Job summary Working Full time : 37.5 hours per week An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Infection Prevention and Control Team at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Due to the retirement of the existing post holder we are looking to appoint a Matron (Band 8a) to the Infection Prevention and Control Team, to be based at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, but also involving travel to our other sites at Ellesmere Port Hospital and Tarporley War Memorial Hospital. The successful candidate will be an experienced First Level Registered Nurse, previous extensive experience of working as an infection prevention and control specialist nurse is essential. An appropriate qualification in infection prevention and control is also desirable, plus a teaching qualification e.g. ENB 998 or equivalent. Main duties of the job To lead the IPC Team to ensure that operationally the IPC service is in line with the strategic aims of COCH and national requirements as set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 'Hygiene Code'To ensure the development and implementation of robust surveillance systems to provide HCAI statistical data for mandatory reporting systems, provide regular information to the Head of Nursing (IP&C) as required and to the Integrated Care Board (ICB).Management of local and Trust targets relating to the required national IPC metrics.Analyse and report IPC data, advising divisional IPC Subgroup, Quality Governance and the IPC Strategy Group on the implications and action required to encourage best IPC practice.Interpret national guidance/policy and lead the development of local policy/guidance that drives best practice in all aspects of IPC and monitoring compliance with policy implementation.Lead the IPC Team in implementing operational systems and processes to contain and reduce the incidence of infection through risk assessment, surveillance, audit, education and management of outbreaks of communicable disease with UKHSA where appropriate. About us The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provides services to West Cheshire and to Welsh patients covered by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership. Its services are provided from three locations: The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 438 general and acute beds. Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 56 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility. Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population. The Trust employs over 6258 staff (headcount) which includes temporary bank staff and provides acute emergency and elective services, primary care direct access services and obstetric services to a population of approximately 407,000. This includes 357,000 residents in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire which has a population of approximately 50,000. The Trust is a busy district general hospital and in 2022/2023, there were more than 503,342 patient attendances (inpatient, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery. This is an increase of nearly 10,000 compared to the previous year when there were 494,387 patient attendances. Date posted 09 January 2025 Pay scheme Agenda for change Band Band 8a Salary £53,755 to £60,504 a year pa Contract Permanent Working pattern Full-time Reference number 210-2024-1116 Job locations Countess of Chester Hospital Liverpool Road Chester CH21UL Job description Job responsibilities See Job Description for further details. Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values. Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £27.50(standard) or £55.50(enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first three months of employment. You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £16per year applies. New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above. Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date. Good luck with your application. Job description Job responsibilities See Job Description for further details. Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values. Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £27.50(standard) or £55.50(enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first three months of employment. You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £16per year applies. New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above. Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date. Good luck with your application. Person Specification Qualifications Essential Diploma/BSc in Infection Prevention & Control Teaching and assessing qualifcation NMC registration Desirable Management qualification or undertaken a leadership programme Experience Essential Current and extensive experience working as a specialist nurse in infection prevention & control at a senior level Experience of writing policies and presenting information in a variety of relevant formats Experience of conducting audits and risk assessments Desirable Experience in a management position Person Specification Qualifications Essential Diploma/BSc in Infection Prevention & Control Teaching and assessing qualifcation NMC registration Desirable Management qualification or undertaken a leadership programme Experience Essential Current and extensive experience working as a specialist nurse in infection prevention & control at a senior level Experience of writing policies and presenting information in a variety of relevant formats Experience of conducting audits and risk assessments Desirable Experience in a management position 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). Additional information 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 Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Address Countess of Chester Hospital Liverpool Road Chester CH21UL Employer's website https://www.coch.nhs.uk/working-with-us.aspx (Opens in a new tab)