Chief Nursing Officer

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

OPERATING CONTEXT

South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust, George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, Wye Valley NHS Trust and Worcester Acute Hospital NHS Trust have established a Foundation Group through the creation of a Committee in Common (the Group Strategy Committee). The purpose of the Group is to support the ongoing sustainability of the Trusts and to facilitate the rapid development of integrated care in their localities. 

The Chief Nursing Officer will report to the Managing Director and will lead a portfolio associated with the Trusts’ nursing, midwifery and Allied Health Professional workforce and associated functions. The role is central in ensuring the organisations are clinically led, and engagement with the workforce is a key responsibility. 

The Chief Nursing Officer is a voting member of the Trust’s Board of Directors and will ensure that there is constant and visible Trust wide clinical leadership. 

Providing effective leadership, acting as a role model for our people and ensuring the development of a culture and core values for the Trusts to continuously improve and innovate are fundamental responsibilities. 

As a lead provider in Warwickshire, a key part of the role is supporting integration through the continued development of excellent working relationships with System and Place partners, in particular Primary Care. 

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

•        Board of Directors

•        Trusts’ Executive Team and Senior Managers

•        ICB, NHS England (and successor), Care Quality Commission, Health and Wellbeing Board, Overview and Scrutiny Committee

•        Local Authority and other local providers including Primary Care, Mental Health and Social Services

•        Local Voluntary and Representative Groups 

KEY RESULT AREAS 

Professional Leadership & Operational Responsibilities 

•        Provide professional leadership to the following groups of staff:

-          Nurses

-          Midwives

-          Allied Health Professionals

•        Develop and implement strategies to maximise the contribution which Nurses, Midwives and AHPs bring to the Trusts in line with our over-arching Trusts’ Strategies including promoting a culture of innovation and improvement.  

•        Focus professional groups on the delivery of excellent patient care, with the needs of patients and families at its centre, to the highest professional standards, acting always in the best interests of patients. 

•        Support and develop Nursing, Midwifery and AHPs to work effectively within the Trusts’ Triumvirate arrangements and promote collaborative approaches to partnerships working inside and outside the Trusts. 

•        Provide the highest standard of professional advice on all matters Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professional related. 

•        Ensure that high standards of care and service are delivered by Nurses, Midwives and AHPs in line with current best practice, quality governance standards and Trust policies and procedures. 

•        Act as the Lead Executive for volunteering and the key point of contact for the Patient Forum. 

Workforce 

•        Develop and deliver a workforce plan for the Nursing, Midwifery and AHP workforce, including supporting the development of the current workforce and identifying and supporting current and future leaders.   

•        Promote and develop a blended clinical workforce that embraces new roles, extends the scope of professional practice and allows individuals to work at the top of their licence. 

•        Work with local higher education establishments to provide training opportunities for students preparing for professional roles and develop this as a recruitment pipeline. 

•        Ensure that arrangements are in place to monitor professional registration and ensure compliance with the requirements of the NMC and HCPC are adhered to. 

•        Work with education partners to ensure post-registration professional development is delivered in the interests of the development of specialist roles and specific expertise. 

Governance 

•        Develop and deliver the Trusts’ approach to Integrated Governance to provide compliance and assurance from Ward to Board and back. 

•        Act as the Lead Executive on all matters relating to quality governance and ensure that governance processes are taken into account in Trust Management Board and Trust Board decision making.      

•        Act as the nominated individual and relationship manager with the CQC and lead the Trusts’ responses to inspections. 

•        Work with the Managing Director to lead the Trusts’ Risk Management Strategy, approach and policy and support in preparation and delivery of the Trusts’ Board Assurance Frameworks (BAFs) 

•        Act as Executive Lead for preparation of the Annual Governance statements and work with the Chief Executive to agree sign off.   

Quality Safety and Patient Experience 

•        In partnership with the Chief Medical Officer lead the quality and patient safety strategy for the Trusts, and continuously improve quality governance processes to maximise safety, and compliance with clinical standards. 

•        Ensure that processes are in place to determine compliance with external service/clinical standards from organisations such as NHS England, NICE and the Royal Colleges (not an exhaustive list). 

•        Ensure that suitable arrangements are in place to receive feedback and complaints from patients/members of the public and to provide appropriate compassionate responses in line with our values and behaviours. Ensure provision of a high quality agile and responsive Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) and use of tools such as the Friends and Family Test (FFT) 

•        Lead on patient experience and patient engagement ensuring that the patient and public voice is heard across the organisation. 

•        Lead the development and use of the Ward Accreditation programme. 

•        Work across the Foundation Group to identify and share best practice innovating and developing in the spirit of continuous improvement. 

•        Act as Executive Lead and champion for Maternity and Neonatal safety work programme. 

System Leadership and Partnership Working 

•        Develop strong and resilient professional relationships with leaders from partner organisations, collaborating to deliver the best outcomes for our patients and populations. 

•        Participate and, where appropriate, lead on the development of Place and System workstreams, working across providers and other partners and ensuring that we actively participate in the development of Neighbourhood Health. 

•        Support system-wide changes and support the Trusts to ensure they play their part in tackling healthcare inequalities across the populations we serve. 

Director of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) 

•        Act as Executive Lead for the Infection Prevention and Control Strategy, line managing the IPC teams and ensuring that policies are in place to manage and mitigate infection control risks, providing regular updates at Board and sub-committees. 

•        Ensure that the Trusts are compliant with all statutory, and regulatory requirements and operating to standards of clinical best practice and promote the highest standards of hygiene amongst staff, patients, visitors and members of the public. 

•        Take command responsibility for outbreak management and control as appropriate. 

Safeguarding 

•        Lead Executive for safeguarding adults and children (a delegated responsibility from the Chief Executive) and for the delivery of the National PREVENT programme. 

•        Act as the responsible Executive for safeguarding at Trust Board, providing regular reports to Trust Board and its Sub-Committees. 

•        Ensure that the Trusts are compliant with all statutory and regulatory requirements and operating standards of clinical best practice. 

On Call

·         To participate in the Trusts’ Executive on call rota and provide leadership, advice and guidance.