Clinical Charge Nurse

Job overview

Within the Forensic directorate we have listened to feedback from staff regarding learning, development, and opportunities and as a result, have created secondment post of Clinical Charge Nurse. Please note this is a learning opportunity and does not guarantee a substantive Charge Nurse role after the secondment.

Candidates are required  to have completed 6 months of preceptorship.

As a Trauma Informed Service, we are looking for a dynamic, compassionate, and self-reflective individual with strong clinical skills. You will support your Clinical Team Leader to deliver high-quality care, in which nursing, therapeutic and relational skills support both our patients and staff to feel safe, listened to, valued, engaged, and empowered.

You will role model to colleagues, demonstrating empathy and curiosity around trauma, adversity, mental states, and which behaviours support patients to grow and change.

You will be joining a supportive senior nursing team, responsible for the 24-hour operational management of the service, supporting with the clinical and managerial leadership of the ward.

You will be supported to provide leadership to nurses, ensuring effective governance and high-performance standards are in place and are able to support a deliverable vision for the ward.

Most importantly you will be supported by your Clinical Team Leader to ensure that care is delivered in a proactive working environment and that a positive patient experience is achieved.

Main duties of the job

Through evidence-based practice you will assist in leading the management of clinical issues on the ward, with an emphasis on relational security and risk assessment, whilst promoting patient choice, collaboration, and transparency. Main responsibilities include:

• To work in collaboration with clinicians to review physical health needs of the patient.
• To develop services that meet needs by delivering an agreed strategy for healthcare.
• To work with medical and nursing staff to ensure that the team are assessing and escalating patients in line with the physical healthcare policy.
• To develop and maintain Standard Operational Procedures for the clozapine clinic, updating as necessary, ensuring the service develops and reflects recent research and is evidence-based.
• To assist in completing audits to check compliance with policies and advise on actions plans arising from findings.
• To support students within the clinical areas in relation to physical healthcare

You will be supported to develop on your clinical and managerial leadership skills.

Through developmental support, you will recognise the impacts of adverse and traumatic experiences on patients and staff. You will be motivated to support all staff, patients, and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by creating a psychologically safe environment.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Leading and supporting junior staff to deliver person centred care.
• You must also be able to provide supervision, mentorship, and leadership for staff at Band 2 to 5.
• Formulating and documenting a plan of nursing care where possible in partnership with Service Users, carers, family, and friends including personal choices/likes/dislikes/wishes.
• Evaluating and documenting the outcomes of nursing interventions. Personal care (bathing, dressing, and grooming).
• Nutrition and hydration (monitor and ensure adequate intake).
• Emotional and social support.
• Rest and sleep.
• Pressure care.
• Leading and supporting junior staff to promote recovery .
• Promoting independence.
• Community access/social inclusion (escorts).
• Engaging with activities of their interest.
• Engaging service users in group activities.
• Leading and supporting junior staff to risk assess and risk manage.
• Undertaking individual risk assessments as per Trust policy.
• Engaging in 1-1 sessions, listening, responding, and reporting.
• Prevention and management of aggression and violence including providing hands on care to prevent injury to self and others using approved techniques such as PSTS/PMVA after undertaking appropriate training, assessment and deemed competent.
• Reducing Self-harm and promoting suicide prevention.
• Recognising service user health deterioration and taking action - monitoring physical health, checking vital signs such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, temperature, saturation, blood glucose, Glasgow coma scale.
• Knowledge of the Early Warning Signs (MEWS/NEWS).
• Reporting incidents as per Trust policy.
• Safe use of medical devices.
• Implementing safe and therapeutic observations policy levels.
• Safe transfer of individuals.
• Resuscitation procedure: ABLS/ILS after undertaking appropriate training, assessment and deemed competent.
• Fire warden.
• Coordinate junior staff and oversee the admission and discharge of service users, ensuring needs of the patient and service including relevant legislative or required documentation are completed.
• Leading on safeguarding and duty of candor procedures.
• Ensuring that own practice and that of junior staff remains within legal, ethical, and professional parameters and is open to scrutiny from peers.

Please refer to JD and person specification for more details.