Priory Hospital Middleton St George
£53,329 per annum
Full time - 37.5 hours per week

Priory Hospital Middleton St George has an opportunity for a Ward Manager to join our team.  Set in spacious and relaxing grounds, Priory Hospital Middleton St George, located in Darlington, County Durham, is a specialist inpatient service for adults with mental health issues, complex needs and behaviours that challenge. We are dedicated to supporting people to transfer effortlessly between the most appropriate care, meeting individual needs, enabling recovery and re-engagement within the community, and maximising life opportunities. We accept referrals from a wide variety of public sector organisations throughout the UK, including special hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, prisons, courts, low secure units (LSUs), medium secure units (MSUs), forensic lead commissioners, social services, NHS Mental Health Trusts, GPs, the police and others.

You will be part of a compassionate team that is committed to supporting people's wellbeing. We take a personalised approach, using proven therapies to help people move forward with confidence and build a healthier, more fulfilling future.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the ward nursing team, ensuring appropriate staffing levels, skill mix and effective rota management.
• Oversee the day-to-day running of the ward, ensuring a safe, clean and well-organised environment for patients.
• Lead on staff recruitment, retention, supervision, appraisal, development and mandatory training.
• Ensure high standards of patient care, including up-to-date personalised care plans and effective discharge planning.
• Work closely with the MDT to ensure effective communication and coordinated patient care.
• Oversee medicines management, including nurse competency assessments, medication errors and actions arising from pharmacy audits.
• Lead on incident reviews, ensuring incidents are reported, investigated and followed up with appropriate staff debriefs and actions.
• Manage clinical, complaints and HR investigations within the ward, ensuring these are completed promptly and thoroughly.
• Ensure compliance with the Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, Deprivation of Liberty safeguards and relevant policies.
• Monitor the physical healthcare needs of patients alongside their mental health and psychological needs.
• Ensure accurate and timely clinical documentation, handovers, reports and patient information.
• Monitor ward resources, equipment, medicines and budgets, taking action where issues or concerns are identified.
• Promote a positive culture of learning, professional development, accountability and continuous improvement within the nursing team.
• Deputise for the Director of Clinical Services when required.

You can find additional information in the attached job description.

Essential for the role

• Current NMC or HCPC registration.
• At least 2 years’ experience in a supervisory role within a relevant care setting.
• Previous experience as a registered practitioner in a relevant clinical setting.
• Experience supervising nursing or care staff.
• Current Assessor/Supervisor training.
• Evidence of ongoing CPD.
• Strong leadership, communication and organisational skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and support the effective running of a ward.
• Computer literate.

Desirable

• Experience of clinical audit and/or evidence-based service improvement.
• Previous experience managing a nursing team or ward environment.
• Experience with staff recruitment, retention, supervision and performance management.
• Experience of incident reviews, investigations and complaints management.
• Experience of medicines management and clinical governance.
• Experience working within Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty frameworks.

Priory Group is an equal opportunities employer.