Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for aspiring Matrons to develop their leadership skills by working in a Deputy Matron role for a fixed term contract of 6 months, this is to support gaps in the community hospital Matrons team.

You will be based in Cirencester Hospital leading and supporting the teams in maintaining high quality patient centred care with a strong focus on discharge planning.

There will also be opportunities to support the other community hospitals where needed to support clinical and management support and guidance.

The role will be split evenly between Governance, patient safety and risk management along with deputising for Matron in their absence.

Main duties of the job
You will need to have great communication skills and be able to adapt to the needs of the role on a daily basis.

You will need a good sound knowledge of the discharge planning process to enable you to lead and support the discharge flow through the hospitals. Providing positive and credible leadership within the ward teams and support with difficult conversations that may arise.

Through strong clinical leadership and effective management, the Deputy Matron will support the Matron, ward and departmental senior nurses to promote and deliver excellence in nursing care. By maintaining and continually improving the clinical standards evidenced by the achievement of key quality performance indicators.

You will also facilitate regular quality and safety reviews of falls and pressure ulcers etc. to identify trends and learning which will be shared in governance.

You will have a good understanding of HR processes and be able to support with ensuring processes are followed effectively and appropriately.

About us
We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people's homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.

Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:

• 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
• 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
• 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust's priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.

This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.

Details
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 7
Salary: £49,387 to £56,515 a year Pro rata per annum
Contract: Fixed term, 6 months
Working pattern: Part-time
Location: Cirencester Hospital, Tetbury Road, Cirencester, GL7 1UY

Job responsibilities

• To provide support to and deputise for the Matron when needed, based in Cirencester Hospital but may require travel to other Hospitals or attend meetings elsewhere in the Trust
• Leadership of volunteers and link workers
• Identifying and delivering on CIP savings
• Deputising for Matron/visible leadership
• To coordinate all aspects of clinical governance, risk management and patient safety to provide assurance to the Matron.
• Provide a positive learning environment where lessons are learnt and changes are implemented to ensure a quality service is delivered.
• To provide assurance that all Teams monitor their sickness and complete sickness meetings.
• Ensure ward / department staffing is in line with Trust policy and effective escalation processes are adhered to.
• To promptly investigate and respond appropriately to complaints and incidents and implement and monitor action plans to reduce potential reoccurrence providing assurance to Matron.
• To attend and participate in meetings as required, including providing feedback and disseminating information as appropriate.
• Participate in service and lead developments within the hospital setting.
• To be responsible for identifying and delivering CIP saving opportunities in all departments of both hospitals.
• Clinically and professionally expected to make autonomous decisions on a daily basis including provision of advice to junior staff in clinical decision making.
• Attend Matrons walk round in Matrons absence, reviewing IP&C, estates issues etc. To ensure each report is shared with all relevant departments and actions are collated and acted upon.
• May occasionally be required to deliver or support staff with difficult conversations with families, patients and carers regarding discharge planning, safeguarding and complaints. This will require empathy, understanding but also keeping meeting focused and all attendees understanding the information discussed.
• Leads service development, identifies and promotes the need for change, motivates the clinical team to embrace change and manage the change process.
• Establishes clear, positive and credible leadership within the clinical team, promotes and supports the maintenance of a cohesive multi-disciplinary and multi-organisational team.
• Conducts individual performance review of staff and promotes the development of the staff through KSF and CPD planning.
• Provides support for band 7s in their absence.
• Deployment of staff to ensure the correct skill mix and effective use of resources.
• Develop an improved volunteer service for hospital volunteers enabling them to feel confident and equipped to provide a positive patient experience.
• Provide training and supervision for the volunteers.
• Lead on the implementation of the Enhanced supervision policy across the hospitals with a view to possibly decreasing agency spend.

Person specification
Essential

• Excellent communication skills with knowledge of other forms of communication to support the needs of the service users and/or relatives
• Commitment to continuous personal and professional development for self and others
• Excellent time management and organisational skills
• Registered General Nurse/AHP with registration in NMC/HCPC
• Post registration experience and knowledge in Community Hospitals
• Evidence of ongoing continual professional development
• Experience of working in a Health Care setting demonstrating increasing levels of responsibility with good experience at band 6
• Experience of managing a team and supervising staff
• Experience of achieving positive outcomes for patients through multi-disciplinary and partnership working
• Demonstrable experience of personnel / human resource management issues e.g. recruitment and retention, performance management
• Ability to demonstrate an understanding of why Health and Safety is important in employment and service delivery
• Able to demonstrate a sound knowledge of quality assurance / performance management methods

Desirable

• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office packages e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher and Outlook
• Masters level qualification or equivalent short courses and/or experience
• Teaching qualification or significant experience
• Experience of change management and service development
• Demonstrable skills in patient and carer empowerment

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details
Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, Cirencester Hospital, Tetbury Road, Cirencester, GL7 1UY, United Kingdom
Website: Apply through our website

For questions about the job, contact:
Matron Liz Lovett, liz.lovett@nhs.net, 03004216251

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.