About this role
Job summary
We're are currently in the process of reopening bed capacity within our Inpatient Services unit and looking for an additional motivated and compassionate Sister to join our hospice team. This is a key leadership role for a nurse with strong clinical expertise, confidence in guiding others, and a commitment to delivering exceptional care for patients and their families.
As part of our multi-disciplinary team, you'll provide high quality palliative and end-of-life care within our Inpatient Unit. You'll bring enthusiasm, flexibility, and excellent communication skills, working collaboratively to maintain the highest standards.
Main duties of the job
Using excellent nursing skills, being a leader with outstanding interpersonal skills, endurance and empathy you'll make both staff and patients feel cared for and supported. You'll be able to provide attention to detail, be a problem solver and care for our teams and families. You will be an integral part of an amazing multi-disciplinary team, working with doctors, clinical and pastoral care teams, therapists, physios and great support teams. Together you'll ensure a high standard of provision of care for patients requiring palliative and end of life care.
You'll be part of a team of 3 Sisters, providing day to day leadership, management and continuous improvement of the delivery and services of the Inpatient Unit.
You must be NMC registered and have eligibility to work within UK.
About us
Thames Hospice is an independent adult hospice with a beautiful 28 bed hospice at Bray Lake in Maidenhead with views of the lake and state of the art facilities.
We support people aged 16 and over who are living with life-limiting conditions such as cancer, neurological conditions, and organ failure, by combining specialist medical care for managing pain and other symptoms with other emotional, practical and spiritual support. We provide care on our Inpatient Services wings, and also virtually and in person though our community hub and in peoples home though our Hospice at Home service.
Culture
We look for people who really care about their work and have huge amounts of compassion to give. If you want to work as part of a culture which develops your skills and values, and builds your confidence to be the best version of yourself, then this is the right place for you. We work hard to look after our people, our patients, our families and our reputation.
All patients are Thames Hospice patients and therefore we always support the patient and their family irrespective of our individual role. We represent the wider charity and clinical model at all times.
Our organisational values are
C - Care
A - Ambition
R - Respect
E - Excellence
Job description
Job responsibilities
Main Tasks
Service Delivery
- 1. To lead the IPS when on shift, acting as a role model and provide support and advice to staffon the delivery of care including symptom management
- 2. To offer timely and individual care based on need, using referral criteria, regular patientassessment, re-assessment and discharge criteria as appropriate
- 3. To communicate fully and effectively with patients, their families and professional colleagues toensure a safe and needs led care pathway
- 4. To work as a member of the multi-disciplinary team and promote multi-disciplinary working atall times. To attend MDT meetings as required and give feedback on patients
- 5. To maintain accurate healthcare records, written and computer based, in line with ThamesHospice organisational policy and professional requirements
- 6. To develop communication links with external care agencies, GPs and community teams andsenior clinical staff within acute trusts to facilitate best working practice and service provision
- 7. To participate in training, development and mentorship of staff, student nurses and externalstakeholders as required
- 8. In conjunction with the Practice Educator and IPS manager, develop and monitorcompetencies for Registered Nurses, Nursing Associates and Health Care Assistants byregularly working with them as part of a shift
- 9. To deliver training on clinical competencies in line with the education team
- 10. To ensure the IPS is adequately staffed safely according to the staffing model at all times bymanaging the nursing rota
- 11. To proactively monitor the equipment on IPS in conjunction with maintenance team and informthe IPS manager when equipment needs replacing
- 12. To participate in audits of the service, and identify if improvements and/or changes areneeded to enhance patient care and experience
- 13. Ensure compliance with Health and Safety procedures and to report accidents, incidents andcomplaints in area of responsibility as per procedure, participating in investigations as required
- 14. To ensure staff understand and work to the processes for role boundaries and patientconfidentiality
- 15. To work with the Education and relevant teams to provide training and mentorship for newmembers of staff
- 16. To work closely with the IT department to ensure the inpatient service are fully trained andcompetent within this area for what they need
- 17. Be involved in incident and accident reporting, elevating and learning from data.
- 18. Attend meetings in the absence of the IPS Manager and report back.
People Management
- 19. To ensure all staff feel supported, cared for and able to deliver excellent care to our patients
- 20. Lead and line manager IPS staff in line with Thames Hospice policies and procedures
- 21. To ensure that all staff under direct line management receive high quality and regular 1-1s s andabout me conversations
- 22. To assist the IPS manager with the recruitment, engagement and retention of staff, includingparticipating in team meetings and other team events
- 23. Youll support the physical and mental health of those that you line manage during their careers
- 24. Support the registered nurses with revalidation
A job description is not a rigid or inflexible document but acts to provide guidelines to the dutiesexpected while in post. It will be reviewed as appropriate with the post holder.
We are committed to being an equal opportunities organisation. It is committed to promoting equalopportunities and preventing discrimination. This policy applies to both its service delivery and to itsown employment practices. Our Values are the essence of our culture and inspire our behaviour.
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Specialist knowledge and experience
- Registered Nurse
- Evidence of broad nursing experience including palliative care
- Knowledge and understanding of current developments in palliative care
- Hold or willing to work towards a credit bearing award in End of Life Care and Mentorship
- Knowledge of national CQC monitoring requirements
- Experience of undertaking nursing assessments and care planning for patients, including those with complex needs
- Evidence of sound clinical decision making, independently, and as part of the multidisciplinary team
- Willingness and ability to demonstrate commitment to Thames Hospice Values
- Demonstrable skills in written and spoken English that are adequate to enable effective communication about nursing /topics with patients and colleagues.
- Leadership and management
- Experience of managing change, services and staff
- Experience of performance management. This should include setting objectives, monitoring performance, conducting appraisals and seeking development opportunities for others
- Able to provide clear direction and use an appropriate range of leadership styles to suit the situation
- Experienced in identifying and managing conflict
- Team working
- Experienced in maintaining effective relationships with colleagues
- Ability to quickly build a rapport and establish professional relationships with others, based on trust and understanding
- Organisation
- Experience of managing staff rotas
- Ability to organise time effectively, creating work schedules, prioritising workload and meeting deadlines
- Communication
- Experience of communicating effectively with all members of the multidisciplinary team, both verbally and in writing
- Experience of communicating effectively with patients, carers and families, both face to face and on the telephone
- Analytical
- Experience of using multi-professional records to fully and accurately document patient care and interactions
- Personal drive, commitment and resilience
- Enthusiastic, committed and able to use initiative, ensuring delivery of objectives
- Commitment to ensuring the patient is central to all decisions about, and the provision of, care
- Able to remain calm and in control when under pressure
- IT skills
- Ability to use and be a lead on Ashtons, EMIS, Vantage, Teams and Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, and Outlook. Knowledge of the workings of databases.
- Special Conditions
- Appointment is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Check including barred lists
- Post holder immunised for Covid-19, Hepatitis B, MMR, Tuberculosis and Chickenpox
- The post holder must maintain an active professional portfolio in order to be able to revalidate every 3 years in accordance with the current NMC guidelines
Qualifications
Essential
- Registered Nurse (Adult or Mental Health)
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details
Employer name
Thames Hospice
Address
Windsor Road
Maidenhead
Berkshire
SL6 2DN
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.thameshospice.org.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)