Charge Nurse - Aquarius Ward

South West London And St George'S Mental Health Nhs Trust; Springfield Village; On-site; GBP 46,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Career development

Job summary

South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust is recruiting a Band 6 Charge Nurse for the CAMHS inpatient ward at Springfield Hospital. You will lead a multidisciplinary team delivering high-quality nursing care to youths aged 12–18 in acute mental health crisis, including nasogastric feeding when required.

You will promote clinical leadership, support professional development, and pursue further postgraduate study with guidance from your line manager.

Qualifications

• Experience in clinical governance and audit
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Preceptorship/mentorship experience
• Knowledge of professional nursing conduct and standards
• Experience in a ward/clinical unit leadership role
• Ability to deliver high-quality, recovery-focused nursing care

Responsibilities

• Deliver high-quality nursing care within NMC standards
• Lead junior staff and support the care team to implement therapeutic plans
• Coordinate care with the MDT and other services
• Provide information to patients and families in accessible formats
• Administer medications and monitor side-effects
• Ensure safe handling of medicines and equipment
• Supervise and develop junior staff in risk assessment and care planning
• Develop care plans with service users and carers with MDT input

Skills

NMC registration knowledge

Clinical leadership

Staff supervision

Nasogastric feeding

Education

NMC registered nurse (Adult/Mental Health/Learning Disabilities)

Tools

NASG/NG training

Job description

Job summary

Are you looking for an exciting new opportunity working with Children and Adolescents?

South West London and St George's Mental Health Trust (SWLSTG) are currently recruiting for a band 6 charge nurse to join our CAMHS (Children and Adolescent Mental Health) inpatient team and work with children aged 12 - 18 years.

Aquarius Ward is a specialist inpatient mental health provision for young people aged 12 - 18 who are experiencing an acute mental health crisis. It is a 12 bedded National Unit open 365 days a year, 24h a day. It is part of the South London Partnership providing the adolescent in-patient services for young people under South West London & St George's Mental Health NHS Trust, South London and Maudsley and Oxleas NHS Trust. The team provides inpatient treatment for adolescents aged 12 to their 18th birthday in an acute mental health crisis that is unable to be managed in the community with conditions such as severe depression, anxiety, OCD, self-harm, psychosis and mania. You will be joining a multi-disciplinary team that is committed to the provision of high quality service user centred care. Our teams are looking for compassionate, extraordinary Mental Health Nurses that are wanting to develop in their management skills in a busy and exciting environment. As a ward, we now carry out Nasal Gastric on Young People with disordered eating and all RMNs will be trained.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will deliver, or advise on the delivery of, high quality safe nursing care, ensuring consistently high standards of practice and clinical excellence which comply with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) code of professional conduct.

As a Deputy Nursing Team Leader/Clinical Development Nurse you will promote and develop clinical leadership and clinical practice and be a positive role model to junior members of the team through the practice of evidence-based care. You will be expected to support professional development through clinical appraisal and supervision and contribute to the ongoing educational programme for staff, fostering a positive learning environment. Your professional and personal development will include further postgraduate study and you will be encouraged and supported by your line manager to undertake Master's programmes.

As a senior nurse working within the South London Mental Health and Community Partnership you are required to encourage and foster collaborative and cross organisational working.

About us

_Unless expressly stated in the job advert this role is not subject to sponsorship, please be advised that all offers of employment are subject to evidence of right to work in the UK_.

We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust.

We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good' - we aspire to be 'outstanding'.

This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027.

We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.

We offer flexible working, career development and a varietybenefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.

Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.

Details

Date posted: 07 September 2026

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 6

Salary: £46,419 to £55,046 a year per annum inclusive of Inner London HCAs

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Full-time

Reference number: 294-CAMHS-7891919-AZ-A

Job locations: Springfield Hospital, 15 Springfield Drive, London, Tooting, SW17 0YF, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

• Working autonomously within the parameters of the role leading and supporting junior staff and wider care team to implement the delivery of quality nursing care, contributing to the physical, psychological, social, recreational and spiritual care in a recovery-focused way through therapeutic engagement and activities, and taking steps to address any issues that arise.
• Leading on and undertaking activities to ensure that the fundamentals of care are met - nutrition, hydration, hygiene, comfort, emotional and social support:
• Co-ordinating and evaluating collaborative patient centred care; getting feedback and improving plans with the multi-disciplinary team (MDT).
• Providing accurate information about care in an accessible format to patients and their relatives / carers.
• Liaising and working positively with members of the multi- disciplinary team and partner organisations.
• Administering, and monitoring the side-effects of, medication; monitoring service user compliance.
• Safety; safe custody of medicines, sharps, clinical equipment, report all incidents following trust policy.
• Leading and supporting/teaching junior staff on risk assessment and risk management that involves making decisions based on knowledge of the research evidence, knowledge of the individual service user and their social context, knowledge of the service users own experience and clinical judgment.
• Supporting and supervising junior staff to develop the management of care needs through:
• Monitoring of individual service user / patient progress
• Feedback and discussion
• Producing reports and in-care reviews
• Devising a plan of care and interventions in partnership with service user, carer and MDT
• Coordinating junior staff and the wider care team in providing hands-on care to service users and evaluating processes of care delivered. This will include:
• Undertaking 1-1 engagement with service users in an honest, open and non- judgmental way.
• Recognising and valuing service users as individuals, acknowledging the importance of maintaining the service users respect and dignity at all times and ensure that the care provided respects equality and diversity.
• Developing care plans that reflect service user needs and relevant patient care documentation working in partnership with service users, wider MDT and family/carers.
• Ensuring the monitoring and recording service user clinical observations are undertaken, such as physical observations and vital signs and treating or escalating as appropriate any signs or symptoms of deterioration or that does not fulfill the personal parameters to the relevant professional for treatment. Promote healthy lifestyles and give health promotion advice and support.
• Implementing the principles of recovery: encouraging and supporting service users to engage with healthy lifestyles, facilitating psychosocial activities and other activities of their interest. Where appropriate contributing to psychological interventions.
• Escorting service users, as required, in line with Trust policies.
• Advocating for service users needs and rights within Trust policy. Encouraging and empowering service users to have an optimum level of responsibility for their individual programme of care.
• To undertake Nasogastric (NG) Training and successfully complete competencies and maintain practice with supervision.
• Additional Specialist training relevant to children and young people with mental health problems and disordered eating
• Registered Adult Nurse and/or Registered Mental Health Nurse and/or Registered Learning Disabilities Nurse

Experience & Knowledge

Essential

• Experience of research- based/reflective practice, e.g. understanding and ability to use supervision to reflect on skills, attitude and knowledge and develop these by using evidence based practice
• Significant relevant clinical experience
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Experience as a preceptor / mentor
• Knowledge of clinical governance and audit
• Knowledge of relevant Professional and Clinical Legislation
• Able to complete nasogastric feeding
• Experience of taking responsibility for a ward / clinical unit
• Experience of engaging / supporting clinical research projects
• Experience of supporting practice development in clinical areas
• Experience of teaching. e.g. lecturer practitioner/preceptorship
• Experience of recruitment and selection of staff NG Feeding

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

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: South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust

Address: Springfield Hospital, 15 Springfield Drive, London, Tooting, SW17 0YF, United Kingdom

Employer's website: Apply through our website

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact: Ward Manager

Niruban Vallinathan

[e-mail]

02035135432