Go back Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Lead Nurse - Mental Health - Band 8a
The closing date is 22 June 2025
Are you a registered mental health nurse with a commitment to providing dedicated, person-centred care?
We have an opportunity for you to lead an innovative team focused on enhancing care for individuals with additional needs.
We are seeking a compassionate and adaptable leader who excels in leading staff in a focused care environment, working with a limited number of patients or providing one-on-one support.
The team will work with teenagers and adults of all ages, who have presented with needs related to their mental health, learning disability, autism, substance misuse, delirium or dementia., Our vision is to improve the experience for both our patients and our staff, by ensuring that we have well-trained, substantive staff looking after our most vulnerable patients, rather than reactively requesting temporary staffing support
If you are patient, resourceful, and devoted to making a positive impact on the lives of vulnerable individuals, we would love you to apply.
Main duties of the job
Lead provision of specialised nursing care to inpatients with complex physical and mental health needs.
As Lead Nurse, you must ensure services are responsive, involve patients in planning, and reflect diversity.
Typically your role will:
* Provide clinical leadership for more junior staff within the multi-disciplinary team, offering specialist support and guidance, including advising on and conducting risk assessments to enhance the quality of life for patients with additional care needs in hospital settings.
* Lead the operational and clinical management of the Enhanced Care Team, providing leadership and line management to Band 7 staff member.
* Conducts specialist assessments, develops care plans, implements nursing interventions, and evaluates outcomes for service users with severe or complex mental health conditions in an inpatient environment.
* Manage services efficiently by establishing robust structures, reporting processes, procedures, and ensuring access to relevant information.
* Collaborate with service users, carers, Mental Health Liaison Teams (MHLT), and partner agencies to ensure optimal outcomes.
About us
You will be joining a newly formed team, focusing on the health and wellbeing of patients, both teenagers and adults with enhanced needs, at GHNHSFT.
Our goal is to improve patient experience by ensuring that all patients have the opportunity to rest and recover from their illness or injury, rather than leaving the hospital feeling more fatigued
This team's vision is to structure a patient's day to guarantee sufficient rest between care episodes and to maximize overnight sleep.
Recognising that caring for patients with additional needs can be both highly rewarding and emotionally taxing, you will ensure that the team has access to regular clinical supervision.
Leading a new team presents an exciting yet uncertain challenge. With everyone being new to the team, there is significant potential for creativity and innovation to enhance the experience of the patients under the team's care, as well as improving the environment for other patients who may struggle to sleep due to the agitation of a nearby patient.
Job responsibilities
1. Clinical Responsibilities/Key Responsibilities
Provides clinical leadership for junior staff within the multi-disciplinary team, offering specialist support and guidance, including risk assessments to improve quality of life for patients with enhanced care needs in hospitals.
Ensures adherence to Mental Health Act (MHA) legislation, using expert knowledge to develop pathways aligned with the MHA Code of Practice.
Leads operational and clinical management of the Enhanced Care Team, offering leadership and line management to Band 7 staff.
Conducts specialist assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of nursing care for service users with severe/complex mental health conditions in an inpatient setting.
Manages services effectively by establishing structures, reporting processes, procedures, and relevant information.
Collects and collates data for audit, research, and service performance purposes.
Collaborates with service users, carers, MHLT, and other agencies to ensure effective outcomes.
Oversees delivery of enhanced care nursing services across all inpatient settings including paediatrics, ensuring high-quality care and treatment.
Ensures the service meets national, local, and departmental quality and clinical standards.
Negotiates and develops individual complex care programmes diplomatically and motivationally.
Develops therapeutic programmes based on audit and evidence-based practice outcomes.
Develops effective working relationships within the immediate and wider multi-disciplinary team.
Makes and receives patient referrals from healthcare providers to ensure continuous care.
Participates in broad professional and service issue discussions at Ward/Dept/Unit meetings.
2. Professional Development, Education and Training (if applicable)
Knowledge of risk assessment, Health & Safety/Infection Control issues, adhering to Trust policies and the NMC code of conduct.
Engages in clinical supervision and professional development.
Serves as a role model, educator, supervisor, coach, and mentor for staff, ensuring updated clinical competence.
Create protocols and policies for enhanced care, ensuring safeguards are in place.
Assesses, plans, intervenes, and evaluates care for individuals with complex health needs according to standards and guidelines
Educates the multidisciplinary team on patient management and facilitates discharge planning, tailoring education to diverse audiences.
Promotes organisational learning to inspire staff.
Ensure team members have skills and knowledge for high-quality nursing care.
Supports continuous professional development for all staff and students.
3. Management and Leadership
Ensure performance management measures service delivery impact on user groups with outcome metrics.
Promote a proactive performance management culture within teams.
Implement processes to measure, improve, and monitor service delivery quality using complex data analysis.
Enhance team pathways' quality and responsiveness.
Innovate in delivering, monitoring, and evaluating strategies for improved service quality, considering local business planning.
Lead investigations, reports for complaints, Serious Incidents (SIs), and projects, ensuring actionable learning points and policy implications.
Maintain confidentiality and secure information while performing duties.
Be professionally accountable, delegate tasks, supervise practice, and plan complex activities requiring care plan formulation and adjustment.
Lead mental health assessments and review treatment processes.
Develop quality indicators for performance management reporting via evidence-based practice audits.
Produce qualitative and quantitative reports and audits showcasing quality to senior managers.
Model organisational values with a person-centred service approach.
Engage in peer review to transform practices and implement improvement strategies.
Seek feedback from individuals, families, carers, and colleagues for co-producing service improvements.
Demonstrate leadership, manage complex situations, and build confidence in others.
Be open to challenge and constructively challenge others, escalating safety and wellbeing concerns when necessary.
Review and interpret clinical policies based on their impact on patients needing enhanced care levels.
Deliver outcomes within strict clinical time frames and budget constraints
4. Research and Development
Conduct research to develop evidence-based strategies for enhancing quality, safety, productivity, and cost-effectiveness.
Evaluate and audit clinical practices, act on findings, and join Trust-wide audits.
Keep the nursing team updated on the latest research, policies, and best practices in mental health. Work with the MDT to foster a culture of research and evidence-based practice.
5. General Working Conditions
Occasional moderate physical effort (moving loads over 15kg) during a shift whilst manoeuvring, turning and repositioning patients.
Frequent distressing or emotional experiences with dealing with patients who are acutely unwell, and who may not survive.
Frequent exposure to blood and other body fluids as part of clinical role.
Working under pressure, effective and flexible time management Lone working, regularly in areas where personal safety may be compromised
Working with people in distress who on occasion may be suicidal, hostile, confused and have difficulty communicating and as a result may pose risks to themselves or the safety of others.
Long periods of intense concentration are required regularly throughout the shift.
Invasive procedures such as Intra-muscular injections with associated risk of injury and infection
Use of computer and VDU equipment
Rapid response to emergency situations i.e. Fire, Cardiac Arrest, Psychiatric where it may be necessary to use physical restraint.
Managing, making and implementing critical decisions on a weekly basis
Person Specification
Qualifications and Training
* Registered Mental Health Nurse with the Nursing Midwifery Council, with significant leadership experience
* Recognised Teaching and Assessing qualification or equivalent
* Trained in undertaking risk assessments and safe holding
* Leadership course
Clinical / Experience
* Enhanced knowledge and experience in the assessment of patients with enhanced mental health care needs.
* Experience / knowledge of enhanced risk assessment
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.
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
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