Ward Manager - Short Stay Surgical Unit

Merseywestlancs; Sefton; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 44,000; Full time

Job summary

Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust is seeking a Ward Manager (Band 6) for the Surgical division. You will lead the ward team, ensure patient safety, maintain staffing standards and drive ongoing improvements in surgery/colorectal care.

The role requires substantial post-registration experience and at least 2 years at Band 6, with responsibility for clinical governance and service development.

Qualifications

• Registered nurse or health professional with diploma/degree.
• Current NMC registration.
• Leadership training (ILM Level 4) or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

• The Ward Manager role is crucial to maintain patient safety and high care standards.
• The post holder leads the ward team, ensuring safe staffing and up-to-date training.
• Strong knowledge of Surgery/Colorectal and driving improvements.
• Autonomous practice within the ward areas described in the job summary.
• Adherence to national/local guidelines and protocols.

Skills

Clinical skills

Communication

Organisation & management

Leadership

Accountability

Relationship building

Electronic patient record

Education

Registered Nurse or Registered health professional Diploma / Degree level qualification

NMC Registration

Leadership training (ILM Level 4 or equivalent)

Job description

We want talented and enthusiastic people from all backgrounds to join #TeamMWL, with us you can learn, grow and develop yourself and your career, realising your true ambitions and aspirations.

Whatever you’re looking for in your career, you’ll find it here at MWL.

After applying via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred Third-party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. 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. By applying for this post you are agreeing to "name of trust" transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are appointed to a post information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen within the Surgical division. We require a Ward Manager with substantial years experience post registration and at least 2 years at Band 6.

The post holder will carry professional, clinical and educational responsibilities for the provision of patient services within the Surgical/Colorectal Ward and an integrated Surgical assessment unit.

The post holder will be expected to have knowledge in Surgery/Colorectal and the services that are provided for inpatients. They will be expected to work as part of a team and be able to successfully lead a team on a daily basis to ensure that a high standard of care is given at all times.

Main duties of the job

The role of the Ward Manager is extremley important in ensuring that patient safety is maintained and a high standard of care is delivered at all times.

The post holder will be a leader for the ward team, maintain high standard of patient care, ensure the ward is staffed safely and all training is up to date.

They will possess a strong knowledge of Surgery/Colorectal and be passionate about introducing new initiatives and improvements.

The post holder would practice autonomously within the wards outlined in the job summary.

The post holder would expected to practice within national/local guidelines and protocols.

Working for our organisation

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.

Our services:

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please ensure you have read through the attached Job Description and Person Specification before submitting your application.

Proposed Interview date: TBC

Please note, this post may close earlier than advertised if a sufficient number of applications are received.

Person specification

Skills

• Current up to date and relevant clinical skills
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Excellent organisational and management skills
• Able to act as a leader, effectively managing staff in the department
• Accountable for own professional actions
• Ability to network and build relationships at all levels act as a change agent
• Computer literacy eg experience of electronic patient record

Other

• Frequent sitting or standing in a restricted position; occasional moderate effort for several short period
• Walks, stands most of shift; occasionally moves, occasional manoeuvres patients
• Frequent concentration, work pattern unpredictable Concentration for patient clinical work
• Dealing with frequent interruptions and competing demands
• Occasional highly distressing or emotional circumstances. Deals with patient complaints, conveys unwelcome news, management of complaints/concerns arising from incidents, communicating to patients and relatives
• Working in ward environment providing direct clinical care
• Potential blood or body fluids exposure

Knowledge

• Able to demonstrate knowledge of NMC professional standards for practice contained within the code
• Experience of managing teams
• Experience of service development, such as clinical pathway management
• Substantial experience of working in a clinical environment
• Understanding of budget management within the NHS at departmental level
• Experience of involvement in relevant research/audit to underpin evidence-based practice
• Understand key features of clinical governance and risk

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse or Registered health professional Diploma / Degree level qualification
• Current NMC Registration
• Evidence of continuous professional development
• Leadership training or qualification (minimum Level 4 ILM or equivalent) or equivalent experience

Thank you for considering an application to work for Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust. MWL is an exciting and forward-thinking NHS Trust who are one of the best places to work for in England.

Given sometimes we receive a high volume of applications to work for us, please be aware, that we may close a vacancy earlier than stated should a sufficient number of applications be received from which a shortlist can be confirmed. Therefore, you are advised to apply at your earliest convenience.

The Trust may contact you during the recruitment process for your feedback on your experience. We always aim for continuous improvement in our practice.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity, and respect for all individuals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and value the unique skills, perspective and experience you bring. We are grounded in the belief that diversity enhances our collective strength, fostering innovation and excellence within our workforce. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we commit to offering an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

If you are having difficulty completing an online application, or require any disability reasonable adjustments, to the application process, please contact [e-mail]

We also commit to offering an interview to all armed forces veterans who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

The Trust operates anonymous shortlisting where no personal information about you, including your name or personal details are shared with the recruiting manager. No equality information is shared at any time during the recruitment process with the recruiting manager or other people involved in the decision-making process.

The equality monitoring information you provide is used in the following situations: to review our recruitment practices; where a job is limited to a specific person to verify their eligibility to apply; and to offer disability reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Following the recent update on UK immigration policy for those on a Health and Care Visa or Skilled Worker Visa, please click here to check your eligibility before applying for this post as we may be unable to provide sponsorship.

eVisa Update

For successful candidates on selected work and study visa routes, who have completed and paid for their applications will no longer receive a visa vignette in passport as evidence of their permission to enter the UK.

Instead, you will be issued with an eVisa only, which is accessed by creating a UKVI account.

Before travelling to the UK, we advise applicants to:

• Understand how to generate an eVisa share code

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

If this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 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.

Please note if applicable, applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment.

If you have not already done so, you are therefore encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service to which a small annual fee of £13 per year applies.

Flexible Working

We actively support flexible working patterns throughout MWL. Changes made to the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook mean that:

• All employees have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment.
• There is no limit on the number of requests they can make.
• Employees have the right to make requests, have them considered, regardless of the reason.

At Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, we will consider requests for flexible working. We would also encourage you to also discuss flexible working options at interview stage.

Working for Team MWL

Staff recognition is especially important to us; as well as performance reviews and appraisals, we recognise staff through Employee of the month. Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

The Trust is a non-smoking across all our sites. Failure to follow this rule could lead to disciplinary action. For more information, see the Smoke Free NHS website.

You will be expected to undertake the Trusts' commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.

You must ensure that your application, including personal statements and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.

The Trust will not accept applications which are found to be AI generated and will check all applications against AI detection software.

Additional Information

Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trusts Values and Behaviours which are We are KIND, We are OPEN, We are INCLUSIVE, which can be found here .

An applicant guide to help and support you with your application and what to expect during your recruitment journey can be accessed in the supporting documents.

Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team MWL very soon.

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.