Patient Flow Sister

Job overview

The Patient Flow Sister is a key operational role within Sheffield Teaching Hospitals,
working autonomously and as part of a coordinated multidisciplinary flow system to ensure
safe, efficient movement of patients across all pathways.

The postholder will:

• Use digital capacity and flow systems to make decisions that optimise bed utilisation, patient placement, and flow across all STH sites.
• Work in partnership with the Operational Support Room to ensure real-time situational awareness, timely escalation, and rapid operational response to site pressures.
• Ensure all patients are placed in the right bed first time, supporting risk-based decision-making, equality of access, and protection of single-sex accommodation.
• Drive high-quality discharge planning by ensuring ADDs (Anticipated Date of Discharge) are identified, validated, and used effectively to support early planning and capacity matching.
• Support the delivery of Trust performance standards for emergency and elective care by proactively managing site pressures, constraints, and risks

Prospective applicants are advised that shadowing is recommended to gain a full understanding of the role.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will play a key role in coordinating real‑time patient flow and bed capacity across the Trust, ensuring patients are placed safely, appropriately and efficiently. This includes providing clear operational updates to site and ward teams, analysing live capacity and flow data, managing competing clinical and operational priorities, and escalating emerging risks.

The role requires confident autonomous decision‑making during high‑pressure situations, effective collaboration with multidisciplinary and external partners, and sensitive communication with patients, relatives and staff.

The post holder will maintain accurate digital flow records, support operational huddles, contribute to governance and improvement work, and help deliver safe, dignified and timely care in a fast‑paced acute hospital environment.

Working for our organisation

You will be working for an organisation which values and respects all of its staff and the community it serves. The Trust is a leader in the NHS and research sectors and provides excellent benefits for its employees. This includes commitments to professional development but also many policies to support employees in balancing their personal and professional lives.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please view the attached Job Description and Person Specification documents for full details regarding this post.

When completing your application please ensure that you clearly demonstrate how you meet the role criteria.

Person specification

Education & Qualification

Essential criteria

• First level registered nurse with valid NMC Registration.
• Degree or Advanced Diploma Nursing Studies.
• Post graduate module in health-related subject or equivalent experience.
• To have completed the national practice assessor training or equivalent teaching and assessing qualification for those with ENB998.

Experience

Essential criteria

• Significant experience at Band 5 or above with evidence of continued professional development
• Evidence of management and leadership qualities, including leading a team and the ability to work autonomously
• Experience of managing capacity and demand at ward or Directorate level.
• Broad based clinical experience where management and leadership qualities have been demonstrated.
• Knowledge of patient flow issues, including the understanding of implications of national targets, in particular 4hr Emergency Department target and relevance to bed management
• Experience across a range of specialty areas.
• Evidence of management experience

Desirable criteria

• Leadership Qualification

Skills & Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Effective communicator, leadership skills, assertiveness and interpersonal skills.
• Self-motivated and able to work on own initiative, as well as part of a multidisciplinary team
• Well-developed decision making and negotiating skills
• Proficient in the use of NHS IT and EPR systems and experience of using IT packages (i.e. Word Excel, PowerPoint)
• A sound understanding of Trust policies and procedures.

Desirable criteria

• Ability to participate in the management of change

Personal Qualities

Essential criteria

• Highly motivated and passionate about patient flow and the delivery of patient centred care
• A confident and competent decision maker with the ability to work both as part of a wider MDT team and autonomously.
• Assertive and confident with evidence of effective communication and interpersonal skills.

Please note that in order to comply with the UK Government’s rules on Skilled Worker sponsorship, any applicants who do not meet the eligibility requirements or concessions on salary thresholds under the Skilled Worker visa will not be eligible to receive sponsorship from the Trust. Please keep this in mind when submitting your application. Further details on these concessions, and who qualifies for them, can be found here.

Candidates are advised to read the attached guidance on using AI technology. When you complete your application, you are required to declare that the information in your application form is true and complete. The personal statement is exactly that; personal.

When selecting to apply via NHS Jobs, you will be redirected to our preferred recruitment system called Trac. You will be asked to create and submit your application via the Trac recruitment system.

You will not be able to track the progress of your application or receive messages through the NHS Jobs website, and furthermore, as an employer, we will not be able to respond to any e-mails sent to us via the NHS Jobs website. All communications should be sent via your Trac system account.

If you are offered employment at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals your information will be transferred from the Trac recruitment system into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. In addition, in submitting an application form, you authorise our Trust to confirm any previous NHS service details via the ESR IAT process should you be appointed.

Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email sent via the Trac recruitment system, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there.

The Trust is committed to its obligations in accordance with the Equality Act 2010, and we positively encourage applications from all sections of the community. Should you require any assistance in applying for the position please contact the General or Medical Human Resources Departments on the number identified on the NHS Jobs page for the organisation.

Job Share applicants are welcome for all full time posts unless indicated but cannot be guaranteed. In addition for Fixed Term Contracts, internal secondments may be considered, please seek the approval of your current line manager before applying for the position.

All employment with the Trust is subject to a number of NHS Employment Checks being met to a satisfactory standard including verification of identity, eligibility to work in the United Kingdom, references and qualifications in addition to professional registration, a disclosure and barring records check and occupational health check if these are deemed to be a requirement for the position to be undertaken.

For more information about our organisation and the opportunities available, please visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook

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

• Job Description (PDF, 229.3KB)
• Person Specification (PDF, 168.4KB)
• Candidate Application Best Practice Guide - please read before completing your application (PDF, 236.3KB)
• Information for Candidates (PDF, 496.3KB)
• Getting to Work at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals (PDF, 305.0KB)
• Applicants - How We Use Your Information (PDF, 87.4KB)
• Policy Statement on the Recruitment of Ex-Offenders (PDF, 124.0KB)
• Staff Benefits (PDF, 2.7MB)
• A Guide to Using Artificial Intelligence and With Your Personal Statement (PDF, 163.6KB)

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

NameSarah DoonaJob titlePatient Flow MatronEmail addressSarah.Doona@nhs.netTelephone number0114 2714607Additional information

Sue Gee - Patient Flow Matron - Susan.Gee3@nhs.net - 0114 2714607

Hayley Jarvis - Lead Nurse for Clinical Operations - Hayley.Jarvis6@nhs.net - 0114 2267106