Job summary

Are you an experienced and dynamic leader looking for a new challenge?

Our Inpatient Unit is recruiting for a Fixed Term Deputy Sister/ Deputy Charge Nurse to join the team for a period of 18 months to work alongside the existing leadership team to deliver excellent and compassionate care to patients on our unit.

What we need from you:

Be highly motivated, dynamic and enthusiastic
Excellent communication skills
Be able to respond appropriately to emotionally challenging situations
Excellent nursing skills, record keeping and medicines management

Main duties of the job

As a Deputy Sister/ Deputy Charge Nurse, your duties will include:

Taking responsibility as Nurse in Charge on shift
Demonstrating leadership through clinical expertise, delivering high standards of person-centred care
Working with the team to develop a culture of reflective practice
Managing risk and balancing demands that come up on the Inpatient Unit
Communicating appropriately with all patients, their families and other staff
Being responsible for driving ongoing service development to ensure we continue to meet the needs of our diverse local population

Compliance with CQC Regulatory standards is essential and although experience in a palliative care setting is not essential you will be required to undertake specialist learning on commencement in the role.

This is maternity cover role for a period of 18 months and will be based on the IPU at the Main Hospice site. This is a full-time position working 37.5 hours per week on a 24/7 service which will include working nights, weekends and bank holidays on rotation and be a part of the clinical on-call rota.

What we can offer you:

Salary above NHS pay scales
Shift enhancements
Reimbursement of NMC fees
Up to 41 days Annual Leave
Opportunity to continue NHS pension and length of service based annual leave entitlement
Attractive pension scheme (non-NHS)
Golden Hello of £1,000 (after tax) as a special thank you and welcome to our team
Free car parking
Great CPD opportunities

About us

Our mission is to provide excellent care and support to those living with life-limiting illness and to the people they care about, to enrich their lives and to contribute to the ongoing development of end-of-life care. We do this by placing our patients at the centre of everything we do, and through involving patients and their families in all decisions regarding their care.

We can only achieve this with the help of our amazing colleagues, by developing and recognising their contribution, and by sharing our knowledge and skills through education, audit and research.

We do not have sponsorship status and therefore all our offers are made conditional upon our candidates submitting evidence of their right to work in the UK in conjunction with our other pre-employment checks.

Date posted

10 April 2025

Pay scheme

Other

Salary

£37,554 to £45,222 a year

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

18 months

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

B0343-25-0015

Job locations

St. Leonards Hospice

185 Tadcaster Road

Dringhouses

York

YO24 1GL

Job description

Job responsibilities

To provide effective clinical leadership, management, co-ordination and development of the In-Patient Unit, with emphasis on quality and clinical standards. Be able to act as a resource and support to other professionals, both internally and externally, on specialist palliative care issues.

Work as a member of the Hospice multi-disciplinary team to provide a high standard of skilled, compassionate nursing care and symptom management to patients giving support to them, their families and carers.

Main duties and responsibilities

Professional

1. Maintain a multi-disciplinary team approach to the individualised care of the patient and maintain high standards of nursing care, putting quality evidenced based care at the heart of practice.

2. Assess the holistic needs of the patient and his/her family considering his/her physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs.

3. Effectively prioritise and plan own workload and to be responsible for planning, delivering and evaluating the effectiveness of care given to patients, applying specialist judgement.

4. Maintain accurate written records of care, communicating all necessary information to other team members.

5. Participate fully in the setting, implementation and monitoring of formal standards of practice and to be involved, when required, in clinical governance and auditing for the service.

6. Be responsible for maintaining a high level of knowledge, skill and competence to care for dying people especially in relation to current drugs/therapies in the treatment of pain and other symptoms and administer medication according to the prescription chart.

7. Work with the team to develop a culture of reflective practice which can assist with learning and development from recent/past events.

8. Communicate appropriately with all patients and staff, liaise with other departments and agencies and attend departmental meetings as requested.

9. Maintain safe custody of the patients property/valuables according to Hospice policy.

10. Participate in the development of Hospice standards, policies and research as required.

11. Communicate appropriately with all staff in other departments, offering information, assistance and support.

12. Adhere to all infection, prevention and control procedures.

13. Participate in full rotation across all shifts including nights, weekends and bank holidays.

Managerial

1. Demonstrate leadership through clinical expertise, delivering high standards of person-centred care. To ensure that staff have a clear understanding of their duties and responsibilities and of the standards of performance expected.

2. Coordinate day to day service provision in the absence of, or in place of, the Senior Sister/Charge Nurse as required.

3. Promote a supportive working environment for all staff.

4. Take charge of a nursing shift as required to support the Senior Sister/Charge Nurse, organising staff as necessary to meet patient needs.

5. Maintain accurate records with regard to the administration of drugs in the patients home. To implement all statutory and SLH policies relating to medications management.

6. Lead, support and supervise the team through the process of change, demonstrating tenacity, drive professional integrity, balance and perspective.

7. Maintain collaborative working relationships and effective communications between all members of the multi-disciplinary team, to ensure a high standard of co-ordinated patient care.

8. Maintain high standards of safety within the unit, reporting any hazardous occurrences or equipment.

9. Report all accidents, incidents, complaints and untoward occurrences, keeping statutory and unit records as required. Be aware of responsibilities relating to the complaints procedure.

10. Observe fire precautions and procedures as outlined in the Hospice Policy.

11. Welcome both professional and lay visitors to the Hospice.

12. Observe unit policies on holidays, sickness and absence.

13. Exercise care and economy in the use of property and equipment and to ensure equipment is clean, safe and maintained in good working order.

14. Assist with the rostering of staff to ensure a good skill mix, including the use of bank staff and flexing of shift patterns as required to maintain safe patient care.

15. Be aware of allocated resources and contribute to effective budgetary control authorising supplies, invoices, rotas and absence forms as required.

16. Act as a resource to other professionals, both internally and externally, on specialist palliative care issues.

17. Manage incident reporting within the Inpatient Unit and work with the Director of Clinical Services and Senior Sister/Charge Nurse when there are identified areas for practice improvement.

18. Understand the serious incident policy and the responsibilities of prioritising safe patient care, attending and facilitating safety huddles.

Education

1. Achieve and maintain clinical competencies specific to the role and organisation, facilitating the development and achievement of competence in others.

2. Assist in the teaching of new staff so that they are able to function fully within the team.

3. Use evidence-based practice to develop and maintain a high quality of patient care and to ensure the continuous improvement of the service.

4. Participate in the allocation, teaching and guidance of visiting professionals eg Student Nurses on placements, Medical Students, Students Allied to Health and Post Graduate Students.

5. Communicate skills learnt on secondment or study leave to other members of staff.

6. Be involved with education of patients and their families regarding the various aspects of their health and wellbeing.