Matron for surgery:Trauma Orthopaedics & Plastics

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced, highly motivated, enthusiastic individual to join the Surgery directorate as Matron at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital. We are looking for an innovative and passionate nurse who can lead the delivery of excellent nursing care for our Trauma, Orthopaedic and Plastic wards.

You will work alongside the senior Nursing Team to provide leadership and ensure Clinical excellence across a large and diverse Directorate. To apply for this post you will be able to demonstrate experience in a clinical leadership role with evidence of service improvement, workforce development, leading the delivery of safe, effective care and enhancing patient experience within an acute environment

The role is based at St Thomas Hospital and covers emergency trauma surgery and plastic surgery. We have a dedicated hand trauma unit with its own minor surgery theatre and a brand new fracture clinic.

Closing Date: 22nd November 2023

Interview Date: 29th November 2023

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will work as part of our matron team in managing and overseeing operational flow within surgery on the St Thomas's site. You will work closely with the matron on the Guys site providing leadership to a defined group of nursing and MDT teams

The role also supports flow and operational activity through the bed base ensuring admission processes are clearly and appropriately communicated and managed and responding proactively to any staffing or patient safety concerns

The successful candidate will:* Provide direct line management to the ward/department managers & some specialist nurses* Monitor and maintain clinical best practice standards within in-patient and outpatient areas* Ensure excellent patient experience by responding swiftly to any concerns and working closely with the Surgical Matrons the QIPS team and MDT* Uphold effective multi-disciplinary team relationships with medical, nursing and admin teams across the wider directorate and network.* Play a key role in both managing risk and governance across our wards and lead on operational and strategic elements of this, ensuring patient safety and quality care.

About us

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust comprises five of the UK's best known hospitals - Guy's, St Thomas', Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield - as well as community services in Lambeth and Southwark, all with a long history of high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation.

We are among the UK's busiest, most successful foundation trusts. We provide specialist care for patients including heart and lung, cancer and renal services as well as a full range of local hospital and community services for people in Lambeth and Southwark.

We have a long tradition of clinical and scientific achievement and - as part of King's Health Partners - we are one of England's eight academic health sciences centres, bringing together world-class clinical services, teaching and research. We have one of the National Institute for Health Research's biomedical research centres, established with King's College London in 2007, as well as dedicated clinical research facilities.

We have around 22,700 staff, making us one of the largest NHS Trusts in the country and one of the biggest employers locally. We aim to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve and continue to develop new and existing partnerships with local people, patients, neighbouring NHS organisations, local authorities and charitable bodies and GPs.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Through strong clinical leadership the Matron will support the Ward and Departmental Sisters/Charge Nurses to promote excellence in nursing and midwifery care to maintain and improve clinical standards. The post holder will ensure that all patients are treated with compassion, dignity and respect placing value on the diversity of the local community and beyond. He/she will promote best practice in the prevention of infection through ensuring a clean and safe environment.

The Matrons key responsibility is to ensure that the patient experience is of the highest quality inspiring patient and public confidence. This will be achieved through high visibility, accessibility and surveillance. The post holder will be expected to work clinically for 75% of their time and where required will be a specialist in their clinical area.

Each Clinical Directorate is led by a Directorate Management Team including the Clinical Director, General Manager and the Head of Nursing supported by Deputy Head of Nursing and Deputy General Manager. The Matrons report to the Head of Nursing who have overarching responsibility for the operational management and strategic direction of nursing.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Performance management:

• To manage the delivery of all nursing aspects of the agreed outputs for their area of responsibility, as set out in the Performance Contract, by:

- Holding Ward/Departmental Sister/Charge Nurse to account for delivery of their objectives in clinical areas.

- Ensuring effective action is taken where nursing performance is at risk of falling below expected levels and standards are not maintained.

- Ensuring that the Trusts Nursing and Midwifery priorities are implemented locally.

2. Risk & clinical governance:

• Ensure patients are cared for in a clean and safe environment taking remedial action if standards are not maintained.
• Be champions for driving the infection prevention and control agenda and challenging poor practice.
• Manage and respond to complaints and adverse incidents.
• Undertake root cause analysis and develop action plans, ensuring that this leads to change in practice.
• Establish and maintain effective communication with patients, relatives and staff to contribute to the active resolution of potentially complex situations, conflicts and issues.
• Lead on the implementation of patient safety strategies such as Standards Took Kit, Saving Lives and Clinical Indicators.
• Share best practice and drive improvements in patient care through the Clinical Indicator meeting and Matrons Forum.
• In conjunction with the Head of Nursing, the Matron will be responsible for monitoring and maintaining excellent clinical standards within clinical teams.

3. Professional leadership and staff management:

• Be a visible leader who is accessible to patients, visitors and staff.
• Provide professional and clinical leadership.
• Take forward and develop the specialist contribution nursing and midwifery can make in the designated areas.
• Develop Ward/Departmental Sister/Charge Nurse in leadership and management.
• Ensure that nursing staff comply with Trust-wide policies and procedures.
• Represent the Trust at local and National forums promoting achievements in patient care.

4. Departmental & staff organisation:

Work in collaboration with the clinical teams on a daily basis. Monitor and action decisions in relation to clinical areas ensuring an appropriate nursing skill mix in relation to activity and acuity. Manage and report any risk issues to the Head of Nursing in a timely manner.

The Matron will:

• Review skill mix and deployment of staff within the area of responsibility, working closely with other Matrons within the Directorate.
• Ensure nurse rostering meets service demands and is cost effective and adheres to Trust guidelines.
• Review and agree bank and agency requirements and usage and control bank and agency spend.
• Oversee recruitment processes and ensure they are adhered to in a timely manner.
• Performance manage staff with direct responsibility for the continuous performance review/appraisal of Ward/Departmental Sister/Charge Nurses, Clinical Nurse Specialists (and Research Nurses where applicable).
• Support ward/departmental Sister/Charge nurse in managing staff absence and report trends in sickness absence to Head of Nursing.
• Oversee the process of continuous performance review within the allocated area of responsibility.
• Empower and enable staff to perform their roles effectively.

5. Strategy and service improvement:

• Collaborate with the Directorate Team in developing the Clinical Directorate service and business strategy.
• Participate in service improvement projects or development programmes that contribute to the modernisation of patient services, providing both professional and clinical advice as necessary.
• Work in close partnership with appropriate Clinical Leads and Service Managers to ensure all local, corporate and national initiatives and targets are met.
• Where appropriate, support the Clinical Directorate as agreed with the Head of Nursing and the Directorate of Strategy and Policy: (i) to represent the Trust within the NHS and community, and with partner organisations, (ii) to work closely with them to institute integrated working in the best interests of patient care, (iii) to ensure appropriate public and patient involvement in assessing service quality and improvements.
• Identify and take forward the specific contribution nursing and midwifery can make to the development of the service.

6. Financial management

Act as an authorising signatory for nursing within agreed limits.

Monitor Ward and Departmental nursing budgets with the Ward Sister/Charge Nurse for each clinical area ensuring effective budget management.

• Manage nursing resources on a day to day basis with particular attention to Bank and Agency expenditure.
• Report monthly positions to the Head of Nursing.

7. R& D, education and training:

Undertake training needs analysis in conjunction with Head of Nursing and Practice Development Nurses.

• Support the development and implementation of education and training programs within area of responsibility for nurses and midwives.
• Be responsible for developing own skills and knowledge and contribute to the development of others.
• Provide advice relating to approved R & D projects.
• Work in collaboration with the Ward/Departmental Sisters/ Charge Nurses to monitor and regulate training and development of all staff to ensure:

- All nursing staff are appraised using KSF and the Trust Competency Document.

- All mandatory training is undertaken and recorded.

- Monitor and regulate study leave to ensure consistency and equality.

- Ensure clinical environments are fit to receive students and are regularly audited.

- All staff are competent in acute care skills and have passed their Medicines Management test.

8. Professional standards and patient experience

Promote excellent standards in all wards/departments through:

• Promotion of a nurturing environment for patients, relatives, visitors and staff through monitoring, measuring and actioning and evaluating.
• Advocating for patients at all times.

• Daily ward rounds and monitoring observations of care.
• Implementing a system for gaining patient feedback, responding to adverse outcomes
• Driving the privacy and dignity challenge.
• Implementing the Matrons Charter.

Person Specification

Values and Behaviour

Essential

• Value and Behaviour

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered nurse
• Degree or equivalent experience
• Post registration experience relevant to speciality.
• Mentorship or equivalent experience

Desirable

• Masters qualification or working towards
• Leadership qualification
• management qualification

Additional Information

Essential

• Excellent inter-personal and communication skills with good listening skills.
• Strong sense of commitment to openness, honesty and integrity in undertaking the role.
• High level of work organisation, self-motivation, drive for performance and improvement, and flexibility in approach and attitude.

Knowledge

Essential

• Well developed leadership and influencing skills with the ability to enthuse, motivate and involve individuals and teams, and have them understand the Trust's and your performance expectations.
• Ability to be intellectually flexible and to look beyond existing structures, ways of working, boundaries and organisations to produce more effective and innovative service delivery and partnerships.
• A commitment to improving pa
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