Charge Nurse

About This Role

This night-shift post on the cardiac ward pairs patient care with mentoring new nurses. The Charge Nurse provides day-to-day leadership within a specialist adolescent mental health service, supporting staff development and ensuring high-quality care on a 12-bed inpatient unit for young people aged 11 to 18. The role involves contributing to audits, maintaining clinical standards, and supporting service improvement.

Responsibilities

• Support day-to-day leadership of the ward, including acting as the senior nurse during out-of-hours shifts
• Work closely with the Modern Matron and Clinical Nurse Lead to support staff development, including recruitment, induction, training, and supervision
• Contribute to audits, maintaining clinical standards, and supporting service improvement
• Provide high-quality nursing care within a therapeutic inpatient environment for young people, supporting care planning, treatment delivery, and family involvement while working as part of a multidisciplinary team
• Support communication within the team by ensuring accurate documentation, maintaining professional relationships, sharing updates from senior staff, and keeping young people and families informed and involved in care decisions
• Contribute to the education and development of the nursing team by delivering supervision, mentoring staff and students, assisting with appraisals, and supporting clinical training and governance initiatives
• Take on leadership responsibilities including shift coordination, staff support, policy implementation, incident reporting, recruitment, and ensuring compliance with clinical and professional standards
• Promote a safe environment by following health and safety policies, reporting incidents or equipment faults, assessing risks, and contributing to audits and continuous service improvement

Requirements

• Strong clinical judgement
• Calm and reflective approach
• Experience in acute inpatient care

Nice to have:

• CAMHS experience
• Knowledge of the Mental Health Act

Benefits

• Excellent opportunities for career progression
• Access to tailored individual and Trust wide learning and development
• 27 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days with continuous service
• NHS Discount across a wide range of shops, restaurants and retailers
• Competitive pension scheme
• Lease car scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Mental Health First Aiders
• Staff accommodation (waiting lists apply)
• Staff networking and support groups hosted by our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion team