Job overview
We have an excellent opportunity for a Deputy Head of Nursing to join the Cardiovascular Directorate at Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.
The Cardiovascular Directorate has a number of services of national and international reputation. The portfolio covers a number of high-profile specialties including Interventional Cardiology, Electrophysiology / Arrhythmia, Structural Valve, Heart Failure, Inherited Cardiac Conditions, Adult Congenital Heart Defects, Vascular Surgery and Cardiac Surgery.
The directorate is responsible for the oversight of 6 wards and 5 catheter laboratories and employs over 750 WTE staff made up of diverse range of professions. These include Medical Staff, Nurses, Allied Health Professionals, Clinical Psychologists, Physician Associates and Admin and Clerical staff.
We are looking for a talented, passionate and experienced senior nursing leader with experience in workforce management, patient safety and and service development, who can demonstrate strong clinical and strategic leadership, with the ability to communicate effectively across multi-professional boundaries as well as create an enviable culture of caring and compassion.
Main duties of the job
The Deputy Head of Nursing works within the Directorate Management Team to provide senior leadership for all of the services in the directorate to deliver our wide-ranging strategic, quality and transformational objectives.
The Deputy Head of Nursing will work with and support the Head of Nursing and will be instrumental in delivering on all aspects of governance, risk, professional and operational leadership. You will support the Head of Nursing to ensure the consistent delivery of evidence-based, safe and effective nursing, infection prevention, and safeguarding standards.
The successful candidate will have experience in clinical governance and human resources management, demonstrate an understanding of the nursing contribution and role in relation to performance of the directorate and have a leadership style which inspires others to develop and drive the teams to reach their potential.
The successful candidate will be expected to provide compassionate and visible leadership and be able to create a culture of excellence, driving forward service improvements whilst maintaining patient-centred care. We are looking for a dynamic and committed nurse, with the ability to communicate effectively across multi-professional boundaries.
Working for our organisation
Guy’s and St Thomas’s NHS Foundation Trust comprises five of the UK’s best known hospitals – Guy’s, St Thomas’, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield – as well as community services in Lambeth and Southwark, all with a long history of high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation.
We are among the UK’s busiest, most successful foundation trusts. We provide specialist care for patients including heart and lung, cancer and renal services as well as a full range of local hospital and community services for people in Lambeth and Southwark.
We have a long tradition of clinical and scientific achievement and – as part of King’s Health Partners – we are one of England’s eight academic health sciences centres, bringing together world-class clinical services, teaching and research.
We have around 22,700 staff, making us one of the largest NHS Trusts in the country and one of the biggest employers locally. We aim to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve and continue to develop new and existing partnerships with local people, patients, neighbouring NHS organisations, local authorities and charitable bodies and GPs.
We strive to recruit and retain the best staff as the dedication and skills of our employees lie at the heart of our organisation and ensure that our services are of the highest quality, safe and focused on our patients.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Specific Roles and Responsibilities will agreed between the DHoN and HoN but will include the following:
Performance Management and Leadership
1. To have responsibility for the clinical governance agenda across the Directorate ensuring the services are delivering within their areas of responsibility and that nursing performance and quality of service delivery does not fall below expected levels and standards
2. Provide leadership in Clinical Governance forums within the Directorate and be the Directorate representative at Trust Governance forums.
3. To be a key player in leading the discharge agenda across the Directorate working closely with the multi-disciplinary team to ensure effective working, clear care pathways and protocols.
4. Work with service and department managers, identifying any developmental needs whilst maintaining high quality standards of care. Ensure necessary support mechanisms are in place.
Clinical Leadership
5. To ensure effective clinical practice and the highest of professional standards from the clinical and professional workforce.
6. To lead a culture of professional accountability and responsibility to patients, ensuring that staff learn from complaints, near misses, clinical incidents and all forms of patient feedback. To ensure that any investigations are appropriately undertaken and that root cause analysis informs action plans which are properly implemented and monitored.
7. To ensure that robust personal and clinical supervisory processes are in place and recorded appropriately. To ensure that appraisal systems reflect service and organisational priorities and individual learning and development needs of staff.
8. To lead motivate and develop staff to achieve the highest levels of performance and to lead the development of improved productivity initiatives.
9. Lead and continue to develop the service, establishing a culture which focuses on responsiveness, multi-disciplinary and multi-agency working, and high standards of performance and quality.
10. Contribute and deliver the wider admissions avoidance and out-of-hospital care agenda.
11. Play a key role in service transformation in inpatient areas and specialist services developing and leading effective partnership working across health and social care providers, GP practices, multidisciplinary teams, voluntary/third sector organisations and commissioners.
12. Ensure that the patient experience is of the highest quality, inspiring patient and public confidence and that all patients are treated with compassion, dignity and respect.
13. To deputise for the Head of Nursing as required.
Quality Assurance
14. Ensure evidence-based practice is embedded in the practice of all staff and oversee the implementation of relevant national and local guidance and standards.
15. Ensure senior clinicians maintain high professional standards through professional supervision and competency development, the GSTT appraisal process and clinical supervision to meet agreed core nursing and service objectives in line with CQC standards and requirements of professional registration bodies via the revalidation process.
16. Ensure clinical governance & quality assurance systems and monitoring are in place in all service areas.
17. Deliver a co-ordinated approach to quality, risk management, audit and positive performance management delivering a set of reports that includes a balanced scorecard which achieves reliable key performance indicator data, for managers, commissioners and clinicians.
18. Ensure infection control standards across all areas meet national guidelines, and are monitored with effective action taken.
19. Manage and respond to complaints and adverse incidents
Communications and Partnership Working
20. Be responsible for delivering effective communications to all staff, stakeholders and colleagues.
21. To create and facilitate effective networks and partnership, inside and outside the trust, include integrated working with other local and social health care providers, and independent providers in the development of clinical care pathways.
22. To work closely with senior managerial and clinical colleagues to ensure joined up approach to care, development of whole system care pathway.
23. Lead on meaningful involvement of patient and public at all levels of service provision, working closely with local groups carers groups, and engaging users in the change programme wherever possible.
Strategy and service improvement
24. To participate in service improvement projects and programmes that contribute to the modernisation of patient services providing both professional and clinical advice as necessary.
25. To take a clinical leadership role in the development, redesign and implementation of intermediate care pathways, in conjunction with clinical colleagues and the multidisciplinary team.
26. Work in close partnership with appropriate Matrons, Clinical Leads and Service Managers to ensure all local, corporate and national initiatives and targets are met.
27. Identify and take forward the specific contribution nursing can make to the development of the service
Education and training
28. Support the development and implementation of education and training programmes within area of responsibility for nurses, ensuring effective use of education commissioning system.
29. Be responsible for developing own skills and knowledge and contribute to the development of others.
30. Work in collaboration with the Matrons, Sisters/ Charge Nurses to regulate training and development of all staff.
Professional standard and patient experience
Promote excellent standards in all departments through:
31. Promotion of a nurturing environment for patients, relatives, visitors and staff through monitoring, measuring and actioning and evaluating.
32. Advocating for patients at all times.
33. Regular ward rounds and monitoring observations of care.
34. Visible and accessible in clinical settings, contributing to patient care, clinical Fridays
35. Ensuring patient feedback in the departments through the use of Comment Cards, displaying results and responding to adverse outcomes
36. Driving the privacy and dignity challenge.
37. Provide leadership on clinical supervision for nurses across the directorate
38. Lead the implementation of the safety initiatives across the directorate
39. To provide professional leadership on medicines management, protocols and PGDs across nursing teams.
40. Provide leadership across the Directorate for key domains for CQC.
Please see attached Job description for full details
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
41. Registered Nurse
42. A Masters Level qualification or post graduate qualification in nursing or equivalent experience
43. Leadership and Management qualification or equivalent experience
Desirable criteria
44. Post qualification in Cardiovascular care
45. Mentorship/Teaching qualification
Experience
Essential criteria
46. Substantial post qualification experience as senior nursing manager or equivalent, managing nursing teams.
47. Demonstrable previous success in leading and delivering change, and performance by engaging clinical teams in strategic direction
48. Proven ability to analyse complex problems, to develop and successfully implement practical and workable solutions to address them.
49. Knowledge and ability to implement principles of clinical governance (audit, risk management, clinical effectiveness, quality standards and outcomes.
Desirable criteria
50. Substantial experience in Cardiovascular care
51. Workforce review and redesign
Skills and additional information
Essential criteria
52. Highly developed leadership and influencing skills
53. The ability to work under extreme pressure and achieve deadlines
54. Excellent inter-personal and communications skills
55. Experience of managing and configuring budgets
Values and Behaviour
Essential criteria
56. Values and Behaviour
Guy’s and St Thomas’ celebrates, respects and values the diversity of its staff and patients. We review our policies, procedures and practices to ensure that all employees, patients and carers are treated equitable according to their needs. We are actively committed to ensuring that no one who applies for a job, works or study’s at the Trust, or accesses our services is discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, religion or belief, age, gender identity, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, or marital/civil partnership.