Charge Nurses

If you are looking for the next step in your mental health career pathway, Rowan Ward (Older Adults) and Bluebell Ward (Working age adults) can offer a great environment that will enable you to develop your clinical and leadership skills as a Charge Nurse.

Our flexible working patterns consisting of short and long days give colleagues options that support an improved work life balance.

Rowan Ward specialises in dementia care and related mental health illnesses. Bluebell Ward supports adults with early onset and enduring mental health conditions including early psychosis, Bipolar affective disorder, depression, and schizophrenia.

Both wards can support up to 20 patients in a caring and compassionate environment.

Based at Prospect Park Hospital in Reading, the wards work closely with patients and families to help to identify their needs and participate actively in their care, while providing a place of empathy, kindness, and compassion.

This role attracts the Duty Senior Nurse (DSN) allowance of £2,000 pa. The core function of the DSN is to operationally manage the hospital on a rotational basis between the hours 06:45 – 09:00 hours or 16:30 – 20:00 hours. You will be responsible for ensuring safe staffing across the wards, be the first responder to emergencies, and be available to address any enquiries that may not relate to specific inpatients or wards. The role is broad, gives a great opportunity to develop leadership and problem-solving skills in a collaborative setting.

Act as a clinical team leader for a group of nominated staff. Take charge of the ward and be responsible for the overall management of the ward in the absence of both the ward manager or deputy manager .

Assist in the implementation of clinical / management supervision of junior staff within the ward area.

Take a lead role in the implementation of clinical care and the evaluation of nursing outcomes.

Assist the ward manage ment with planning efficient use of staffing resources on the ward. Ensure that staffing levels are safe and contain the necessary skills mix, showing due regard to the need for effective budgetary management.

Maintain effective systems of communication within the multi-disciplinary team and with patients and relatives.

Develop your leadership skills to become competent in fulfilling the DSN (Duty Senior Nurse) role on a rotational basis within 6-9 months of starting your role dependant on previous experience .

Be proactive in the production and implementation of new ideas and methods of care.

Ensure that the learning needs of students allocated to the ward are met, including the development of education packages.

This list is not exhaustive.

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated 'outstanding' by the CQC, we're committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we're committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.

Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:

Caring for and about you is our top priority

Committed to providing good quality, safe services

Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions

Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:

Flexible working options to support work-life balance

27 days' annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell

Generous NHS pension scheme

Excellent learning and career development opportunities

'Cycle to Work' and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles

Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services

Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants

Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality

Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave

Free parking across Trust sites

The "must haves" for you to be considered for this role:

Registered Mental Health Nurse

Mentorship or Practice Assessor qualification

Experience of working in a in a mental health setting, for at least 18mths

Evidence of continuing professional development and portfolio of evidence available

For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.

We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted.

We're committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.

We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don't hesitate to call: Stella Kigozi on or email: , who'll be happy to help.

Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.