Job summary
We are currently seeking a motivated mental health nurse to join the team as a Charge Nurse at the Chichester Low Secure Forensic Service.
The Chichester Centre is a modern unit providing low secure services for men and women. The service is configured around two male wards and one female ward, with approximately 16 service users on each of the wards. Each ward has a well-established MDT led by a ward manager. The MDTs include nursing, OT, social work, psychiatry and psychology. There is an in-reach pharmacy, SALT and GP service. We have a working together group (WTG) which meets fortnightly and includes service user representatives from each ward as well as staff. The WTG take a lead on service improvement across the unit.
We are a centrally located service with good commuting links to Bognor Regis, Portsmouth and Worthing.
As a Charge Nurse you will possess excellent communication skills, leadership skills and evidenced based clinical skills, providing high quality holistic, research based, non-judgmental patient centred care at all times.
This post offers the Trust's £4,000 Incentive for band 5-7 Nurses & Practitioners, as well as a relocation package up to a maximum of £8,000 (subject to terms and conditions).
Main duties of the job
In this role you will be clinically responsible for providing nursing assessments, when appropriate, of referred patients to determine the suitability for forensic mental health nursing intervention. Additionally, you will be responsible for the immediate management and clinical supervision of all junior staff throughout each span of duty. You will work collaboratively with medical staff and other health professionals to support the delivery of patient care. Ultimately, you will provide effective leadership and management to staff to promote high performance standards, both individually and as a team, in order to achieve the Trust's objectives and priorities.
The post holder will assess, plan and implement care, and provide specialist nursing advice and carry out specialist nursing procedures in the agreed care group. They will provide clinical and managerial leadership to junior staff, providing supervision to junior staff and students.
They will assist the Ward Manager in ensuring the effective running of the ward.
About us
Forensic mental health is a unique and fascinating field which provides both challenge and opportunity in abundance.
Being curious, creative, self-aware and assertive are important skills that you will build on, as you are often required to think 'outside the box'.
We play a crucial part in supporting and advocating service users towards recovery, while maintaining the legal requirements within the MHA and of public protection.
Our Trust:
We provide mental health and learning disability care for all ages across Sussex and for children and young people in Hampshire.
We'd love you to join our organisation, rated 'good' overall and 'outstanding' for caring by the CQC. Our staff agree, with 82% recognising patient care as our top priority in our staff survey.
Other key survey results include:
1. 79% reporting feeling able to make suggestions to improve the work within their team.
2. 77% identifying the opportunities to show initiative in their roles.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post holder will work as part of a multi disciplinary team acting as care co-ordinator for a defined number of service users. They will:
3. Undertake assessments of individuals with complex mental health presentations, including those service users presenting with higher levels of risk.
4. To develop in collaboration with the service user their care plan and their recovery plan.
5. Offer specialist nursing assessment and advice where required.
6. Provide clinical and managerial leadership on the ward.
7. Assess and manage on going risks as identified during the assessment, ensuring that this is done in collaboration with the service user and carers.
8. To regularly review risk factors and make changes to the management of them as necessary.
9. Provide supervision of junior staff and trainees where appropriate.
10. To regularly take charge of the clinical environment over a span of duty.
To protect the health and safety of our staff/workers, patients, and those attending our sites, we encourage our workforce to get fully vaccinated against COVID
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
11. Professional qualification
12. Diploma/Degree in Mental Health Nursing
13. Registered Nurse with current registration (mental health / LD/ Adult) appropriate to the job role.
14. Evidence of continuous professional development
Clinical Knowledge/Eperience
Essential
15. Experience of working alongside people with severe mental health problems
16. Experience of supervising staff
17. Experience of conducting clinical assessments including risk assessments
18. Experience of working within the CPA process
19. Understanding of clinical governance
Communication/Relationship Skills
Essential
20. Excellent written and oral communication skills
21. Ability to communicate in a clear and unambiguous way
22. Excellent negotiation and conflict resolution skills
23. Ability to develop good therapeutic relationships
24. Promote people's equality, diversity and human rights
Planning & Organisational Skills
Essential
25. Organising and co-ordinating the activities of others within the ward environment
26. Planning off duty rotas
IT Skills
Essential
27. IT literate and willing to enhance skills
28. Ability to use clinical information systems
Emotional Effort
Essential
29. Ability to manage exposure to disturbed service users who may be acutely psychotic and exhibiting extremes of behaviour
30. Ability to manage exposure to verbal and physical abuse on occasions, all of which can be potentially exhausting and skilled intervention is required to avoid burnout
31. The ability to manage distressed relatives