The CNM 3 is a leadership role that is vital in supporting the management of the Our lady of Lourdes Hospital site. The new CNM3 team will support the Assistant Director of Nursing within the area of Critical Care. The post holder will enable enhanced expert clinical leadership and support to our team in the ICU to ensure a safe and quality service i.e. right person, right place and right time.

The CNM III will manage Critical Cate (ICU/HDU) in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital offering advanced treatment modalities to level two and three patients admitted via the Emergency Department, Operating Theatre and internal/external transfer.

The CNM 3 post has a pivotal role in service planning and development, co-ordinating and managing activity and resources within the clinical area.

The CNM 3’s responsibilities include:

• Overseeing the quality of nursing care,
• Ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and adherence to legislative requirements,
• The development and implementation of policy and procedures,
• The monitoring of patient and service activity and the delivery of agreed levels of service in line with the local hospitals service plan, RCSI Hospital Group and HSE.

The CNM3 plays a key role in providing clinical and professional leadership and supporting and promoting Nursing values. The CNM3 will support our team to ensure the achievement and operationalisation of service initiatives and the strategic goals of nursing and the organisation.

The RCSI Hospital Group includes the following hospitals: 

• Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9
• Cavan General Hospital, Cavan
• Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15
• Louth County Hospital, Dundalk
• Monaghan General Hospital, Monaghan
• Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda
• Rotunda Hospital, Dublin 12

The Academic Partner for the Group is the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences.

RCSI Hospital Group provides a national service and a regional service to Dublin and the North East and is committed to the provision of world-class care, exceptional clinical services with respect and compassion.

Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda is a busy model 3 Hospital with 535 beds. Services delivered include a range of inpatient, ambulatory and outpatient services including; Emergency Care Trauma Orthopaedics, Maternity Services, Paediatric Services, General and specialty Medical and Surgical services, Critical Care and CCU Services on a 24/7, 365 day basis. The Hospital and Nursing Team in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital have a track record of excellence, innovation and high performance. We have a record of attracting and retaining a highly talented Nursing Workforce. We are currently engaged in the Magnet 4 Europe Programme, a programme of workplace redesign to the improve working lives and working experience of Nurses.

The Post Holder will:

• Provides leadership and management in the maintenance and development of a high quality nursing care provision.
• Liaise appropriately with the Multidisciplinary Team members to ensure safe timely and effective care.
• Assist and direct Nursing Services ensuring that a high standard of patient care is maintained on all wards/departments.
• Support and encourage staff in implementation of hospital procedures and policies.
• Support staff learning within clinical area.
• Direct, supervise and mentor staff by providing advice on the delivery of nursing care and demonstrate practical nursing skills where appropriate.
• Maintain contact with acutely ill/deteriorating patients throughout the hospital and provide clinical expertise to ward staff.
• Liaise with Advanced Nurse Practitioner Critical Outreach team regarding clinical emergencies throughout the Hospital and follow up with appropriate guidance and support.
• Assist in event of a major incidents or internal emergencies within the hospital.
• Manage and promote safe delivery of expanded nurse roles.

Key Duties:

      Service Management

• Participates in the formulation and review of specific policies, procedures and protocols in collaboration with the appropriate stake holders.
• Liaises with the Practice Development Unit to ensure delivery of evidence based care.
• Understand and co-ordinate Patient Flow activity in line with best practice and set Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) in conjunction with the Director of Nursing to monitor the effectiveness of the role.
• Develop reports, and utilise data to inform decisions.
• Provide supportive supervision and advice for all members of staff.
• Support the development of a culture of continuous quality improvement.
• Be actively involved in revising Incident Management plans/Major Emergency Plans for Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital.
• Ensure clinical/non clinical emergencies are managed and communicated/escalated to the relevant managers at the appropriate time.
• Manage any issues which interfere with clinical standards of care, and communicate/escalate to relevant managers.
• Lead and contribute effectively to the change process within Our Lady of Lourdes Hospitals and the RCSI Hospital Group.
• Promote appropriate handling of complaints as they arise. Investigate and review systems and processes and monitor the necessary action taken to resolve any underlying problems, including education arising as a result of a complaint. The post holder will be expected to undertake a complaints officer role.
• Participates in the development of the annual nursing department service plan advocating for Critical Care requirements.
• Develops an annual report for the service.
• Promote and support the delivery of quality improvement plans and other components of internal and external quality assurance programmes e.g. HIQA/National standards and Programmes, e.g. Hygiene, Infection Prevention & Control, Medication Management, Discharge Planning.
• Ensure systems are in place to ensure time to communication with staff, i.e. Team Meetings Safety Pauses, Debriefing sessions.

Clinical/Professional Practice

• Ensure that the requirements for An Bord Altranais agus Cnáimhseachais na hÉireann (Nursing and Midwifery Board Ireland) for the Practice of Professional Nursing/Midwifery are met and upheld at all times.
• Support the philosophy, objectives and goals of the Nursing Service and the RCSI Hospital Group.
• Participate, co-operate and take the lead in quality initiatives against which clinical/non clinical practice can be measured and continuously evaluated.
• Lead and/or participate in audits e.g. Quality Care Metrics, Environmental Hygiene Audits, Hand Hygiene Compliance, HCAI Audit, ensuring time bound action plans are put in place to address non compliances and deliver improvement
• Use data to inform decisions.
• Assist in identifying specific areas in which improvements can be made and work to continuously improve standards of care delivered.
• Work with CNM 2’s and Nursing Colleagues to ensure that standards of patient care are managed in accordance with best practice.
• Develop and maintain expertise and competence in a range of therapeutic interventions, procedures and pathways including, but not limited to; Non Invasive ventilation and associated pathways, ACLS, PALS, ATLS, FAST Protocol, Chest Pain Pathway, Urinary catheterisation, venepuncture cannulation, Critical Care retrieval/Transport and other inter-hospital transfer protocols.
• Ensure practice reflects requirements of NCEC National Clinical Guideline No 11, Communication (Clinical Handover) in Acute and Children’s Hospital Services.
• Liaise with the MDT within the Critical care area help ensure a holistic approach to timely , evidence based care
• With the Clinical Skills Facilitators ensure nurses reach their full potential through a structured induction programme and pathways to undertake foundation and post graduate courses specific to critical care nursing.
• Be familiar with the National Critical Care Programme (HSE) strategies and guidelines.

Human Resources

• Be aware and respond appropriately to staffing and skill mix levels in all clinical areas.
• Liaises with the ADON Out for Critical Care and the Director of Nursing as appropriate should concerns arise with regard to staffing or skill mix.
• Assists the Director of Nursing to fully implement policies with regard to managing absenteeism.
• Maintains a high level of staff morale, promoting good communications, team spirit and job satisfaction among nursing staff and other members of the Out of Hours team.
• Provide leadership and direction to all staff and ensure clear lines of communication.
• Advise staff on opportunities for professional development programmes and ensure continual ongoing professional education in line with service need.
• Lead out on a plan that promotes succession planning for Nursing and HCA posts within the Our lady of Lourdes Hospital
• Participate in staff recruitment and retention initiatives.
• Ensure accurate systems are in place that give real time data as to how nurses or HCA’s are deployed.
• Manage staff attendance in line with policy ensuring a system is in place for regularly monitoring and reviewing absenteeism.
• Undertake training in SAP/HR and ensure the system is kept up to date and accurate.

Quality

• Monitors standards of care across all clinical areas in Critical Care Unit and put systems in place in conjunction with the Assistant Director of Nursing where the standard is not being met.
• Participates in measuring and monitoring nursing metrics and associated action plans within clinical areas.
• Monitors and evaluates outcomes of service and contributes to the development and implementation of best practice and to improvement plans and strategies within the service.
• Encourages a culture of continuous improvement in the achievement of the highest possible standards of care.
• Works in conjunction with the Assistant Director of nursing to ensure all relevant national and regulatory standards are being met. e.g. HIQA, NMBI.
• Participates and support appropriate clinical audit within the unit. Contributes to projects which improve the quality of patient services.
• Will use quality improvement methodologies to ensure the delivery of quality improvement projects that will provide safer better healthcare for patients.
• To ensure that the Critical Care Unit has an effective process for risk assessment and risk management in respect of identification and managing risks.
• Maintains and promotes the national standards for infection prevention and control.
• To be responsible for ensuring that adverse incidents involving nursing care are reported and investigated promptly, respecting confidentiality taking preventative action where necessary to ensure that IQS procedures are adhered to and fully implemented.
• To ensure serious reportable events are managed as per HSE national guidelines.

Professional Leadership:

• Ensures that the requirements and code of professional conduct of NMBI for the practice of professional nursing are met and upheld.
• Demonstrates visibility, innovation and flexibility in nursing practice.
• Provide leadership in clinical practice and acts as a resource and role model.
• Demonstrate resilience and composure.
• Demonstrate openness to change.
• Demonstrate continuous profession development relevant to position

Self-Development:

• Has a creative outlook enabling progress to be made towards the ultimate objective of reaching standards of excellence in the provision of the service.
• Reads current literature and recent nursing research, attends seminars and is aware of any new developments in nursing practice and in current and future trends.
• Attends and participates in staff development programmes.
• Discuss present performance and future needs with the Assistant Director of Nursing utilising a professional Development Plan (PDP)

Finance

• Develop, maintain and adapt budgetary control systems.
• Manage budget in compliance with the Financial Plan agreed annually with the Director of Finance
• To work to identify and implement opportunities for increasing cost effectiveness and value for money and income generation
• Monitor the staff complement for Critical Care.
• Assist the ADON in estimates of human resource requirements each year and negotiates these with the Director of Nursing
• Develops cost monitoring systems and tracks locum budgetary spending on staffing in consultation with ADON/DON so as to create and maintain an up to date picture of expenditure for discussion with Director of Nursing, Finance Director and others, as necessary.
• Assists with controlling expenditure within budget by monthly reviews, with Director of Nursing and agrees to implement cost effectiveness measures required by Director of Nursing.
• Advises ADON on the expenditure and utilisation of agency or locum staff.
• Develops cost monitoring systems and tracks locum budgetary spending on staffing in consultation with the Out of Hours Manager so as to create and maintain an up-to-date picture of expenditure for discussion with Director of Nursing, Director of Finance and others as necessary.

Clinical Governance

• Be familiar with the organisational governance structure and the Nursing Governance Structure within the Louth Hospitals and RCSI HG
• Work in close collaboration on a daily basis with the operational while having clear reporting structures to the ADON/DON Our lady of Lourdes Hospital.
• Clinical governance should be managed to comply with statutory obligations, in conjunction with relevant staff e.g. health and safety procedures, quality, risk management
• Take appropriate action on any matter identified as being detrimental to staff and/or service user care or wellbeing / may be inhibiting the efficient provision of care
• Ensure adherence to established policies and procedures e.g. health and safety, infection control, storage and use of medications etc.
• Ensure compliance with the quality and risk safety framework programme.
• Maintain a feedback mechanism with the risk advisors and report to the Assistant Director of Nursing as appropriate.
• Attend local Governance meetings
• Ensure adherence to Hospital policies in relation to the care and safety of any equipment supplied for the fulfilment of duty. Ensure advice of relevant stakeholders is sought as part of the procurement process e.g. CNS infection control
• Ensure systems are in place to manage resources effectively in line with sound adherence to financial regulation

Information Technology

• Ensure the most effective and efficient use of developments in information technology for both patient care and administrative in a manner that integrates well with systems throughout the organization.
• Utilise the CIS inpatient management system for ICU.
• Facilitate the Critical Care Audit nurse in the collection of data and review and share results from NOCA/ICNARC regarding Critical Care KPIs
• Comply with Data Protection policies and statute.

 Health & Safety

• Ensure that effective safety procedures are in place to comply with the Health, Safety and Welfare at Work Act.
• Take urgent remedial action and report all health and safety related incidents and accidents.
• Report and investigate Health and safety incidents in line with HSE Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Hospitals’ policies and procedures.

Candidates Must:

On the latest date for receiving completed application forms for the office:

• Be registered in the General Division of the Register of Nurses kept by An Bord Altranais agus Cnáimhseachais na hÉireann (Nursing and Midwifery Board Ireland), or be entitled to be so registered.

• Must have a minimum of seven years post registration experience, five years of which must have been in an Acute Care setting, with two years’ experience at Clinical Nurse Manager within a Critical Care Setting

And

• Have the clinical, managerial and administrative capacity to properly discharge the functions of the role

And

• Demonstrate evidence of continuing professional development

Post Specific Requirements

• Have proven clinical and professional managerial ability, leadership, communication and organizational skills. 

• Access to transport to allow cross site working when required.

Technical & Professional Expertise

Has a command over the technical/ professional skills and knowledge required within the job holder’s role and continues to upskill to maintain high professional standards and continuous professional development requirements

Leadership & Management

Manages performance to deliver team goals; demonstrates accountability for leading, directing, monitoring and evaluating RCSI Hospital Group services. Creates a climate in which people want to do their best. Promotes confidence and positive attitude; influences others to follow a common goal.

Attention to Detail

Is thorough and precise when accomplishing a task showing concern for all aspects of the job; developing detailed plans; accurately checking processes and tasks.

Flexibility & Adaptability

Works effectively within a variety of situations with individuals or groups. Adapts one's approach as the requirements of a situation changes; adjusts tasks and priorities when necessary. Accepts that changes in one’s role may be required from time to time.

Resource Management

Manages and utilises the organisation’s resources in the most effective manner to maximise the value for money proposition and to identify costs savings where possible.

Results Driven & Accountable

Focuses on delivering results; always concerned with achieving or surpassing goals and/or recognised standards of performance.