JOB DESCRIPTION & PERSON SPECIFICATION Based in Blackrock Hospice 1.0WTE Indefinite Duration Assistant Director of Nursing & Operations
JOB DESCRIPTION TITLE: Assistant Director of Nursing & Operations Specialist Palliative Care Services REPORTS TO: ACCOUNTABLE TO: SALARY SCALE: HOLIDAYS: HEALTH: CHARACTER: HOURS OF WORK: WORKING WEEK: ETHICAL CODE: CONFIDENTIALITY: Director of Nursing Director of Nursing Department of Health & Children salary scales apply: Assistant Director of Nursing (non-band 1 hospital) an allowance will apply to this post. 28 days per annum pro rata A candidate for and any person holding the office must be free from any defect or disease which would render him/her unsuitable to hold the office and be in a state of health as would indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to attend regular and efficient service. A candidate for and any person holding the office must be of good character. 39 hours per week. Details of starting and finishing times, which may vary in accordance with Hospice needs, will be notified to you by your Head of Department/Deputy. There will be times when you will be required to work outside of the normal office hours. Will be determined by Director of Nursing. The post holder is requested to respect the special charism, ethos and tradition of Our Lady s Hospice & Care Services and to observe and comply with its general policies, procedures and regulations. The post holder will have access to various types of records/information in the course of work. Such records and information are strictly confidential and unless acting on the instruction of an authorised person, on no account must information concerning staff, patients or other hospice business be divulged or discussed except in the performance of normal duty. In addition, records may never be left in such a manner that unauthorised persons can obtain access to them and must be kept in safe custody when no longer required. 2
JOB PURPOSE: The Assistant Director of Nursing & Operations will provide operational and clinical leadership to nursing managers, nursing teams, and Facilities Personnel, to provide the highest possible quality of Specialist Palliative Care, within Blackrock Hospice. The post holder will work collaboratively with Heads of Department who line manage the Allied Health Professionals group. The appointed person will be assigned to manage and co-ordinate services in the In-patient Unit, Day Hospice, the Community Specialist Palliative Care Team and all professional colleagues, including Hotel Services, administration personnel and the overall environment. They will co-ordinate the multi-disciplinary team creating a supportive network for efficient practice and learning with a focus on quality assured patient and family centred care. Principle Duties and Responsibilities A. Operational Management: To be accountable for the quality of service delivery, ensuring effective patient care, research, training and development within Blackrock Hospice. To promote the development and maintenance of high standards of care in order that the care offered is family centred, sensitive and responsive to service users. To be responsible, working with the Director of Nursing & Quality and senior clinicians/heads of Department of all disciplines and service users, for developing the annual service objectives and effecting their implementation across the unit. To monitor service objectives and ensure that the quality of the service is congruent with the resources available. To ensure effective working practices with other relevant hospitals and Health Care agencies to maximise the delivery of a seamless service. In conjunction with heads of department, he/she will evaluate the contribution of staff groups and skill mix to ensure the provision of an acceptable level of service that appropriately supports the clinical activity of Blackrock Hospice. To promote effective working partnership Hospice-wide and with Regional and National colleagues to strategically position the Blackrock Hospice for future service change and developments in accordance with local, regional and national policy in Health and Social care, maintaining the reputation of the service for high standards of care and innovative practice. To ensure all Blackrock personnel and operational data is recorded and to analyse any vacancies and report to senior management. 3
B. Co-Ordination of Patient Services: The Assistant Director of Nursing & Operations is responsible for ensuring effective co-ordination of bed management in line with Hospice policy. This involves: Ensuring that effective activity and occupancy rates practices are consistently implemented. Ensuring that the facility and environment are maintained to high standards of aesthetics, comfort and service user satisfaction. Implementing admission criteria, admissions and discharges and transfer protocols as required. Regular timely reporting of bed and resource utilisation to the Director of Nursing and Quality and with other key clinical decision makers and hospice management as appropriate. Analysing, monitoring and forecasting trends of a activity/occupancy in BRH and highlighting the wider implications for provision of specialist care services. Advising the Management Team and other relevant stakeholders on optimal use and cost effective management of in-patient, day care and community based specialist palliative care resources for both public and private patients in accordance with the organisational provider plan. C. Service Planning: To be responsible for the co-ordination, review and planning of nursing services to meet service agreement requirements stipulated by the HSE and to support the development of plans to achieve required changes in service provision, working closely with the Director of Nursing and Quality and relevant Heads of Professions, Corporate and Facilities Managers and staff. To be responsible for the development of business cases and/or other proposals for improvements or modernisation of nursing/clinical services. To be responsible for the identification of cost improvements, service developments and income generation opportunities in nursing services within the service. To lead projects which improve the quality of services provided to patients evidenced by improved performance against national and international benchmarks. Participate in Local and/or Regional service plan development as directed by the CEO. 4
D. Performance and Financial Management: To act as a budget manager for BRH in respect of nursing resources and day to day expenditure. To be accountable for the effective use of nursing and clinical resources, alerting the Director of Nursing and Quality or the relevant clinical health manager in respect of imminent budgetary overspends. To monitor, control and report on nursing activity and income and expenditure, working closely with the Financial Director, Business Development, Human Resources and Nursing Department. To develop a series of performance indicators in line with corporate objectives for the organisation and support the achievement of hospice-wide Key Performance Indicators. To work with functional and professional heads to develop mechanisms to ensure that clinical activity is measured accurately and fully costed where appropriate. In collaboration with the relevant Heads of Department, contribute to initiatives and monitor/track performance targets and develop internal and external comparative performance monitoring information to support and inform decisionmaking within the organisation. To ensure that the quality of data regarding all clinical and day to day activity is of the highest quality and that staff understand their roles and responsibilities. Establish mechanisms which provide the Management Team with timely management information regarding performance against specified targets, budgets, contracts, service level agreements etc. To contribute to the development and implementation of corporate strategies and decisions within the organisation. To promote a corporate approach to Our Lady s Hospice & Care Services overall strategy objectives, mission and values. In collaboration with the Director of Nursing and Quality, CEO and Medical Director and participate in strategic planning, development and redesign of clinical services. E. HR Management and Organisational Development: Provide direct management for nursing staff and healthcare assistants and nonclinical services, and in collaboration with relevant healthcare managers, comply with Our Lady s Hospice & Care Services HR policies and procedures. 5
Maximise the contribution of staff by developing systems for performance management, personal development, individual and organisational development and continued skill mix review in collaboration with Human Resources. Ensure that the responsibilities and objectives for direct reports are clearly defined and understood job descriptions and person specifications up-to- date. In conjunction with the Director of Nursing & Quality and Human Recourses, regularly review staff complements and skill mix across the site to ensure that staffing is appropriate for current and projected clinical and operational demands. In collaboration with the Human Resources Department and relevant management, be responsible for the recruitment of nursing staff and healthcare assistants within BRH and ensure that effective local induction, probation and orientation process are completed in a timely manner. Be responsible for managing sickness and absence in accordance with hospice policy. Advise nursing staff/non clinical personnel on human resource issues in accordance with HR policies and procedures. Be responsible for facilitating nursing staff, health care assistants non clinical, to continue their education and personal development to support improved organisational performance. This includes the relevant professional programmes for registered nurses and approved FETAC/SKILLVEC courses for HCA s and courses relevant to non- clinical group. Liaise with the Education Centre, Heads of Departments, and HR to input on the Training and Education Plan encompassing mandatory, corporate and professional development objectives of clinical staff. Promote equal opportunity and adherence to best practice employment and approaches to managing and implementing change. F. Quality Assurance and Risk Management: Contribute to the development and lead on the implementation of best practice service modernisation and improvement plans and strategies within the Blackrock Hospice. Encourage a culture of continuous improvement and mutual co-operation in the achievement of the highest possible standards of clinical care and maximum efficiency. To work with Director of Nursing and Quality/Risk Department, stakeholders and colleagues to develop clinical governance systems within BRH and ensure that all relevant HIQA and international standards are met. 6
In collaboration with the Director of Nursing and Quality, ensure that effective leadership and effective systems are in place for the routine evaluation of infection control data, compliance with hygiene audits and the hospital s infection control policies and procedures. To ensure that Blackrock Hospice has an effective process for risk assessment and risk management in respect of clinical services and work in collaboration with Our Lady s Hospice & Care Services Risk Strategy. To co-ordinate the Hospice participation in local risk management initiatives to monitor clinical and non-clinical issues within Blackrock Hospice i.e. Health & Safety, Infection Control, Occupational Health, Fire Safety, environmental and organisational risks. To be responsible for ensuring that adverse incidents involving clinical care within Blackrock Hospice are investigated promptly, respecting confidentiality and taking preventative action where necessary to ensure that quality and risks prevention procedures are adhered to and fully implemented. G. Professional Leadership: To provide professional nursing, clinical and non - clinical leadership across Blackrock Hospice, ensuring an appropriate structure is in place to support Nurses, HCA s and non-clinical manager and in collaboration with relevant clinical heads of department - AHP s, to encourage innovation and promote succession planning. In collaboration with the Department of Nursing, develop and promote corporate nursing practice and integrated patient care policies, including the development of specialist nursing and multidisciplinary team approaches and policies. To be responsible for robust systems that regularly review clinical policies and procedures with a particular focus on the quality of practice and management. To support the Director of Nursing and Quality, and Human Resources colleagues with workforce planning, professional development and clinical leadership. To act as a resource to other members of the team, to other health care professionals and to students from external agencies. To co-ordinate and facilitate learning objectives for nurses undertaking diploma/degree courses when on clinical placement in the particular speciality. To strategically influence BRH s training and educational plans, to anticipate future service requirements, to ensure equity and maintain compliance with Our Lady s Hospice and Care Services Education, Training and Practice Development. 7
In liaison with the Director of Education & Research, work with providers of preand-post-registration education for Nursing and Performance SKILLVEC for HCA s to ensure relevant curricula are developed and delivered to meet the service needs of the hospice. To promote and maintain a culture of evidence based clinical practice ensuring the creation of effective local networks to share good practice and dissemination. To ensure that all statutory requirements related to Nursing practice and non clinical activity are met by Blackrock Hospice. To act as an advisor to the Director of Nursing and Quality on matters relating to professional conduct, Nursing Practice issues and statutory instruments. In liaison with the Heads of Department of Clinical Services, ensure operational role of Allied Health Professionals is fully integrated in to the day to day service provision of Blackrock Hospice. General To adhere to Departmental and Hospice policies at all times. To perform such other duties appropriate to the post as may be assigned from time to time by the Director of Nursing & Quality. Self Development To be aware of current developments and issues in health care by reading current literature and keeping abreast of new developments, attending in-house seminars, lectures and courses when possible and as appropriate in consultation with your Head of Department. To assume responsibility for his/her own professional development and safe work practice. To ensure a safe environment for himself/herself, colleagues and visitors. Professional To have a working knowledge of Our Lady s Hospice and Care Services policies. To present and act in a professional manner at all times and ensure colleagues do likewise. 8
Garda Vetting: Arrangements have been introduced, on a national level, for the provision of Garda Clearance in respect of candidates for employment in areas of the Health Services, where it is envisaged that potential employees would have substantial access to children or vulnerable individuals. Each candidate will be required to complete a Garda Vetting form. The post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post, which may be assigned to him/her from time to time, and to contribute to the development of the post while in office. This job description will be subject to review in the light of changing circumstances. It is not intended to be exhaustive but should be regarded as providing guidelines within which individuals work These duties and responsibilities are a reflection of the present service requirements and may be subject to review and amendment to meet the changing needs of the service. 9
PERSON SPECIFICATION Factors Essential Desirable Qualifications Registered in the General Division of the Register of Nurses as maintained by Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI). Post Graduate qualification in Palliative Care. Masters Level Degree. Post graduate qualification in a related field Leadership/ management qualification Experience Minimum of five years management experience at CNM2 level or above. A minimum of 7 years post registration experience. A good understanding of Clinical Governance, service planning, service provision, patient flows and resource management. Have experience of management of complex change. Sound and broad knowledge of priorities for nursing. Day-to-day people management including performance management and objective setting, recruitment and retention. Operational planning and implementation including strategic planning and options. Competent and 10
confident IT skills - Word, Excel, Power Point and e-mail. Evidence of consistent updating of clinical skills and knowledge. Demonstrable Coaching & Development skills within clinical practice. Financial management experience. People Management Sets up formal structures/processes to ensure staff involvement in key decisions. Keeps abreast of and anticipates staffing needs within departments. Clarifies individual roles, responsibilities and accountabilities. Able to act as an advocate and representative for Nursing, Staff and Patients. Leadership Demonstrate Clinical leadership and an articulate vision for Nursing. Embraces organisational change initiatives, establishing structure/roles to support it. Convincingly communicates benefits of change to others. Shows strong initiative; can work outside of standard protocol when necessary. 11
Able to bring new ideas/initiative to fruition. Problem Solving & Decision Making Able to make advanced decisions and manage the consequences. Show a logical and analytical approach to problem solving. Able to act quickly to address urgent matters. Demonstrates lateral thinking to generate non-obvious solutions to problems. Has basic finance and budgeting knowledge and draws on this to make decisions. Grasps how all decisions (both big and small) might affect other colleagues/customers, departments or the hospital. Planning & Organising Ensures most effective allocation and use of resources. Anticipates problems and issues and takes preventative action to address these. Can multi-task, without losing focus. Manages competing and changing priorities. Organisational Knowledge Understands how each departments contributes to overall strategic goals. 12
Uses knowledge of structures within Blackrock Hospice Services to achieve goals. Understands national health strategies relevant to their service. Communication Have well developed verbal communication, influencing and regulating skills and the ability to respond positively to a rapidly changing environment. Draws on a variety of communication methods to fit situation/ circumstances. Listens openly, using questions to check for understanding/avoid misinterpretation. Be a reflective practitioner and recognise the need for personal external facilitation. Have the ability to develop and maintain effective local and national networks. 13