Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Professional Leadership/Management

• Provide 24 hour responsibility for clinical areas
• Provide leadership that promotes patients and service users as partners in care and treatment.
• Ensure the service continually improves to meet the needs of patients.
• Develop nursing staff to improve patient access by enhancing assessment and technical skills, and actively promoting advanced clinical skills and competencies.
• Provide leadership that promotes effective discharge planning that incorporates the patient & carers’ view.
• Provide leadership that promotes an effective multi-disciplinary contribution to the provision of patient care.
• Provide expert advice on all aspects of patient care, through others where appropriate.
• Monitor standards of cleanliness and the patient environment within the clinical area.
• Ensure health and safety of staff and patients by complying with appropriate standards. These include radiological protection, decontamination, COSHH, Medical Devices, Infection Control and the safe administration of medicines standards.
• Ensure rotas incorporate effective use of resources, managing within the financial envelope.
• To achieve length of stay reductions through implementation of enhanced recovery programmes and effective discharge planning using our digital technology
• Act-up as Modern Matron in their absence.

Clinical Practice

• Have excellent knowledge in caring for patients who are acutely unwell or who have cardiology conditions.
• Develop and maintain competence in agreed basic and advanced clinical skills
• Be an effective role model for junior staff.
• Work with Specialist Nurses to develop & maintain competencies in the clinical area
• Provide effective communication channels with senior & junior staff
• Work with Modern Matron to implement, maintain & monitor Essence of Care
• Ensure Care Pathways are followed

Clinical Governance

• Lead the development of evidence-based multi-professional & inter-agency practice guidelines that support the implementation of good practice
• Work with Senior Nurse to establish effective audit processes to monitor adherence to these guidelines and take appropriate action to influence/change practice where necessary
• Lead the development of an educational strategy and programme that promotes a quality clinical service
• Ensure annual appraisal review for all staff directly line-managed and identify individual development plans for each member of staff
• Ensure Clinical Supervision is provided for all nursing staff.
• Develop and improve own competence in structured ways, including participating in peer review and clinical supervision.
• Lead on Risk Management & incident reporting and foster a culture of “no-blame”
• Obtain patient & public feedback to ensure standards are continuously monitored.
• To ensure mandatory and statutory training is carried out as required.
• To ensure compliance with infection control guidelines 

Communication 

• Ensure all communication, which may be complex, contentious or sensitive, is undertaken in a responsive and inclusive manner, focusing on improvement and ways to move forward. 

• Ensure all communication is presented appropriately to the different recipients, according to levels of understanding, type of communication being imparted and possible barriers such as language, culture, understanding or physical or mental health conditions.