Area Sister/Charge Nurse

At NHS Blood and Transplant we help people to do something extraordinary - donate blood, organs, tissues, or stem cells to save and enhance lives. First and foremost, we play a unique and special role in the NHS. It takes all types of people to deliver the kind of service that saves and improves lives.

As an Area Sister / Charge Nurse in this independent role, you will lead and inspire a team of Healthcare Assistants across donation teams in the Southwest. Your clinical expertise will guide you in making informed, safe decisions regarding donor suitability, ensuring that your teams provide exceptional care in line with regulatory and governance standards. Your leadership and management skills will be crucial in ensuring patients receive safe blood and blood products, while also ensuring donors feel secure and valued. By delivering a positive experience for our donors, you will help foster their continued commitment to donating.

Main duties of the job

• Leveraging your clinical experience and expertise, you will lead your team to ensure the safety of our donors and the delivery of safe blood products to patients.
• No prior specialist knowledge is required for this Band 6 role – we value the unique skills you bring.
• If you are able to work independently, lead with compassion and resilience, and are motivated by the opportunity to drive change in a dynamic environment, this role is for you.
• We offer comprehensive training, ongoing support, and excellent learning and development opportunities, along with potential for career progression.
• Your responsibilities will include:

• Overseeing the clinical assessment of donor eligibility and leading on all aspects of donor care.
• Accountability for the effective delivery of both operational and clinical standards of care and donor experience.
• Leading and promoting the behaviours required to deliver an excellent donation experience, ensuring high donor satisfaction and retention.
• Training your team, with support, to ensure both your own and their competence is maintained.
• Efficient management of blood donor sessions, maximising productivity as well as maintaining standards of care and donor satisfaction.
• Making sure your NMC Revalidation delivers improvements in practice.

The shift pattern is 4 days per fortnight totalling 37.5 hours. This will include some weekend and Bank Holiday working. Shift times will vary on a day-to-day basis but are typically within the hours of 07:30 to 21:30.

As this is an area role, you will be travelling regularly across the area but you will be based at the team nearest to your home address; this will be agreed at interview.

About You

Experience and Knowledge

• Demonstrates clinical leadership and understands the principles of best practice, delivering a high quality of care.
• Experience of initiating and supporting the professional development of others, providing coaching and mentoring.
• Knowledge of clinical audit and research.
• Knowledge of patient safety initiatives and risk management.
• Experience of working with Information Technology such as hand-held devices and Microsoft Office packages (Word, Excel and PowerPoint).

Qualifications and Training

• Registered Nurse with current Nursing and Midwifery Council registration (which must be maintained) as Registered Nurse – Adult.
• Required to maintain registration, adhering to requirements of revalidation.
• Evidence of continuous professional development.
• Hold a full and valid UK driving licence with no more than 6 points.

About Us

It takes all types of people to deliver the kind of service that saves and improves lives. At NHS Blood and Transplant, you’ll join a team of more than 6,000 people who are making a genuine difference to communities across the UK.

Our three core values are what set us apart. They guide and inspire everything we do. By being caring, expertly meeting the needs of our patients and our people, and accepting nothing less than the best quality, we can do extraordinary work – and help our people to do something extraordinary in their career, too.

You will join us on our journey to create an inclusive workplace and aim to reflect the diverse communities we work with, and we positively encourage applications from all sectors of the community.

What we offer:

• No nights.
• Rotas are given with 4 weeks’ notice.
• TOIL (Time off in Lieu).
• Opportunities to work in other areas/specialisms.
• Facilitating donation.
• NHSBT promotes flexible working opportunities where the role will allow.
• 27 days annual leave (pro rata for part-time) plus Bank Holidays, increasing to 29 days after 5 years’ service and to 33 days after 10 years.
• NHS pension scheme.
• We’ve fostered a culture of continuous learning where colleagues are well-led, engaged, and encouraged to grow.

Please view the attached recruitment profile which is a summary of the detailed Job Description and Person Specification for the full personal attributes we require for the role. You will need to demonstrate these throughout the recruitment process.

This vacancy will close at 23:59 on Sunday 5th January 2025. Interview date to be confirmed.

For informal enquiries please contact – Caroline Morrice, Area Matron, Caroline.Morrice@nhsbt.nhs.uk