Charge Nurse - Female Acute Inpatient Ward in Wardle

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a band 6 charge nurse at Moorside ward, Birch Hill Hospital. We are an 18 bedded inpatient female acute ward. We specialise in the assessment and treatment of working age women with acute and severe forms of mental illness and emotional distress.

The successful candidate will possess excellent clinical and supervisory skills, along with a desire to further develop their leadership abilities, whilst working together with the multidisciplinary team in delivering a high calibre service at all times. The post holder will support the Ward Manager in promoting a positive attitude towards excellent patient care, working in partnership with parents and carers.

Main duties of the job:

• The post holder will deliver and advise on the delivery of high quality safe nursing care, ensuring consistently high standards of practice and clinical excellence which comply with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) code of professional conduct.
• The post holder will support the ward manager in delivering clinical and managerial supervision, and undertaking clinical audits.
• As a Clinical Charge Nurse, you will promote and develop clinical leadership and clinical practice and be a positive role model to junior members of the team through the practice of evidence-based care and consistently high standards of professionalism.
• You will be expected to support professional development through clinical appraisal and supervision and contribute to the ongoing educational programme for staff, fostering a positive learning environment.

Your professional and personal development will include further postgraduate study, and you will be encouraged and supported by your line manager to undertake continued professional development.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities:

• To provide leadership and support to the inpatient nursing team, and in the absence of the Clinical Lead, to assume responsibility for the management and co-ordination of the ward / department.
• To deliver a high standard of care to acute inpatient services users.
• To ensure the optimum level of safe and effective care within the allocated resources.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• The provision of effective clinical leadership to and management of ward staff.
• To maintain personal contact with patients, their relatives and carers, being sensitive to their needs for respect, privacy and dignity.
• To assist in the formulation of staff rotas to ensure the most effective use of manpower and resources in relation to service user need and ward activity.
• To assist in the monitoring of all staff sickness, in accordance with Trust policies.
• To ensure that all staff follow the guidelines identified in the Trust and National policies.
• To participate in the investigation of patient complaints, as per Trust Complaints procedure.
• To assist in ensuring that all clinical equipment is correctly maintained and that all appropriate staff are competent in its correct application.
• To deputise for the Ward Manager in their absence.

Clinical Responsibilities:

• The post holder is responsible for assisting the Ward Manager in ensuring that all patients on the ward / dept. receive the highest standards of care.
• To ensure that patients, their families and carers are directly involved in decisions which affect their care.
• To act as a resource to junior members of staff.
• To promote high standards of patient care by the application of a systematic care planning approach which utilises an appropriate nursing model.
• To ensure that accurate and legible patient care records are maintained.

Quality Responsibilities:

• The post holder will assist the Ward Manager in ensuring that a continuous programme of quality assurance is adopted within the ward/dept.
• To assist in the analysis of patient satisfaction surveys, the identification of service deficiencies and in response, the development of remedial action plans.
• To ensure that all staff act in a professional and responsible manner at all times.
• To ensure that the ward / dept. environment is conducive to the wellbeing of patients and staff.

Person specification:

• Evidence of Continual Professional development.
• IT Literate.
• Preparation for mentorship.
• Training in management of violence and aggression.
• Training in psychosocial interventions.

Experience:

• Experience at Band 5 and evidence of appropriate clinical management experience.
• Experience of working in acute / forensic mental health settings.
• Experience of working in a range of mental health settings.

Knowledge:

• Good understanding of Mental Illness.
• Knowledge of treatments and interventions appropriate for individuals with acute mental health needs.
• Ability to demonstrate working knowledge of the Mental Health Act and CPA process.
• Understanding of confidentiality and data protection issues.

Skills and Abilities:

• Good verbal and written communication skills, with emphasis on complex and sensitive information.
• Ability to complete the appropriate documentation.
• Good social skills and have a positive attitude within the team and when dealing with service users, staff, carers, visitors and the public.
• Ability to physically undertake and participate in PMVA in a clinical setting.