Deputy Ward Manager | South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust
| Posting date: | 19 February 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | Not specified |
| Additional salary information: | £38,682 - £46,580 per annum inclusive of inner London HCAs |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 21 March 2026 |
| Location: | London, SW17 0YF |
| Company: | South West London and St Georges Mental Health Trust |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 7809846/294-CAMH-7809846-AZ |
Summary
Avalon ward is an 18 bedded unit for adults suffering with Moderate to severe eating disorders, often at a very low weight and there is a high level of co-morbidity with conditions. We are a passionate recovery focused team and our aim is to discharge our patient’s safety giving them the skills and ability to continue their recovery in the community. We work closely with patients, carers and lived experience experts to ensure we are continuously learning and delivering the best possible care for our patients.
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced band 5 or band 6 nurse who is looking to gain experience within a National inpatient eating disorder service. We are looking for highly motivated, skilled individuals to work as a member of our senior team.
If you are a forward thinking experienced band 5 staff nurse ready to develop your managerial skills or a seasoned band 6 expert this is an exciting opportunity to consider. We are looking for someone who is clinicallycompetent with the appropriate skills to lead a diverse and experienced team. The successful candidate will be able to develop a positive team atmosphere through hard work, calmness, tolerance and consistency. They will lead on quality improvement initiatives and support a culture of reflection and learning.
The Deputy Nursing Team Leader/Clinical Charge Nurse/Community
Psychiatric Nurse/Practice Development Nurse role is suitable for
Registered Nurses who have successfully completed preceptorship and have registered as an approved NMC mentor.
The post holder will deliver, or advise on the delivery of, high quality safe
nursing care, ensuring consistently high standards of practice and clinical
excellence which comply with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) code of professional conduct.
As a Deputy Nursing Team Leader/Clinical Charge Nurse/Community
Psychiatric Nurse/Practice Development Nurse you will promote and
develop clinical leadership and clinical practice and be a positive role model to junior members of the team through the practice of evidence-based care. You will be expected to support professional development through clinical appraisal and supervision and contribute to the ongoing educational programme for staff, fostering a positive learning environment. Your professional and personal development will include further postgraduate study and you will be encouraged and supported by your line manager to undertake
Master’s programmes.
As a senior nurse working within the South London Mental Health and
Community Partnership you are required to encourage and foster
collaborative and cross organisational working.
We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust.
We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’ - we aspire to be ‘outstanding’.
This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027.
We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together.We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.
We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.
Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.
About our location:
This post will be based at Avalon Ward Springfield Hospital
Unless expressly stated in the job advert this role is not subject to sponsorship, please be advised that all offers of employment are subject to evidence of right to work in the UK.
Clinical Skills
1. Working autonomously within the parameters of the role leading and supporting junior staff and wider care team to implement the delivery of quality nursing care, contributing to the physical, psychological, social, recreational and spiritual care in a recovery-focused way through therapeutic engagement and activities, and taking steps to address any issues that arise.
2. Leading on and undertaking activities to ensure that the fundamentals of care are met - nutrition, hydration, hygiene, comfort, emotional and social support:
Co-ordinating and evaluating collaborative patient centred care; getting
feedback and improving plans with the multi-disciplinary team (MDT).
Providing accurate information about care in an accessible format to patients and their relatives / carers.
Liaising and working positively with members of the multi- disciplinary team and partner organisations.
Administering, and monitoring the side-effects of, medication; monitoring
service user compliance.
Safety; safe custody of medicines, sharps, clinical equipment, report all
incidents following trust policy.
3. Leading and supporting/teaching junior staff on risk assessment and risk management that involves making decisions based on knowledge of the research evidence, knowledge of the individual service user and their social context, knowledge of the service user’s own experience and clinical judgment.
4. Supporting and supervising junior staff to develop the management of care needs through:
Initial data collection
Monitoring of individual service user / patient progress
Feedback and discussion
Producing reports and in-care reviews
Devising a plan of care and interventions in partnership with service user, carer and MDT
5. Coordinating junior staff and the wider care team in providing hands-on care to service users and evaluating processes of care delivered. This will include:
Undertaking 1-1 engagement with service users in an honest, open and non judgmental way.
Recognising and valuing service users as individuals, acknowledging the
importance of maintaining the service user’s respect and dignity at all times and ensure that the care provided respects equality and diversity.
Developing care plans that reflect service user needs and relevant patient care documentation working in partnership with service users, wider MDT and family/carers.
Ensuring the monitoring and recording service user clinical observations are undertaken, such as physical observations and vital signs and treating or escalating as appropriate any signs or symptoms of deterioration or that does not fulfill the personal parameters to the relevant professional for treatment. Promote healthy lifestyles and give health promotion advice and support.
Implementing the principles of ‘recovery’: encouraging and supporting service users to engage with healthy lifestyles, facilitating psychosocial activities and other activities of their interest. Where appropriate contributing to psychological interventions.
6. Escorting service users, as required, in line with Trust policies.
7. Advocating for service users’ needs and rights within Trust policy. Encouraging and empowering service users to have an optimum level of responsibility for their individual programme of care.
Knowledge and Frameworks:
8. Demonstrating an enhanced understanding of Mental Health signs and
symptoms and an understanding of how these may present in practice
including recognition of impact on patient presentation and behaviour
including risk factors. Supporting and teaching junior staff to develop
understanding of mental health signs and symptoms and develop appropriate responses to these in practice.
9. Recognising and responding appropriately to challenging behaviour in line with Trust policies and training. Leading and coordinating junior staff and the wider care team in the management of difficult situations and de-escalation and
developing resilience and strategies to manage, including on leading staff and patient ‘de-briefing’ sessions.
10. Demonstrating a depth of knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of the Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty and other legislation applicable to the practice area and how they are implemented in practice ensuring adherence to legislation at all times. Teaching junior staff to understand the legal frameworks that support their practice.
Communication:
11.Contributing to an effective communication process with appropriate and accurate information to patients, carers, family, friends and colleagues. Engaging and listening carefully and actively, and responding using appropriate language and accessible communication methods and skills. Developing communication skills to enable and support difficult conversations, acknowledging cultural differences and professional boundaries.
12.Demonstrating effective clinical communication and documentation to internal and external stakeholders ensuring: effective verbal and written handover of relevant and objective information. Demonstrating ability to determine key information, ability to recognise and describe effectively symptoms of mental illness, distress or of a deteriorating patient, and ability to escalate issues of concerns effectively and in a timely manner.
13.Contributing towards the on-going quality of service and care by managing the patient caseload, organising care including delegating tasks and duties appropriately to staff with relevant competency, identifying and mitigating any risk issues in relation to the service users’ health and social care. Informing the relevant Health care professionals if there are any significant:
Changes in the service user’s physical or mental state
Factors relevant to the service user Incidents related to the service user
14.Maintaining timely and accurate service user written/electronic records in line with Trust policy. Use care plans, pathway documents and Information System progress notes appropriately and in a timely manner.
15.Reporting, without delay, any safety or security concerns to maintain the safety of service users, carers, staff and others in line with Trust policy.
16.Understanding and contributing to the Trust risk assessment policy, including being aware of the need to follow all safeguarding procedures; being aware of the necessity to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults at all times when working with service users. Supporting junior staff to respond appropriately if there are any significant factors, or incidents relating to the safeguarding service user.
17.Maintaining confidential information in accordance with Trust Policies.
Teamworking and Professional development:
18.Protecting service users, self and others by maintaining a clean and healthy environment in accordance with health and safety and infection control policies. Ensuring safe working practices and working environment including monitoring and maintaining cleanliness of the service area and report, without delay, all hazards - real and potential. Leading audit and compliance activities and reports.
19.Working in ways that support shared responsibility within the team:
demonstrating support, respect and courtesy towards colleagues; working in a professional manner and with Trust values always in mind, respecting the boundaries of the relationship with service users/patients, carers and staff.
20.Leading, attending and participating in team meetings and contributing ideas to multi-professional team discussions.
21.Leading sessions on reflective practice for the wider care team to ensure effective patient care is based on evidence based practice and with Trust values in mind. Leading staff training and meetings including reflective practice groups and activities including the development of reflective portfolio.
22.Participating in supervision by nominated senior staff member, including annual review of performance as part of the appraisal (or PADR) system. Providing and coordinating and overseeing the supervision to Bands 2 – 5 nursing staff.
23.Demonstrating and promoting a clear leadership role to others and acting as role model to others at all times in accordance with Trust values.
24.Undertaking mandatory training as required by Trust policy plus support junior staff to complete Care Certificate, Trust Level 2 Apprenticeship if appropriate and other CPD training related to the role or area of work.
25.Supporting the team manager to conduct clinical or governance reviews of the team’s activity and the monitoring of performance and collating and disseminating the information to the appropriate individual. Contributing to relevant audit practice development on research activity that may be taking place in the work area.
26.Contributing in training and development programmes of staff and supporting the clinical placements of student nurses.
27.Supporting Band 5 nurses to lead for the assessment and co-ordination of the Care Certificate for all Healthcare Support Workers in the clinical area, particularly if reasonable adjustments need to be made to complete training and learning.
This advert closes on Wednesday 25 Feb 2026