Senior Matron for Emergency and Acute Medicine

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Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, (LGT), is a community-focused provider of local and acute care, delivering high-quality services to over one million people living across the London boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich, and Bexley. We provide whole-life care and are here to support our communities to live healthier lives as well as taking care of them when they need us the most.

Employing almost 7,500 colleagues, affectionately known as Team LGT, we provide services at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, University Hospital Lewisham, and at over a dozen community settings in Lewisham. We also provide some services at Queen Mary's Hospital in Sidcup.

We have recently launched our new vision and values to mark the LGT10 - the tenth anniversary of our Trust forming in 2013. Our trust vision is to be exceptional. In the quality of our patient care; our support for colleagues; and in the difference we make through our partnerships and in our communities.

To achieve this we value Respect, Compassion, and Inclusion; Being accountable over staying comfortable; Listening over always knowing best; and Succeeding together over achieving alone. You can read more about our visions and values here

Our hospitals and community sites provide a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services, as well as emergency and planned care. The Trust is rated as "good" or "outstanding" in over three-quarters of the services inspected by the Care Quality Commission.

Every year our work includes performing 10,000 procedures in our theatres; bringing seven and a half thousand new lives into the world; carrying out 570,000 visits to patients in their homes or communities and providing emergency care for more than 300,000 patients arriving in our busy Urgent and Emergency Departments.

LGT is a centre for the education and training of medical students enrolled with King's College London's GKT School of Medical Education. We are a training centre for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals. We are pioneering new roles that will support the changing needs of our patients and are one of the largest employers of physician associates in the country.

We are committed to working with our partners to deliver the best outcomes for our local communities. This means playing an active role in the South East London Integrated Care System (ICS), and in formal partnerships including the South East London Acute Provider Collaborative, provider partnerships with our local mental health trusts and borough-based boards of the ICS in Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham.

Job overview

This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced nurse leader to join our team in the Acute and Emergency Services Team as Senior Matron.

The team encompasses the Emergency Department, Acute Medical admissions Unit, Same Day Emergency Care Unit, Cardiac and respiratory wards. Working closely with the Head of Nursing, Clinical Director and General Manager, you will support delivery of key strategic objectives around improving staff experience, achieving optimal performance and operational flow, and delivering high quality, safe patient care.

Main duties of the job

As the Senior Matron, you will provide innovative clinical and professional leadership to the nursing staff at all levels within the Directorate. Your responsibilities will include ensuring that effective governance arrangements are maintained, that nursing care is delivered to a high standard, and that nursing resources are managed efficiently. You will be supported by two 8a Senior Nurses and a team of Band 7 nurses working across various clinical areas. This position is busy and challenging, yet highly rewarding, with significant opportunities for development for the right candidate. You will receive support to excel in this role.

Working for our organisation

Our people are our greatest asset. When we feel supported and happy at work, this positivity reaches those very people we are here for, the patients. Engaged employees perform at their best and our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) initiatives contribute to cultivate a culture of engagement. We have four staff networks, a corporate EDI Team and a suite of programmes and events which aim to insert the 5 aspirations:

1. Improving representation at senior levels of staff with disabilities, from black, Asian, and ethnic minorities background, identify as LGBTQ+ and women, through improved recruitment and leadership development
2. Widening access (anchor institution) and employability
3. Improving the experience of staff with disability
4. Improving the EDI literacy and confidence of trust staff through training and development
5. Making equalities mainstream

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Care Provision

To always manage the quality of the provision of nursing care, within their wards / Emergency departments by:

• Holding the Departments/Wards, Matrons, Sister/Charge Nurse to account for delivery of their key performance indicators in clinical areas on Tendable.
• In conjunction with the Directorate's Divisional Director of Nursing and Head of Nursing ensure effective action is taken where nursing performance is at risk of falling below expected levels and standards are not maintained.
• Ensuring that the Trust's Nursing and Midwifery priorities are implemented locally.
• To lead and ensure action is taken on issues of staff discipline, grievance, poor performance and sickness, including dismissal.
• To assist in the role and maintenance of the Trust Compassion in Care project.
• Be accountable to the Head of Nursing for the overall quality of nursing care within the area, taking a proactive approach to performance management of quality issues.
• Ensure that Divisional audit programmes are consistent with service objectives.
• Be responsible for monitoring the quality of environmental services within the care area.
• Ensure that a Quality Monitoring Programme is fully implemented across and that action is taken to achieve and maintain quality standards in all areas.

Risk & clinical governance:

• Ensure patients are cared for in a clean and safe environment, including the appropriate decontamination of multi-use equipment, taking remedial action if standards are not maintained.
• Be champions for driving the infection prevention and control agenda and challenging poor practice.
• Take the lead on managing and monitoring complaints and adverse incidents, including serious untoward incidents. Liaise with the PALS Department regarding informal complaints and where possible actively diffuse complaints to avoid escalation and implementing action plans to prevent reoccurrence.
• Undertake root cause analysis and develop action plans, ensuring that this leads to change in practice.
• Ensure Risk Assessments are undertaken, and action plans implemented in the Emergency department and Ward areas within their remit.
• Lead on the implementation of patient safety strategies such as Tendable Ward audits, ITAP and CQC
• Share best practice and drive improvements in patient care through the Matrons' Forum.
• In conjunction with the ED Head of Nursing, the Senior Matron will be responsible for monitoring and maintaining excellent clinical standards within the clinical teams.

Professional leadership and staff management:

• Be a visible leader who is accessible to patients, visitors, and staff.
• Provide professional and clinical leadership within the Emergency Department and acute wards.
• Take forward and develop, the nursing and midwifery contribution to excellent service provision.
• Develop Departments Sister/Charge Nurse in leadership and management.
• Ensure that nursing staff comply with Trust-wide policies and procedures.
• Represent the Trust at local and National forums promoting achievements in patient care.
• Ensure that all staff working within the ward / department will receive education in infection prevention and control in line with Trust policy.
• Deputise for the Head of Nursing in their absence.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Registered nurse qualification
• Degree or equivalent clinical/advanced practice
• Master's Degree or working towards

Desirable criteria

• Evidence of post registration/ qualification Management/Leadership qualification

Experience

Essential criteria

• Clinical expertise relevant to the post.
• Minimum of 3 years' experience working at Band 8 or equivalent in an Emergency and acute setting.
• Achievement of high quality patient care through evidence based practice • Management of finances within a budget, including delivery of cost improvements
• Ability to think and plan strategically, operationally and creatively and to prioritise work programs in the face of competing demands

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• A good understanding of the changing NHS environment Highly developed written and verbal skills
• Ability to be intellectually flexible and to look beyond existing structures, ways of working, boundaries and organisations to produce more effective and innovative service delivery and partnerships
• A strong sense of personal and team accountability coupled with a clear understanding of the boundaries around delegated authority

Desirable criteria

• Ability to work on service development projects

Personal Qualities

Essential criteria

• Excellent inter-personal and communication skills High level of work organisation, self-motivation, drive for performance and improvement Flexibility in approach and attitude
• Able to work with staff at all levels across the Trust Self confident, assertive and pro-active Attentive to detail Able to work to tight deadlines and cope under pressure

We reserve the right to close the post before the stated closing date, please apply early. We do not contact applicants with the outcome of the shortlisting. If you have been shortlisted, you will receive an invite to an assessment day or interview.

As a local employer and anchor institution we work closely with our community to recruit locally and we welcome applications from the widest variety of people to ensure our workforce are reflective of the local communities which we serve. We encourage all suitable candidates to apply including if you are Black, Asian or other ethnic minorities, live with a disability (visible or not) or are LGBT+. We have a number of active staff networks including Disability, LGBT+, Multicultural Inclusion and Women's staff networks to bring staff together and celebrate diversity across our whole workforce.

Please note, not all roles will meet the criteria for a skilled worker visa.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

• candidate information pack (PDF, 800.3KB)
• Working at LGT (PDF, 4.2MB)