SENIOR CHARGE NURSES x 2
Salary: / Band 7
Hours: / AfC Band 7 £31,072-£40,964 plus £1,190 High Secure Environment Allowance and £2,856 High Secure Clinical Responsibility Allowance per annum.
Post details: / Anexciting opportunity has arisen for dynamic and experienced Nursing staff to become Senior Charge Nurses at The State Hospital. Reporting to the Lead Nurse, you will lead and manage a team of nurses and also make a wider leadership contribution to the work of the multi disciplinary team. You will be afforded excellent development opportunities in the post in terms of experiential and formalised learning. These posts are critical in providing clinical leadership at a time of service change and development as The State Hospital continues to build on its reputation as a centre of excellence in high secure mental health care.
A sound working knowledge of caring in a forensic setting, person centred initiatives and clinical risk management is essential. Personal characteristics include the ability to work under pressure in a challenging environment, be personally resilient, be committed to working collaboratively with patients and clinical teams, and the personal motivation and enthusiasm to develop nursing practise.
Experience/
Qualifications / You will require a first level nursing qualification with a minimum of 5 years post registration experience in a clinical setting, and with 2 years atNursing Team Leader Band 6 level or equivalent.
Interested? / You must apply via the eESS website link and register:

If you require assistance with your application please contact HR on 01555 842084.
For an informal discussion regarding this post, please contact Carolin Walker, Lead Nurse on 01555 842062, or Jackie McQueen, Lead Nurse on 01555 842201.
Closing
Date: / The closing date for this post is21st October 2014.
This post will be advertised on SHOW and Job Centre.


THE STATEHOSPITAL

Job Description

TSH.NM.NS11

1.JOB IDENTIFICATION

Job Title: Senior Charge Nurse
Responsible to Lead Nurse
Department(s): All Wards
Directorate: Nursing
Operating Division: The StateHospital
Job Reference:
No of Job Holders:
Last Update June 2014

2. JOB PURPOSE

The post holder carries 24 hour continuing responsibility for their ward/department and will provide clinical leadership to the nursing team to:
  • Manage and provide clinical leadership to the nursing team
  • To work closely with the Responsible Medical Officers for the ward and ensure effective multi professional and multidisciplinary working takes place
  • Provide highly specialised advice with accountability for service delivery
  • To be responsible for the development, maintenance and delivery of high quality nursing care, through the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of patient care processes, on a ward within a high security hospital
  • Ensure safe and effective clinical practice
  • To keep abreast of trends and developments in nursing and to participate in the planning, development and evaluation of new ideas and methods for the constant improvement of the services provided
  • Contribute to the delivery of the organisations objectives
  • Enhance the patients experience of care
  • To promote the growth and development of an innovative and progressive attitude to the care of the patients
  • Manage and develop the performance of the team
  • To support the work of other disciplines within the wards and off ward areas; to manage junior staff, and be able to teach other nursing and non-nursing staff
This role requires an individual with the ability to set standards within clinical areas. There is a need for knowledge and understanding of patient clinical issues and promotion of choice, respect and dignity.
3. ORGANISATIONAL POSITION
4. SCOPE AND RANGE
The post holder is line manager for the nursing team and has responsibility for a team of approximately70 nurses at Band 6 and below, whole time equivalent staff within the ward/department and has responsibility for:
  • Managing all functions of the ward. Results are defined but the post holder decides how they are best achieved guided by principles and broad hospital policies.
  • Ensuring that standards of practice are maintained, reviewed and continuously developed and that staff deliver safe, effective, patient-centred, efficient, timely and equitable care within their scope of practice as part of the multidisciplinary team.
  • Contributing to the management of the ward/department budget by ensuring effective use of physical, human and financial resources e.g. the nursing resource.
  • The professional development and line management of the nursing team which encompasses both registered and support staff.
  • Creating an environment in which effective learning can take place.
  • Co-ordinating the involvement of the multidisciplinary team within designated areas.
  • Support the hospital by being involved in groups or working parties charged with proposing policy or service changes.
  • Carry out disciplinary processes, including investigations, disciplinary hearings and disciplinary action.
  • Work within the complaints procedure and deal with all relevant complaints, including significant complaint investigations and critical incident reviews across the hospital covering all departments and professions.
  • Responsibility for ensuring staff skill mix is appropriately maintained.
  • Control Book Holder for the ward having responsibility for all aspects of Health & Safety.
  • Responsibility for the safety and security of the ward within a maximum security setting.
  • Responsible for the direct care of up to 36 patients on the Hub.
  • Senior Charge Nurses are expected to be flexible and work within all patient care areas of the hospital.
  • Senior Charge Nurses are expected to cooperate with the NHSS modernisation agenda and embrace role change and job enrichment opportunities which arise as a result of that process.

5. ROLE OF DEPARTMENT

The hospital’s strategic aims are:
  • Expert, high quality treatment and care delivered by multi-professional teams in safe and secure settings.
  • Patient treatment and care pathways that are focussed on achieving timely and appropriate admission, treatment and transfer of patients.
  • Maintenance of public, staff and patient safety.
The Nursing Directorate works collaboratively with the other clinical professions to safely rehabilitate patients detained under the mental health legislation, and in doing so provides the highest quality of nursing services for dangerous and potentially dangerous patients who are mentally ill or who have a learning disability, and who may exhibit severely challenging behaviours.

6. MAIN DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

Within the governance framework of the organisation (including clinical, staff and financial governance) the post holder will focus and lead on the following key result areas:
TO ENSURE SAFE & EFFECTIVE CLINICAL PRACTICE
Clinical Leadership and Team working
  • As clinical leader, promote teamwork within a multi-professional environment, demonstrating critical analysis and decision making skills, leading the delivery of a clinically excellent, high quality service influencing and facilitating change within ward/department and where appropriate the organisation. Facilitate and encourage the use of reflective practice through Clinical Supervision.
Evidence Based Clinically Effective Practice
  • Act as a change agent, developing clinically effective practice through the effective utilisation and integration of evidence; setting, implementing and monitoring evidence based policies, procedures and protocols.
  • To be responsible for the auditing of practice within the ward.
Continuous Quality Improvement
  • Ensure a culture of continuous quality improvement through the use of audit, patient feedback and reflection on practice by self and other members of the team
  • To interrogate and disseminate reports from DATIX.
Patient Safety
  • Promote a clean and safe environment for staff, patients and visitors by ensuring compliance with legislation, policies and protocols including health and safety, healthcare associated infection, risk management and critical incident reporting and analysis, assessing and managing actual and potential risks to health and well-being
  • Ensure a high standard of record keeping in accordance with Nursing & Midwifery Council, national legislation and local standards, facilitating effective communication with multi-professional team regarding patient care
  • To maintain close liaison with fellow Senior Charge Nurses, Lead Nurses and the General Manager on all relevant clinical and administrative issues.
TO ENHANCE THE PATIENTS EXPERIENCE
2.1 Coordination of the Patient Journey
  • Ensure co-ordination of the patients journey by planning and co-ordinating the episode of care including the smooth transition to other settings, promoting effective discharge and communication with interdisciplinary and interagency teams as required.
  • To co work with the clinical team to plan and organise a broad range of complex activities to develop the clinical agenda of the ward.
  • To manage the co-ordination of nursing care plans within the ward.
  • To ensure that all nursing staff report for duty in a neat and tidy manner.
  • To ensure thorough and comprehensive hand-over meetings between shifts, incorporating individual patient reports and completion of all relevant documentation.
  • To ensure that appropriate documentation is utilised for the assessment, planning and implementation of patients' treatments/care and to participate in clinical team meetings.
2.2 Clinical Expertise
  • Co-ordinate nursing interventions, influencing clinical decisions and monitoring the quality of patient care provided through using expert clinical knowledge relevant to own field of practice, underpinned by theory and experience.
  • Provide highly specialised advice concerning the care or treatment of patients who are mentally ill detained under mental health legislation and deemed to require conditions of high security.
2.3 Promote a Culture of Person Centred Care
  • Within a multidisciplinary team environment, develop a culture of person-centred care by being highly visible within the ward/department, communicating regularly with patients, relatives and/or carers; promoting a caring environment where equality and diversity issues are respected and patients are enabled to be partners in their care.
  • Identify opportunities to develop care and services by ensuring that there are effective systems in place to ascertain patient and carer experience/feedback and ensure complaints are managed in line with organisational policy including the dissemination of learning points.
  • To manage nursing interventions to all patients in the ward and monitor the quality of nursing care provided by all staff in the ward. This will be achieved through having highly developed specialist knowledge, underpinned by theory and experience.
  • To manage the use of appropriate documentation in respect of individualised patient care and that safekeeping of active and archive documentation is maintained within the ward/department.
  • To manage the safe care of patients' clothing, possessions and valuables.
TO MANAGE & DEVELOP THE PERFORMANCE OF THE TEAM
3.1 Role Model
  • Act as a role model, creating a supportive ethos to empower staff to contribute to the delivery of high quality person-centred care
3.2 Learning and Development
  • Support the learning and development of all staff, creating a learning environment that ensures effective learning opportunities for all staff and students, including appropriate orientation and induction programmes, a range of clinical support strategies (mentoring, coaching, clinical supervision and action learning) and planning on going mandatory training and relevant education/development opportunities.
  • Support the career pathway of individual team members by ensuring all staff have Individual Performance Review and Personal Development Plans and they maintain an up to date knowledge of current clinical and professional issues and legalities.
  • To ensure that all staff have a suitably focused induction and orientation to the ward.
  • To manage the supervision of unqualified staff providing day to day care of patients in procedures such as bathing, nutrition and general hygiene.
  • Support nursing staff in their use of therapeutic nursing strategies, promotion and use of multi disciplinary working.
3.3 Managing the Practice Setting
  • Manage the practice setting, ensuring effective use of resources and workforce planning by monitoring workload and, through efficient rostering, maintain appropriate staffing levels taking account of role and competence of staff when delegating work, contributing to the management of the ward/department budget.
  • Manage the nursing team by ensuring compliance by self and others with professional standards, legislation, national and organisational policies, leading recruitment and selection, attendance management, ensuring grievance and disciplinary matters within own department are identified, actioned and reported to the appropriate manager.
  • To ensure that the SSTS roster system is accurate and that the planned rosters make effective use of the budgeted nursing resource.
  • To produce a plan of work for the ward and ensure it is carried out effectively and efficiently.
  • To manage the nursing staff in the utilisation of a holistic approach that takes account of the patients physical, social, spiritual, cultural and psychological needs.
  • Working within a human resource management function.
  • To manage performance within agreed policies and procedures.
  • To manage attendance in line with the hospital’s attendance management policy.
  • To carry out disciplinary processes, making judgements involving highly complex facts or situations requiring the analysis, interpretation and comparison of a range of options.
  • Work within the Capability, Grievance and Equal Opportunities policies when required.
  • To manage the construction and delivery annual appraisals and personal development plans which are continuously reviewed.
  • Participate in devising and delivering of training and development programmes.
  • Responsible for teaching and coaching staff at all levels across disciplines.
  • Take an active involvement in the recruitment and selection process of nursing staff and other members of the MDT.
  • To set a professional example in attitude, conduct and practice as laid down in the NMC Professional Code of Conduct, at all times.
  • To ensure that all nursing staff follow clinical policies and procedures in the delivery of care.
  • To ensure that all nursing staff prepare, give and receive written and verbal reports, reporting conditions of patients, to more senior nurses and /or medical staff as well as to the Lead Nurse and General Manager when required.
  • To ensure safe custody, storage and administration of medications in accordance with Hospital Policies and NMC guidelines.
  • To participate in nursing research in relation to forensic psychiatric nursing,
  • To initiate and participate in clinical audit.
  • To ensure that subordinate qualified staff are mentors for students to the hospital and to be a source of knowledge and advice to junior staff.
  • To ensure all nursing staff maintain an up to date knowledge base of current clinical issues.
  • To ensure systems are in place to allow all nursing staff actively participate in the clinical supervision process.
  • To ensure all qualified nursing staff remain updated in developments in clinical practice by participating in relevant post registration education.
  • To ensure all nursing staff maintain an up to date knowledge of current clinical issues and legalities.
Others:
  • To participate in all directed training and development activities provided by the hospital and at all times encourage staff to extend and develop their clinical knowledge and expertise.
  • To be an effective role model for staff and patients and at all times ensure adherence by staff to all Hospital Policies and Procedures.
TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE DELIVERY OF THE ORGANISATION’S OBJECTIVES
4.1 Networking
  • Network with peers across professional groups promoting the exchange of knowledge, skills and resources
  • To maintain close liaison with fellow Senior Charge Nurses, Lead Nurses and the General Manager on all relevant clinical and administrative issues.
4.2 Service Development
  • Work in partnership with a range of clinicians and managers in the planning or development of own service promoting the involvement of patients/public.
  • Responsible for planning and organising a broad range of complex activities or programmes.
  • To assume additional responsibilities as and when delegated by the Lead Nurse.
  • To lead investigations as a trained investigating officer.
  • To investigate complaints and take remedial/ improvement action if required.
4.3 Political and Strategic Awareness
  • Develop and maintain a working knowledge of local, national and professional strategy and policy, ensuring that organisational goals are reflected in own personal objectives and in ward/department plans and demonstrate the ability to contribute to policy and strategy development at a departmental and organisational level, and where appropriate, national level.
Working with Health and Safety and Security:
  • Control Book Holder for the ward having responsibility for all aspects of Health & Safety
  • Working within the provisions of the State Hospital Health and Safety policy.
  • To ensure that at all times a safe and secure environment is maintained through involvement in audit and acting on concerns.
  • To manage any matter relating to the safety of the environment or any breach of security, ensuring an appropriate response from support services.
  • To manage the supervision of junior staff whilst they are carrying out specific directed nursing duties such as laundry, menu planning, cleaning body fluid/ waste spillages and general ward housekeeping duties.
  • To ensure that hospital policies and procedures are understood and adhered to at all times.
  • To ensure that all staff are familiar with and understand how to use the hospital radio system and personal alarm system.
  • To ensure that all staff act at all times in a responsible and safe manner whilst in the wards and encourage a warm and welcoming environment for patients, visitors and other staff.
Communication, listening and observation:
  • To ensure that staff governance standards are embedded in the practice of all ward staff.
  • To work within a multidisciplinary team and be involved in both verbal and written communication of a highly complex, sensitive or contentious nature as part of the continuous review process.
  • To ensure liaison with carers receiving and providing highly complex, sensitive or contentious information re patient care in line with service guidelines.
  • To manage all staff in observing the need for professionalism in both confidential and cultural issues.
  • To ensure that all staff maintain a level of communication that is clear, open and honest and without prejudice towards colleagues or others.
  • To ensure that all visitors and professional visitors are greeted in a courteous manner