Matron

Main duties Clinical Responsibilities Provide a visible presence in the clinical areas and be accessible to patients, families and carers Undertake clinical shifts to maintain developed skills and clinical credibility. Develop clear processes and establish appropriate staffing models to meet patient demand within resources available Monitor national and local quality standards Educate staff in relation to Trust protocols and procedures Ensure the delivery of nursing care, which is benchmarked against best practice; using care quality indicators for performance monitoring Work with ward managers, ward staff and clinical teams to ensure high standards of clinical care are delivered to patients at all times Ensure that clinical environments maintain all infection and prevention and control Ensure that environmental cleaning standards are maintained and that compliance to cleaning audits and other inspection specifications are met within areas of responsibility Promote health through empowering patients, carers and their families and by offering appropriate health education, information and advice to enable them to make informed decisions about their care Leadership Be responsible for the direct line and performance management of identified managers Provide a clear, effective and appropriate leadership style that engages the team and ensures the Trusts vision is clear Maintain the teams performance management framework, taking appropriate actions, and ensuring there is clear communication of the team functions, standards and targets Ensure maintenance of clinical and care records in line with the Trusts policies and procedures Actively seek and identify strategies to improve efficiency and productivity, enabling an increase in clinical contact time and activity Proactively manage team and individual performance to ensure targets are achieved Effectively manage staff sickness and absence working to achieve sickness targets and taking action where required Work with the HR Business Manager, to ensure robust systems are established for the appraisal and continual development of all staff within the relevant specialties Promote the effective use of skills and flexibility through professional and personal development Work with the HR Business Partner to effectively and sensitively manage organisational change and employee relations issues Ensure that all nursing staff within the Directorate have clearly defined responsibilities and accountability and are working to agreed objectives and service plans Maintain a culture that engages and involves staff in decisions on how services are provided and on how quality targets are delivered Promote a strong patient focus in all service provision and support and encourage appropriate innovation in clinical and non-clinical practice and the way services are perceived by patients, recognising the increasing choice exercised by patients over treatment Ensure that a clear communication system is developed and maintained for all nursing staff so that all relevant information is passed to the appropriate personnel in a timely manner, including escalation plans where appropriate Represent the Trust on appropriate networks, working groups, committees and multi-agency forums as required, ensuring that health is an active partner Practice and Service Development Ensure service delivery and future developments are implemented in accordance with national policy Where required, participate in Trust wide service improvement projects. Engage with patients and carers to ensure that services provided and all planned service developments are of high quality and have the patient at the centre of their design Assist the Head Nurse, Clinical Director and General Manager, as required, to produce three and five year plans for the Directorate together with an annual service strategy (Directorate objectives), aligned to the Trusts key clinical principles and priorities Where appropriate, proactively engage in inter-agency working to develop and implement strategies/services that cross traditional organisational boundaries, encouraging a seamless health system from a patient perspective In conjunction with the Head Nurse, Clinical Director, General Manager, Clinical Leads, assume responsibility within the Directorate for the development and improvement of patient care through identifying and responding to opportunities for change that will lead to improvements and quality or efficiency and assist in the development of clinical practice Ensure there are systems in place to ensure that all staff participate in clinical supervision and clinical support Participate in clinical audit, benchmarking and sharing of good practice Facilitate changes to service provision to ensure safe and efficient patient pathways Working with the Directorate management team and Clinical leads ensure the sound operational management of all areas with robust, auditable systems Contribute to the identification of clinical govern