Senior Sister/Charge Nurse, Medicine in London

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an aspiring leader to join the Division of Medicine at West Hertfordshire NHS Teaching Trust. We are seeking a highly skilled, motivated, dynamic, and compassionate Senior Nurse/Charge Nurse for a full-time post (37.5 hours per week) to lead a medicine ward. Our medicine wards care for patients with a wide range of acute and chronic medical conditions, requiring comprehensive assessment, treatment, and ongoing management. The ward is committed to delivering safe, high-quality, person-centred care that promotes dignity, independence, and wellbeing. Care is delivered through a multidisciplinary approach, working closely with medical teams, therapists, and support services to ensure holistic and coordinated care for every patient.

The successful applicant must demonstrate a positive, proactive attitude and possess excellent interpersonal, organisational, and clinical leadership skills. As the Senior Nurse/Charge Nurse, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the culture of the ward, supporting staff development, and ensuring the delivery of high standards of care in a safe and compassionate environment. You will also be expected to demonstrate evidence of continuous professional development and a strong commitment to improving patient and carer experience.

Working hours: Monday to Friday, 07:15–15:05 (flexible working will be considered).

Main duties of the job:

• The successful candidate should possess excellent communication skills, be highly motivated, and demonstrate strong organisational abilities.
• They should have experience of taking responsibility for the day-to-day running of a clinical area, ensuring safe, person-centred care, prioritising patient experience, and applying sound clinical judgement in a busy acute setting.
• The post holder will play a key role in enhancing the quality of care and services provided across the ward.
• They will act as a visible, proactive, and accessible leader, serving as a clinical resource for the team and ensuring the consistent delivery of high standards of compassionate care.
• The ability to prioritise workloads effectively and use initiative in a fast-paced environment is essential.

Training will be provided, and there are excellent opportunities for professional development.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities:

The core purpose of the Senior Nurse/Charge Nurse is to lead and manage the performance of the team within a medicine ward, enhancing patient experience, improving clinical outcomes, and contributing to organisational priorities such as improved patient flow, reduced sickness absence, staff retention, and safe workforce deployment. The post holder will be a key member of the multidisciplinary team and will take day-to-day responsibility for ensuring the delivery of safe, effective, and person-centred care. Promoting dignity, maintaining patient safety, and ensuring a positive patient and carer experience will be central to the nursing leadership approach within the ward.

The ward is committed to achieving and sustaining the following key objectives:

• Deliver high-quality, evidence-based care for a broad range of medical conditions.
• Support safe and efficient discharge processes to promote continuity of care and patient flow.
• Maintain quality standards and actively participate in the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF).
• Foster innovation and contribute to quality improvement initiatives.
• Provide visible and proactive leadership with strong communication across teams.
• Promote diversity, inclusion, and equality within the workplace.

You will be responsible for effective resource management within the clinical area and for supporting the personal and professional development of all staff within the team. This includes ensuring compliance with mandatory training and encouraging ongoing learning and development opportunities relevant to medicine care.

Person specification:

Education and qualifications:

• Registered General Nurse.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.
• Degree in Nursing or related subject or working towards this.

Knowledge:

• Knowledge and experience of negotiating and motivating groups and individuals to deliver on agreed objectives.
• Understanding and experience of managing casemix and skillmix according to competing clinical priorities.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of decisions made in a variety of clinical settings, ensuring user safety is at the forefront of planning.

Experience:

• Experience as Band 6: within speciality.
• Experience of line management of staff.
• Management of complaints.
• Local resolution.

West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust provides acute healthcare services to a core catchment population of approximately half a million people living in west Hertfordshire and the surrounding area. The Trust also provides a range of more specialist services to a wider population, serving residents of North London, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and East Hertfordshire.

As an employer of nearly 6,000 people the Trust is one of the biggest employers in the area and sees nearly a million patients each year.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.