Ward Sister

Job overview

A position has become available for a Sister/Charge Nurse for the Centre for Urgent Care (CUC) at the Sutton site of The Royal Marsden Hospital.
This is an exciting opportunity for a suitably experienced registered nurse who is highly motivated and enthusiastic, with a keen interest in caring for Acute Oncology patients.
The post holder will lead the Nursing team in providing care to patients. The post holder should work effectively within a team environment, have good communication skills, initiative, demonstrate enthusiasm about the role and share our passion and vision for providing high quality patient care. We are looking for highly motivated candidate to come and join our specialised team.
We have a friendly and flexible team of nurses already within the unit and are looking to recruit a forward thinking individual who will continue to foster, demonstrate and encourage moral leadership and innovative practice within the multidisciplinary team.
The CUC operates Monday to Friday and provides advanced nursing services to Royal Marsden Hospital patients presenting with acute symptoms linked to their condition or treatment, supports those on ambulatory pathways, and offers care for elective patients scheduled for supportive care treatments such as blood transfusions and IV antibiotics.
This role includes daily management and coordination of CUC operations. Additionally, the Sister/Charge Nurse will participate as a member of the Acute Oncology Service (AOS) Team, collaborating with AOS consultants and Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs). Candidates should be Registered Nurses with relevant experience in patient assessment, clinical decision-making, diagnostics, and ward or unit management. The position also involves contributing to service improvement initiatives within CUC and supporting transformation programmes throughout the Trust.
For more information about the post or to arrange an informal visit, please contact Camilla Boyd (Matron) on extension 4492.

Main duties of the job

As the Ward Manager you have responsibility for the safe and effective running of the Unit, managing demand within current financial expectations. You will be responsible for the recruiting, developing and retainment of your staff and must encourage an open, no blame culture of reporting.

Key responsibilities of the job include but are not limited to:
- Planning and co-ordinating the quality and management of nursing care, patient care and the clinical environment
- Roster management
- Quality improvement objectives
- Ensuring the Unit complies with statutory regulations, current legislation and meets quality standards
- Responsibility for efficient and effective use of nursing resources
- Leadership
- Visible presence
- Education
- Responding to complaints
- Managing challenging situations

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Provide clinical leadership and maintain credibility through practice and professional update.
• To evaluate the door to needle time of one hour for patients with suspected neutropenic sepsis (Neutropenic Sepsis Pathway Audit Form)
• Work with the Acute Oncology Team to further establish the Acute Oncology Service (Chelsea and Sutton) within the Trust to comply with national guidance re: Metastatic Spinal Cord Compression
  (MSCC), Neutropenic Sepsis and other acute oncological emergencies.
• To implement the Acute Oncology Measures published in the Manual for Cancer Services
• To utilise the findings of nursing research to optimise high quality care.
• Act as an expert AOS nurse and resource for patients, families and staff.
• Admit and discharge patients as their needs require.
• Perform Health Assessment of patients, including obtaining the history; conducting the physical examination and assessment of psychological wellbeing and carrying out treatments in line with
  local and national guidelines.
• Order, interpret blood tests and initiate appropriate action as required.
• Order diagnostic tests as appropriate.
• Maintain own clinical skills including venepuncture, cannulation and accessing CVADs to give care to patients.
• Prescribe/administer medication within the remit of group protocols/patient group directives and/or non-medical nurse prescribing.
• Facilitate the further development of clinical skills for all nurses caring for patients.

Person specification

Education / Qualifications

Essential criteria

• NMC registration
• First Level registration with experience in a cancer care / acute care environment
• Bachelor’s degree or studying at degree level supplemented by specialist training/experience or working towards
• Venepuncture/Cannulation
• Experience/ training in physical assessment skills or willingness to undertake.

Desirable criteria

• Teaching/Mentoring qualification and/or experience
• Recognised cancer nursing Qualification

Experience

Essential criteria

• Understanding and aptitude for clear communication and triage skills
• Appreciation of the role of lead nurse and the associated responsibility and accountability
• Ability to communicate to customer care initiatives and incorporation of cultural values into practice
• Excellent interpersonal skills with particular ability to show empathy and consideration of others
• Ability to work in a team
• Good organisational and time management skills
• Evidence of innovative practice
• Ability to make decision prioritise and work under pressure
• Ability to show tact and manage boundaries
• Evidence of a good understanding of the NHS
• Ability to set and monitor standards

Skills / Abilities /Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Ability to use advanced communication/interpersonal skills when working with staff, patients and carers
• Ability to communicate with and/or give advice to all members of the hospital and community MDT and show good leadership skills
• Good presentation and teaching skills
• Ability to provide clear and concise documentation
• Ability to manage databases, maintain records with integral auditing and to produce annual reports for the service
• Ability to work under pressure in order to meet service and patient priories
• Ability to work within and manage professional boundaries
• Computer literate in Microsoft outlook, office, word, excel and PowerPoint

Other Requirements

Essential criteria

• Smart appearance
• Good health / attendance record
• Fitness for duties
• Ability to work on both sites of the trust as required
• Flexibility of working hours including night shift and weekends to meet service needs
• Able to manual hand patients and equipment safely

The Royal Marsden values diversity and is committed to the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority groups. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates and candidates with disabilities.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are working to create a workplace that enables all staff to reach their full potential. We are committed to this because we know that greater diversity and inclusion will lead to an even greater positive impact for the people we serve.

Due to the high volumes of applications we receive, we reserve the right to close any adverts before the published closing date once we have received a sufficient number of applications. We advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment. Please ensure your information is accurate to avoid errors with processing your application

Flu Vaccination – What We Expect of our Staff

At The Royal Marsden we have an immune compromised patient population who we must protect as much as we can against the flu virus. Each year, seasonal flu affects thousands of people in the UK. Occurring mainly in winter, it is an infectious respiratory disease capable of producing symptoms ranging from those similar to a common cold, through to very severe or even fatal disease.

The wellbeing of our staff and patients is of the upmost importance to us, and it is the expectation of The Royal Marsden that all patient-facing staff have an annual flu vaccination, provided free of charge by the Trust.

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.