Senior Sister/Charge Nurse | Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
| Posting date: | 22 May 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | Not specified |
| Additional salary information: | £51,883 - £58,544 per annum Incl HCAs |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 21 June 2025 |
| Location: | Isleworth, TW7 6AF |
| Company: | Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 7197053/289-PC-35 |
Summary
The post holder will be a clearly identifiable senior clinical staff member, and team leader. They will have significant clinical experience, provide sound clinical expertise to their team, and coordinate and deliver high quality care.
They will be a role model for expert clinical care, and lead on specific projects / management functions as delegated by the Matron or Lead nurse.
They will role model the identified Trust values at all times. They will be responsible for leading a team.
They will be activity involved in unit and trust activities and be aware of significant changes and developments in critical care.
The poster holder will be accountable for the operational management of the unit on a day-by-day basis ensuring a safe, effective, quality service is delivered to patients and their families
Key responsibilities
• Clinical
• Leadership and management
• Education and Research
• Professional Development
• Communication and relationship building
• Specific skills and competencies for the intensive care setting
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of England's top-performing and safest trusts. We operate two main acute hospital sites—Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and West Middlesex University Hospital—along with award-winning clinics across North West London.
Our nearly 7,500 staff care for a diverse population of 1.5 million, providing full clinical services, including maternity, A&E, and children’s services, plus specialist HIV and sexual health clinics. The Care Quality Commission rates us 'Good' in safety, effectiveness, care, and responsiveness, and 'Outstanding' in leadership and resource use.
We continually invest in our facilities, including a £30m expansion of critical care at Chelsea and Westminster and an £80m Ambulatory Diagnostic Centre at West Middlesex.
We are committed to equal opportunities and believe that diversity drives innovation and excellence. As part of our dedication to equity, we actively welcome applications from individuals from the global majority, veterans and underrepresented communities. We value the unique perspectives and experiences that diverse teams bring and are committed to creating an environment where all voices are heard, respected, and empowered to succeed."
If you haven’t heard from us within three weeks of the closing date, your application was likely unsuccessful. Employment is subject to a six-month probationary period.
Some roles may require weekend shifts at multiple sites.
Clinical
• Lead on assessing planning and implementing high quality care, and evaluating care options for patients in the clinical area, in line with the Trust values and objectives
• Lead on complex clinical care for patients within critical care
• Ensure the safe custody, maintenance and administration of medication, in accordance with established Trust policy
• Promote and maintain a safe therapeutic environment for patients, their families and staff, according to national and local Infection Control guidelines, Health & Safety legislation and Trust policies and objectives
• Coordinate discharges and transfers, promoting timely and safe processes for them
• Ensure that patient flow and the management of beds is effective and safe
• Ensure the delivery of high quality end of life care in line with national pathways
• Maintain a good understanding and implementation of clinical escalation procedures as required
• Understand the Trust clinical governance framework, and participate in the promoting and safeguarding of high standards of care, through effective risk management & governance, and adherence to the Trust values
• Ensure that the team promote, ensure and adhere to the Trust safeguarding polices
• Undertake effective multi professionally work with colleagues to deliver care
• Coordinate and manage nurse led clinics where appropriate
• Coordinate specialist functions, including making clinical decisions where appropriate
• Monitor quality of standards of care, in line with CQC requirements and Trust and Divisional objectives
• Deliver and supervise a high quality patient experience
• Work with manager to collect and disseminate data on quality indicators etc, in line with national and Trust objectives
• Maintain a safe working environment, including ensuring equipment is safe, and used in line with Trust policy and values
• Promote and maintain patient safety at all times, including proactively implementing falls and pressure ulcer prevention and safe medicine management
• Lead role in the detection, management and prevention of safeguarding issues
• Have an awareness of current professional and clinical developments within their area of practice and promote this to others
Leadership and management
• Manage the day to day staffing arrangements and rotas, to ensure safe levels of practice
• Be a shift coordinator on a regular basis where appropriate
• Ensure staff adhere to Trust protocols of care, eg Infection Control
• Take continuing responsibility for the Ward / Department in absence of manager
• Participate in senior nurse / unit on call rota / bleep holder (some areas, eg paediatrics) as appropriate
• Lead and manage their own clinical team within general clinical areas, and of the total team in the absence of the manager, in line with Trust values
• Develop and maintain effective communication and working relationships with other professional groups, and staff generally within the Division and the Trust
• Contribute to the effective management of the area by ensuring correct levels of staff are in place to deliver and assist with the planning of off duty rotas
• Assist in the delivery of induction / orientation of new staff
• Act as a role model, ensuring staff work to Trust guidelines and values
• Supervise, under the direction of their manager, the work of qualified and unqualified staff and learners
• Provide clinical support and guidance to staff
• Act as a resource for clinical knowledge to staff
• Initiate action on complaints & incident management and responses, and assist in their investigation and resolution
• Participate in recruitment and selection, and develop effective selection and interviewing skills
• Undertake appraisals of staff, following training
• Chair team meetings as required
• Lead on specific projects, as indicated and agreed by manager
• Have a working knowledge of budget arrangements for area, focussing on cost effectiveness and quality, to ensure maximum use of resource
• Understand and manage local change with team members, including the embedding of new projects
Education & research
• Actively support and assist in preceptorship and in pre-registration student support, supervision and guidance including mentorship where appropriate
• Identify and respond to learning needs for area
• Develop and deliver or organise local training sessions, mindful of the Trust values
• Facilitate others in the development of informal teaching skills
• Participate in the annual training needs analysis for their area
• Participate in any local or related research projects, clinical trials etc
• Apply and encourage others to utilise evidence based practice and relevant research findings in practice
• Identify areas of nursing / midwifery research within their area that will be of benefit, and encourage and educate other staff to recognise the importance of research
• Participate in clinical supervision / acting as supervisor
Professional development
• Maintain professional registration
• Ensure mandatory training and a satisfactory appraisal is in date
• Undertake a professional development plan and demonstrate achievement of objectives
• Ensure adherence to Trust policy and guidelines at all times
• Role model Trust values at all times
Communication and relationship building
• Know and utilize Trust values in all working relationships to patients, corers and staff.
• Demonstrate good leadership skills and ensure that communication is effective between the patient, relatives and members of the multidisciplinary team, and ensure appropriate nursing input into patient care discussions
• Ensure communication is used effectively in the interests of patient care, including the use of clinical incident reporting if necessary.
• Communicate handover of care in a professional manner
• Demonstrate politeness, courtesy and sensitivity in dealing with patients/clients, visitors/relatives and colleagues, maintaining good customer relations and recognizing individuality and rights for each patient in line with Trust values.
• Work cohesively with all members of the ward team in ensuring that the very best services to patients are provided at all times
• Work effectively within a multi-racial and cultural environment
Specific skills / Competencies for the Intensive Care Unit
Team Management
• Coordinating and managing a team through facilitation of effective team function, promotion of team development and ensure that the team meets identified standards of care of best practice. Including:
• Ensure team days take place
• Responsible for ensuring all staff have a PDR and maintain their revalidation
• creating an environment for mutual support within the team
• ensuring good communication exists within team members
• monitoring participation of team members in inter team projects
• Ensuring that team undertake patient reviews at least three monthly.
• Monitoring and auditing the quality of care provided to patient’s
• Care planning and documentation
• Reviewing and learning from Patient feedback
• Completion of Mandatory updates.
Shift Co-ordinating
• To act as a shift co-ordinator on a regular basis, ensuring the following occur:
• Planning and allocation of staff in accordance to continuity, skill mix, student nurses, bank or agency staff and developmental needs of staff.
• Effective handover of patient care between shifts (both coordinator and bedside staff)
• Providing clinical support and learning opportunities for staff , Ensures that staff are aware of teaching sessions/inter team projects and attend them
• Maintenance of quality issues (damp dusting, documentation)
• Management of the ward round and plan of care for patients
• Maintaining unit infrastructure including the coordination of patient admissions and discharges to the unit; maintaining quality issues, stock levels, transfer of patients via EBS and appropriate staffing levels.
• Maintaining a safe environment through the checking of emergency equipment, preparation of bed areas, adherence to trust policies, maintenance of equipment, reporting of clinical incidents and staff performance
Other responsibilities
• Supporting other departments through expert advice and clinical support when required
• Networking with the northwest London critical care network
• To develop ICU research based guidelines with support of colleagues.
• To lead one of the ICU -team projects and facilitate the management of change in relation to inter-team group project work.
• On completion of ALS training to act as a member of the Trust Resuscitation Team
• To act as primary nurse for designated patients and deliver primary nursing reviews/case reviews. (Chelsea site only)
• Provide formal teaching sessions in relation to critical care as part of the Foundations of critical care programme
• To act up in the absence of the lead nurse/matron
This advert closes on Thursday 5 Jun 2025