadership and education in high dependency care, medical and surgical nursing, competently supervising staff to manage straightforward and unplanned, complex cases. This includes supervising junior staff to gain competence in line with the Paediatric Nursing and Support workers essential training policy.
• To lead in delegated non-clinical duties that will assist the effective management of the ward areas.
• To work on a rotational basis at HRI to maintain audit and performance.
• To confidently escalate in a timely manner to Clinical Manager, Matron, On Call Consultant, General Manager, Clinical Director, Associate Director of Nursing and Senior Management Team (as appropriate) concerns about patient safety, quality and experience, offering solutions and evidence based recommendations.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To contribute to a culture that recognises and works in partnership with patients and their families, involving them in all decisions.
• To provide assurance that individualised plans of care are formulated and implemented for all patients including assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation.
• To ensure early intervention is provided to ensure the safe discharge of patients, working in collaboration with the medical team and community services with the aim of avoiding admission/ readmission.
• To work within the NMC Code of Professional Practice, and within policies, procedures and guidelines of Calderdale & Huddersfield NHS Trust.
• To ensure that high standards of nursing care in line with national and local policy and guidance are delivered and maintained.
• To act accordingly when standards are not being maintained.
• To recognise changes in a patients’ condition responding  to and when the intervention of others is required and refer on as appropriate
• To act as an advocate for the child, young person and their family, including promoting and protecting their interests, rights, equality, inclusion and privacy.
• To act as a ‘Link Nurse’ within a defined speciality/ interest area
• To be involved in and encourage participation in trust initiatives to improve patient safety and quality care, e.g. Exemplar ward, Safer Patient Initiative, Friends and Family Test, Ward Assurance .
• To ensure exemplary infection control standards are maintained in the clinical area.