Ward Manager

Job Overview

Nile Ward is a male psychiatric intensive care unit at St Charles Hospital. It has 12 beds for adults aged 18 to 65, including individuals with learning disabilities, and occasionally admits adolescents aged 16 to 18.

The ward provides specialist mental health care and treatment for individuals experiencing acute distress or presenting a high risk of absconding, who require a more secure environment than can be offered on an open psychiatric ward. Higher staffing levels enable intensive support and intervention to stabilise patients and address concerns promptly.

As Ward Manager, you will lead and support the wider MDT to create an environment that recognises and values service users’ cultural backgrounds, life experiences, protected characteristics, and personal strengths, in order to promote their recovery.

The culture and ethos within our PICU prioritise the co-production of care as a fundamental element of each service user’s recovery journey. The MDT works collaboratively with service users, their carers, clinicians, specialist practitioners, and external agencies to ensure recovery care plans are individualised, co-produced, therapeutic, and effective.

Main duties of the job

Below are the key responsiblities:

• Management of Nursing Care and Practice

Management of Financial and Material Resources

Management of Clinical Standards

Management of Human Resources

Patient Flow

Personal Development and Freedom to Act

Management of Information and Communication

Management of the Environment

Working for our organisation

Central and North West London (CNWL) NHS Foundation Trust is one of England's largest NHS Trusts.

With great size, comes fantastic opportunities, to develop, innovate and progress.

Along with the fully established benefits such as Monthly supervision; Annual personal development plans/appraisals; Support and guidance with Revalidation; Hidden Gem and annual award ceremonies. We are also able to offer access to a full range of internal and external training opportunities across our services.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

Management of Nursing Care and Practice

• To provide overall responsibility for the management in partnership with Service Manager for the ward.
• Contribute to the development of policies, procedures, and guidelines specific to PICU environment in line with national guidelines.

Lead your team in delivering outreach support for staff on the acute ward, assisting with the management of patients who do not meet PICU admission criteria but require guidance and support to be cared for safely.

To deliver effective operational and clinical leadership and direction to the ward team and work closely with the multi professional teams.

Oversee a service user's care pathway, utilising available resources and Patient Journey framework and lead the team in its implementation.

Ensure systems are in place to support user and carer-centred involvement in the everyday activities on the ward.

Ensure that nursing staff receive regular supervision and appraisal, and are offered essential and developmental training in accordance with their personal development plans, and the needs of the service.

To manage a range of processes and systems, across the ward to support the effective running of the ward and clinical care pathways.

Ensure that all service users are made aware of, encouraged, and assisted to use all services available to them, in particular, those in the community.

Management of Financial and Material Resources

Ø To manage all budgets within the post holder’s span of control and make best use of available workforce resources based on agreed staffing models.

Ø Ensure ward finances are managed within allocated budget, including recruitment of staff.

Ø All absences, b

ank and agency are managed within budget and Trust guidelines.

Ø Communicate with all staff how they can contribute to the efficient management of financial and material resources.

Ø Identify and deal with cost pressures which may have an impact on the financial expenditure of the ward. The post-holder will be expected to notify any such situations of the service manager if they cannot be dealt with at a local level.

Ø To ensure services are cost effective and delivered within budget

Ø To deliver robust financial management in line with Directorate and Trust targets, including Cost Improvement Programs

Ø Effectively manage the delegated budgets within area of responsibility, assisting in the delivery of annual cost reduction/improvement plans identifying improved efficiencies communicating these to all managers as required.

Management of Clinical Standards

Ø To act as a Clinical Leader with continuing clinical responsibility within the designated clinical areas, ensuring that services provide high quality evidence-based nursing assessment, care planning, interventions and evaluations for patients.

Ø Set, monitor and evaluate overall standards of care and practice on the ward in liaison with the Clinical Service Manager, Head Of Pathway, Head Of Nursing, Nurse Advisor, Modern Matron/QSN, and other agencies.

Ø Ensure that all practices and interactions on the unit are based on the preservation and respect of service

users' dignity, individual and cultural identity wishes (whenever possible) and are in accordance with the maintenance of individuals' independence.

Ø Ensure that all staff are aware of the standards of professional behaviour expected on the unit by the Trust.

Ø Ensure that the service provides continuity out of hours, appropriately relating to the senior manager on-call and out of hours medical team.

Ø Work closely with the multidisciplinary team and involve them in all relevant day to day decisions, strategy and business planning, and maintain close liaison with the Service Manager and Clinical Director when difficulties arise.

Ø To ensure services meet care quality and performance management standards and are compliant with all regulatory requirements and standards.

Ø To ensure that services are continually monitored, reviewed and adapted to meet changing service user need

Ø To ensure the delivery of clinical and care quality standards and objectives

Management of Human Resources

• To ensure effective performance management and professional and clinical leadership of the workforce
• Maintain the efficient use of staffing resources on the ward, ensuring that staffing levels are safe, appropriate and contain the necessary skill mix on each shift, but recognising and supporting Improving Working Lives within the confines of a safe service.

The post-holder will ensure that each member of staff is fully aware of their responsibilities and has a personal development plan which is based on a balance between the needs of the individual and the service.

Manage the overall development of the ward team, encouraging staff to contribute their views and ideas as appropriate.

Implement all Trust policies and Human Resource Management, and ensure staff are aware of how to access this information.

Delegate duties and responsibilities to other staff as appropriate to assist in the operation of the unit and to aid the development of individual staff.

To use the Practitioner’s specialist skills, knowledge and resources to provide learning opportunities for staff within designated areas.

Patient Flow

• The post holder will be the central point for all referrals for the PICU and will be working within an integrated team alongside discharge coordinator and bed management team to ensure effective patient flow which includes reducing the length of inpatient stay.
• Assessing all referrals and providing prompt feedback to the referrer in accordance with NAPICU and Trust guidelines.

Coordinate and support planning of, outcome of and change in circumstance for expected DTAs, bed requests, planned and MHAA.

Providing a consistent approach to all patients in regards to patient flow systems/processes and enable a seamless bed management/discharge coordination pathway.

Management of the Environment

• Ensure that the ward environment adheres to PEAT standards at all times. This will involve monitoring the services provided by other departments in accordance with the adopted procedures and will involve liaison with the Trust’s Facilities Department and other relevant personnel.
• Ensue that the Health and Safety at Work Act is adhered to by all staff. The post-holder will have particular responsibility for ensuring that all staff receive any training necessary in order to meet the requirements of the Act. (eg. fire training, first aid, food hygiene, etc.). The post-holder will be responsible for taking immediate action to deal with any problem which might affect service user, visitor or staff safety. This will involve liaison with the relevant Health and Safety Co-ordinator.
• Ensure local response in managing incidents by using the Trust Incident Policy and implementation outcomes to change and improve practice.
  
  

Management of Information and Communication

• Develop and maintain procedures which result in good communication between the multidisciplinary team and other agencies.
• Arrange and in some instances chair relevant meetings involving other agencies, patients and carers when necessary to facilitate good communication.
• The post-holder will lead the team in setting, implementing and monitoring realistic and achievable objectives for the ward team in accordance with the aims and objectives of the service.
• Attend meetings and forums, representing the ward at various levels both within the Trust and with external agencies, ensuring that all staff are kept fully briefed on any new developments etc. The post-holder may be required to participate in specific inter-agency work relevant to the service.
• Ensure that all communication (verbal or written) between the ward and other departments or agencies is of a high standard both in its content and presentation.
  
  

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• UK NMC Registered Mental Health
• Mentorship/Teaching & assessing qualification

Relevant post registration health care and/or management qualifications

Desirable criteria

• VQ Assessor/Recovery training Non-Medical Prescriber
  
  

Experience

Essential criteria

• Significant experience at Clinical Team Leader Band 6 or above.
• Budget and resource management understanding.
• Experience of providing management supervision and appraisal
• First line management, leadership & PICU experience.
• Competent in receiving and providing clinical supervision and reflective practice
• Competent in operating CPA systems.
• Able to demonstrate experience at a senior clinical level including some staff management /supervision experience.
• Experience of working within a multi-disciplinary team
• Evidence of providing leadership in a Mental Health care environment including service development.
• Mentoring experience
• Experience with risk assessment and ongoing management.
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working with other client groups and of using a variety of models and approaches to care.
• Experience of managing non-clinical staff and other professionals

Experience of staff performance management.

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Working knowledge of all relevant legislation associated with acute mental health care
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge of performance management procedures.
  
  

Skills

Essential criteria

• Highly developed leadership skills with the ability to motivate and inspire others
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Ability to present complex information to various audiences.