Surgical Matron

St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 66,000 - 73,000; Full time

Job summary

St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in London is seeking a Surgical Matron to lead operational management and professional leadership of defined surgical areas, ensuring performance and budget objectives are met.

You will be a highly visible clinical leader, promote patient flow, governance, and quality improvement, and work with MDTs and bed management to deliver safe, high-quality care across the hospital.

Qualifications

• Highly developed knowledge of NHS and social care agenda.
• Experience of senior nurse level (surgical) for a minimum of 3 years (band 7 or above).
• Understanding of governance and assurance systems and application to practice.
• Proficient IT skills with Cerner systems.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for the operational management and professional leadership of a defined group of clinical areas and their staff, with delegated responsibility to ensure that performance and budgetary objectives are met.
• To be a highly visible and proactive leader acting as a clinical resource and ensuring the sustained delivery of high standards of nursing care and service delivery.
• To be responsible for exploring current practice, identifying areas for development, and planning the appropriate change using current evidence to evaluate outcomes.
• To be responsible for the quality of the patients environment and lead on facilitating changes which improve the patients experience.
• To play a key operational role and maintain a proactive approach to managing patient flow through the service.

Skills

Clinical leadership

Patient safety

Staff management

Governance & assurance

Quality improvement

Education

Registered nurse level 1

Leadership Course

Tools

Cerner systems

Job description

Main area Surgery Grade Band 8a Contract Permanent Hours 37.5 hours per week (Full Time 37.5 hours per week) Job ref 200-8179477-GO-ND

Site St Georges Hospital Town London Salary £66,274 - £73,496 pa Inclusive of HCAS Salary period Yearly Closing 27/09/2026 23:59

Job overview

This is an exciting opportunity to join our surgical senior team as a surgical matron. You will be responsible for the management and patient safety of some of our surgical clinical areas as well as the management of other senior staff (CNS/ANPs/PEs).

St. George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the regional specialist care provider for south west London, Surrey and beyond. The trust provides a high quality, comprehensive range of health services from leading edge tertiary and trauma care to community services. With national and regional referrals added to our local 3.5m catchment, we serve a population of around 5m.

Co-located with City St George’s, University of London and with both organisations now in a formal strategic alliance with King’s Health Partners, the trust delivers with its partners high quality research and education both of which contribute to the healthcare provision of tomorrow.

St. George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is a major acute hospital that offers very specialist care for complex injuries and illnesses, including trauma, neurology, cardiac care, renal transplantation, cancer care and stroke. The hospital also provides all the usual care you would expect from a local NHS district general hospital.

Main duties of the job

• Responsible for the operational management and professional leadership of a defined group of clinical areas and their staff, with delegated responsibility to ensure that performance and budgetary objectives are met
• To be a highly visible and proactive leader acting as a clinical resource and ensuring the sustained delivery of high standards of nursing care and service delivery
• To be responsible for exploring current practice, identifying areas for development, and planning the appropriate change using current evidence to evaluate outcomes
• To be responsible for the quality of the patients environment and lead on facilitating changes which improve the patients experience
• To play a key operational role and maintain a proactive approach to managing patient flow through the service.

Working for our organisation

St George’s is committed to valuing its staff and promoting their professional and personal development.

There is a wide range of training and development opportunities accessible to all staff both in house and via external organisations.

The Trust has an excellent reputation for offering specialist courses and facilitating the return to practice of nurses and midwives.

The Trust supports initiatives that improve the work life balance of staff including flexible working, study, paternity, adoption and carers leave.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

We are looking for an expert leader to provide nursing leadership and promote best practices across our surgical areas supporting clinical decision making and promoting patient flow across our hospital. Applicants should be committed to improving quality and the patients’ experience with a demonstrable evidence of this at ward and divisional level.

As a matron you will work with several members of our surgical MDT, senior management team and bed management team promoting patient flow pathways. You will also be expected to work with other teams such as emergency department, critical care and theatres ensuring an effective management of our surgical emergency and elective activity.

Our focus is always to provide quality patient care and our team values reflect those of the Trust: Excellent, Kind, Responsible and Respectful. The dynamic nature of our work makes it very stimulating and exciting place of work. Surgical nursing attracts energetic individuals who enjoy the challenges of working in a fast-paced environment. As part of our surgical team, you will inspire nursing teams, leading, coaching, managing and role modelling in our surgical clinical environments.

A willingness to embrace innovative ways of working has been a key element to our operational success. We are open to fresh thinking and new ideas when it comes to improved service delivery and we expect you to be a part of it engaging in quality improvement initiatives and new ways of working.

See Full JD for further details.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Registered nurse level 1
• Leadership Course

Knowledge & Experience

• Highly developed specialist knowledge of NHS & social care agenda
• Knowledge and application of HR procedures
• Understanding of governance and assurance systems and application to practice
• Experience of senior nurse level (surgical) for a minimum of 3 years (band 7 or above)

Skills (Clinical)

• Models excellent clinical skills and has the ability to implement these in practice. Demonstrates up to date, evidenced based knowledge of current clinical and professional issues
• Able to take accountability for service delivery within a context of safe patient care
• Professionally credible/Accountability

Skills (communication & relati

• Able to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive and contentious information
• Demonstrates excellent written, verbal and interpersonal skills
• Able to facilitate clinical supervision and reflective practice
• Able to chair, co-ordinate and facilitate meetings
• Ability to work across professional teams and organisational boundaries

Skills (Analytical & judgement

• Ability to monitor the quality of work in others, to identify their learning and development needs, devising strategies to resolve
• Experience of audit and other benchmarking strategies, using the result of interim change and improvement

Planning & Organisational

• Understands and is able to deliver safe patient care within the resources available (raising and escalating concerns as appropriate).
• Able to take responsibility for policy implementation and service development
• Proven ability to support ward/team leaders in maintaining an environment conducive to the delivery of excellent care
• Able to develop short, medium and long term strategies for the development of the wards

IT

• Ability to use IT databases, Microsoft Office and Cerner systems

Other

• Proven ability to work under pressure both professionally and manageriallyProven ability to cope with distressing situations and challenging behaviours

Employer certification / accreditation badges

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.