Complex Discharge Matron in Northampton

Are you an experienced senior nurse with a passion for improving patient flow, championing safe discharge, and leading multidisciplinary teams? We are seeking a dynamic, innovative, and highly visible Complex Discharge Matron to join us at Northampton General Hospital, providing strategic leadership to one of the most essential services supporting patient experience and operational efficiency.

About the Role

As the Complex Discharge Matron, you will hold professional and managerial accountability for the leadership, coordination, and delivery of our Complex Discharge Service. You will play a pivotal role in ensuring patients with complex needs experience safe, timely, and person‑centred discharge pathways from admission to discharge. You will provide strong, compassionate leadership to the discharge team, acting as an authoritative, approachable, and visible clinical leader across the organisation. This is an exciting opportunity to shape practice, drive improvement, and work collaboratively with internal and external partners to ensure the very best outcomes for our patients.

Main duties of the job

What You Will Be Doing

• Leading and managing the complex discharge service, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, safe, responsive care.
• Holding accountability for quality, safety, and clinical governance within the service.
• Fostering a culture of professionalism, compassionate care, and continuous improvement.
• Supporting workforce development, retention, and the building of a skilled, future‑ready team.
• Working collaboratively with external partners to promote integrated care and efficient patient flow.
• Acting as a highly visible clinical leader for patients, carers, and staff.
• Leading the implementation of effective governance processes and driving continuous service improvement.
• Overseeing and delivering Trust‑wide training and education in complex discharge.
• Supporting wards, patients, and families to enable timely, solution‑focused discharge planning from admission.
• Leading the MDT Decision‑Making Cell/Hub to ensure effective allocation and escalation processes.
• Producing, interpreting, and reporting complex performance data to inform service improvements.

About us

Northampton General Hospital is one of the largest employers in the area and we are on an exciting journey. All of our divisions are committed to doing things better, with more efficiency as we update, modernise, and advance. We have also entered into a Group Model with neighbouring Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and become University Hospitals of Northamptonshire.

Our Excellence Values

• Compassion
• Accountability
• Respect
• Integrity
• Courage

We want to recruit the best people to deliver our services across the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire and help to unleash everyone's full potential. As an organisation, we value how we communicate and promote our vacancies to all communities. We are a Defence positive trust, supporting our reservists, veterans, spouses and partners. The Hospital Group encourages applications from people who identify from all protected groups, especially those from BAME, Disabled and LGBTQ+ backgrounds as these are underrepresented in our hospitals. We understand that we need to work with colleagues from diverse backgrounds and make sure the environment they work in is inclusive and collaborative. We have active Networks that promote and support colleagues from all backgrounds. This ensures everyone feels supported and has a sense of belonging working for Kettering and Northampton General Hospitals.

About You

• Passionate about improving patient flow and discharge processes
• A strong communicator and relationship builder
• Skilled in leading multidisciplinary teams and influencing at all levels
• Able to analyse complex information and drive evidence‑based change
• Committed to patient‑centred care, staff development, and high clinical standards
• Confident working across organisational boundaries with system partners

Why Join Us?

This is a high‑impact leadership role offering the opportunity to make a real difference to patient care, staff experience, and operational performance. You will join a supportive senior nursing team and work within a Trust committed to continuous improvement, integrated care, and professional development.

Person Specification

Educations, Training and Qualifications

• NMC registered
• Evidence of Post registration specialist qualification
• Educated to degree level or equivalent experience
• Evidence of proactive and continued professional development.
• Management or Leadership Qualification
• Masters qualification or working towards
• Recognised teaching or assessing qualification

Knowledge and Experience

• Evidence of senior management experience in an acute or social care environment with management responsibilities or equivalent management experience
• Experience of conflict resolution
• Experience of change management practice and service development
• Experience of staff management including dealing with challenging HR issues and the application of formal policies
• Evidence of setting and achieving targets and implementing innovative solutions designed to improve services within tight financial constraints
• Evidence of previous experience delivering strategy and policy associated with discharge
• Expert knowledge in admission avoidance discharge planning and the use of best practice
• Familiarity with the Trust and Local Authority's vision and objectives
• Knowledge of related local and national policy guidelines
• Experience using QSIR (Quality, Service Improvement Redesign)
• An understanding the impact of the Long Term Plan (LTP) on discharge
• Experience of working with private organisations such as Care Homes as well as voluntary sector organisations

Skills

• Demonstrable and substantial management responsibilities
• The ability to influence a sustainable culture that improves quality and experience for all patients
• Able to work independently
• Evidence of complex problem solving and decision‑making ability
• Efficient and effective communicator at all levels in highly complex and sometimes challenging situations
• Demonstrates an ability to interpret and utilise information effectively to communicate, influence and achieve operational and strategic goals
• The ability to work in partnership with others to develop, take forward and evaluate direction, policies and strategies
• The ability to test and review new models, concepts, and practices
• The ability to use Excel and Word to create statistical information for the Division
• An ability to provide Board level reporting in the field of discharge
• The ability to transfer data into meaningful actions to improve performance and present as required
• The ability to communicate effectively across all levels of the organisations as well as externally with commissioners and other stakeholders

Personal Qualities and Attributes

• Passionate and committed to bring our Dedicated to Excellence values to life, improving the way we work with each other, particularly focusing on empowerment, equality diversity and inclusion of our staff, patients and service users

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.