Job overview

We are seeking an exceptional Medical Matron to provide strong, visible, and compassionate leadership across our medical wards.

This is a senior clinical leadership role with responsibility for driving high standards of care, patient safety, operational performance, and staff experience within a complex and pressurised acute medical environment. The successful candidate will be a clinically credible leader with the authority, confidence, and emotional intelligence to influence at all levels, including working closely with senior medical colleagues.

Main duties of the job

As Medical Matron, you will play a pivotal role in:

• Maintaining and improving quality, safety, and patient experience
• Providing operational grip across medical services, particularly during periods of escalation
• Leading and developing ward leaders to deliver consistent, high‑quality care
• Creating a culture of compassionate accountability, where staff are supported, and standards are non-negotiable
• Responding confidently to risk, incidents, complaints, and complex workforce challenges

We are looking for a leader who is visible, calm under pressure, and decisive, with a strong understanding of patient flow, system pressures, and the realities of acute medical care. You will be expected to anticipate issues, intervene early, and work collaboratively to deliver sustainable improvements.

This role requires a leader who can balance care, safety, flow, and workforce wellbeing, while aligning ward‑level delivery with Trust priorities and national drivers.

If you are a senior nurse leader who is ready to make a tangible impact on patient care and staff experience, and who thrives in a role requiring influence, resilience, and professional authority, we would welcome your application.

Working for our organisation

#BeKnown at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. By us. By our patients. By our community

We are a busy, friendly, rural NHS Trust providing high-quality care and compassion to more than a quarter of a million people across west Suffolk. We care for, treat and support people in hospital, at home and in various community settings.

The West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds provides acute and secondary care services (emergency department, maternity and neonatal services, day surgery unit, eye treatment centre, Macmillan unit and children's ward). It has 500+ beds and is a partner teaching hospital of the University of Cambridge.

Adult and paediatric community services, provided in collaboration with West Suffolk Alliance partners, include a range of nursing, therapy, specialist, and ongoing temporary care and rehabilitation, some at our Newmarket Community Hospital.

We do our utmost to achieve outstanding clinical outcomes for patients and our values of fairness, inclusivity, respect, safety and team work guide how we work and behave as a team.

With nearly 5,000 staff, from all over the world, we strive to make our organisation a great place to work. Whatever your role or ambition, we want to help you be the best you can be.

We promote a diverse and inclusive community where everyones voice counts and you can #BeKnown for whoever you are.

Join us. What will you #BeKnown for?