Spire Healthcare – Clinical Job Descriptions
1
Job Title / Code
Head of Clinical Services/Matron (00219)
2
Reports To
Hospital Director.
3
Department
Spire Hospital
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Job Purpose
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
Provide overall clinical leadership and operational management to all areas of the clinical and
non-clinical service areas as agreed with the post holder.

Promote a cost effective, patient focused quality service for the continuing success of Spire
Healthcare.

Provide clear focus on business results; maintaining the balance between quality healthcare
delivery and sound financial performance.

Lead and implement the hospital’s clinical strategy and provide support and input to the hospital’s
overall business strategy, consistent with corporate direction.

Deputise for the Hospital Director in their absence.
Overall Responsibilities
1)
Set and maintain clinical practice standards within a Governance and Regulatory framework.
2)
Develop and share evidence based clinical practice.
3)
Provide, receive and manage complex, sensitive or contentious information.
4)
Develop own knowledge and practice and facilitate continual professional development amongst
others.
5)
Develop a working environment and culture that actively improves health, safety and security.
6)
Develop strategies and policies for service improvement within an evolving corporate agenda.
7)
Maintain quality to agreed standards within the operating model.
8)
Promote and influence a culture that actively celebrates diversity.
9)
Provide transformational leadership through personal and expert power.
10) Delegate work to others appropriate to knowledge and skills through the application of effective
management practices.
11) Work in partnership with the Hospital Director and consultants to achieve Annual Operating Plan
delivering the hospital clinical strategy.
12) Manage Human Resource activities for all members of the clinical teams.
13) Act as Caldicott Guardian in respect of confidentiality and data protection safeguard and govern
uses of patient information within the hospital.
14) Act as the Director of Infection Prevention and Control for the hospital (DIPC).
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Specific Responsibilities
1.
2.
3.
4.
Set and maintain clinical practice standards within a Governance and Regulatory
framework.

Discuss and agree with colleagues, the required capabilities and competencies for safe
practice, across the hospital.

Ensure clinical practice is provided within a framework of Clinical Governance all times.

Ensure and monitor effective systems are adhered to for the delivery of appropriate,
individualised pathways of care with patients receiving high standards of clinical care in a
safe environment. .

Compare current practices, trends and developments against appropriate benchmarks.

Promote an ethos of effective clinical risk management so that the implication of the care
process is considered, including the need for referral to others.

Achieve the KPIs specified by business development to optimise clinical outcomes.
Develop and share evidence based clinical practice.

Acting as an exemplary role model to ensure evidence based practice is provided within all
clinical teams taking every opportunity to promote innovative practice.

Analyse outcomes with colleagues so that implications for further action are identified and
actioned. Ensure audits are completed and positive action is taken.

Use contact both inside and outside Spire Healthcare to maximise learning and sharing of
best practice, while actively encouraging the team to build further networks.

Work as part of an integrated hospital network to ensure optimum performance.
Provide, receive and manage complex, sensitive or contentious information.

Critically appraise all information in order to manage communication effectively.

Sensitively communicate with others in a manner that is consistent with their culture,
recognising and managing differences of opinion, enabling a constructive outcome to be
achieved.

Effectively use a variety of communication skills and styles to achieve long term local and
national goals.

Build openness and trust, value individual contributions.

Encourage two way discussion and offer constructive feedback
meetings but when informal occasions present an opportunity.
not only at
formal
Develop own knowledge and practice and facilitate continual professional development
amongst others.

Evaluate your personal development plan making use of appropriate learning opportunities.

Prepare for and actively take part in Spire Healthcare’s enabling excellence programme so
that personal development objectives can be set.

Undertake enabling excellence reviews of all direct reports, ensuring every person has a set
of SMART and meaningful objectives with each person contributing to the formulation of
objectives and balanced scorecard.

Continually review performance and objectives due to new developments, modify plan and
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make necessary changes to ensure goal achievement.
5.
6.

Always take action against under performance.

Maintain personal development portfolio, evaluating the currency and sufficiency of own
knowledge and practice. Learn from personal experience and learn from mistakes.

Lead and develop a learning culture in line with Spire’s networking principles, creating a
climate of collaboration.

Encourage others to practice in a reflective manner. Challenge complacency and actions
which are not in the patients’, business or publics’ interest.

Alert senior managers to resource issues that affect learning, development and
performance.
Develop a working environment and culture that actively improves health, safety and
security.

Maintain a robust system to manage the risks to health, safety and security using
assessment results to promote and improve practice.

Ensure that the working environment is as safe as possible and complies with
organisational, professional and legal requirements and guidelines.

Ensure individuals and teams are aware of their rights and responsibilities and know the
factors that may adversely affect health, safety and security.

Ensure individuals and teams are able to access suitable learning opportunity to enable
them to work in a healthy, safe and productive way, and are able to voice their concerns
without fear of reproach.

Act as a role model in promoting health, safety and security and engage in appropriate
exercises and training and investigations to update and extend knowledge. Encourage these
characteristics within others.
Develop strategies and policies for service improvement within an evolving corporate
agenda.

Ensure that legislation, policies and procedures are correctly applied within the hospital.

Continually look for improvements relating to the patient journey, satisfactory resolving all
complaints.

Evaluate information available regarding clinical standards developing action plans where
gaps exist.

Challenge and support on the efficacy of clinical services. Pay particular attention to risk
management, business priorities, service issues and the impact of corporate and public
strategies that may affect services.

Lead and implement the hospital’s clinical strategy and provide support and input to the
hospital’s overall business strategy consistent with corporate direction.

Take account and present trends, developments and other factors that are likely to affect
clinical resources and their use in relation to Spire Healthcare strategies.

Continually look for ways to predict changing customer needs, challenging poor service. .

Monitor SOP, customer/consultant satisfaction surveys and other customer surveys and
schemes to continually improve the service.

Promote appropriate cross functional teamwork and introduce multi-skilling where the
opportunity presents.
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7.
8.
9.
Improve quality to agreed standards and operating model.

Act as a role model in quality improvement offering advice and support, ensuring continuous
governance.

Alert others to new developments in clinical risk management and the implications to their
practice.

Enable and energise others to take an active role in auditing, meeting within formal and
informal networks allowing pertinent issues to be addressed and resolved.

Continuously monitor activities against quality standards, anticipate factors that may reduce
quality and take effective action to address them.

Instigate the investigation of clinical incidents and complaints as per corporate policy.
Promote and influence a culture that actively celebrates diversity.

Promote patients’ rights and wishes, promoting awareness of prejudice and how this can
develop insidiously. Support and discuss with people their right to make a complaint, where
necessary.

Interpret the rights and responsibilities of people in ways that are consistent with legislation
and policies.

Actively promote equality, diversity, rights and responsibilities.

Treat everyone with respect irrespective of the situation.

Develop solutions that are capable of wider application when rights have been
compromised.

Ensure the compliance of equality, diversity and rights policies and procedures; regularly
review how they are being implemented providing support to improve effectiveness.

Challenge discrimination and develop solutions that are capable of wider application when
people’s equality, diversity and rights have been compromised. Monitor their effectiveness
providing additional support when necessary.
Provide transformational leadership through personal and expert power across a variety
of clinical teams.

Deputise in the absence of the Hospital Director over the full range of operational and
customer issues that affect the hospital, liaising with others as necessary.

Use knowledge and skills to manage and support the resolution of issues that arise, being
able to explain clearly to colleagues’ the rationale and reasoning processes.

Encourage and promote colleagues to appreciate the value of creating and sharing ideas
and developing knowledge for the organisation. Recognise, communicate and reward
achievements.

Lead and inspire others in taking forward clearly articulated corporate values and visions.
Establish goals and methods for developing clinical knowledge, ideas and work practices.

Give senior members of the team the opportunity to develop the less experienced by
encouraging a coaching culture and enabling effective succession planning.

Anticipate, plan and advocate for development and change.

Maintain and sustain the vision and objectives of improvements to the clinical agenda until
they are firmly embedded into culture, values and activities.

Overcome barriers to service improvement including those within senior and influential
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positions.

Challenge and influence views and actions that do not support the learning culture, business
objectives and standards in clinical practice, across teams (both vertically and horizontally).

Support and encourage people to understand their contribution towards challenging tradition
and successfully managing change for the enhancement of working practices.

Embrace joint responsibility for any arising problems and tensions, using these to inform
future practice.

Acting as an exemplary role model for others to emulate, inspire commitment and
enthusiasm by regularly communicating the key messages in line with Spire Healthcare. .

Lead, develop and empower staff to realise their full potential.

Be instrumental in the development of improved operational models for the delivery of
healthcare for our customers.
10. Effective management of clinical teams through the application of effective management
practices.

Delegate work to others using SMART principles, supported by the setting of target ensuring
competence in practice.

Accurately identify problems and possible solutions whilst maintaining people’s autonomy
and authority.

Use effective leadership practices and a collaborative working style balancing positive
people management with efficient work practices.

Regularly assess the clinical establishment and the staff profile fit, demonstrating the right
skill mix in relation to work load, risk assessment and patient dependency.

Identify threats to delegated work and take the appropriate action to counter them.

Maintain accurate, legible and complete records of resource availability utilisation making
them available to authorised people.
11. Work in partnership with the Hospital Director and consultants to achieve Annual
Operating Plan delivering the hospital clinical strategy.

With a focus on benefits, realistically evaluate clinical facilities, equipment and personnel
through financial justification and valid information.

Monitor and control resource availability and if necessary use realistic alternative courses of
action with relevant people when resources cannot be obtained in full.

Be commercially astute always attempting to stay a head of the competition, getting the
best deal without compromising Spire Healthcare’s vision and values for short term
financial gains.

Achieve all financial and operational targets set for patient/clinical areas. Ensures an
appropriate balance between quality healthcare delivery and good financial performance.

Work in collaboration with the Hospital Director in the delivery of the AOP.

Understand capital requirements and manage the use of available capital resources to
maximise the benefit to the business. Manage the process to ensure initiatives are achieved.

Use strategies and leadership practices that
providing solutions to areas of disagreement
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positively influence clinical consultants
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12. Manage Human Resource activities for all members of the clinical teams.

Select and retain individuals for posts using methods based on objective assessments
against agreed selection criteria.

Ensure compliance to an effective induction process for all new members of staff, reinforcing
standards of performance expected.

Ensure adherence to and promotion of all corporate Human Resources policies.

Successfully implement and support business redesign, giving your full support once the
decision has been made.

Establish, maintain and implement a manpower plan that reflects business needs and
corporate objectives.

Undertake and participate in the Service Organisation Profile and feedback personal and
departmental action plans at the earliest opportunity.
13 Act as Caldicott Guardian in respect of confidentiality and data protection safeguard and
govern uses of patient information within the hospital.

Ensure standards procedures and protocols are followed to govern access to personidentifiable patient information.

Understand and apply principles of confidentiality and data protection, challenging those that
do not comply with safe practice.

Ensure raised awareness through training and education of standards of good information
governance practice and Caldicott principles.

Work within the network to develop effective strategies and processes to maintain the use
and storage of patient information, making recommendations for further improvement where
appropriate.

Raise concerns when you think there is inappropriate use of patient information,
14. Act as the Director of Infection Prevention and Control for the hospital:
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•
Be responsible for overall Infection control (IC) programme and ensures it is in line with the
Infection Control Code (DH 2006)
•
Oversee IC policies and implementation
•
Challenge inappropriate behaviour and practice including poor antibiotic prescribing
•
Produce an annual report
•
Oversee an annual IC plan, in line with corporate objectives
•
Incorporate IC into clinical governance framework of the hospital
•
Report and update IC activity direct to Hospital Director.
Person Profile.
1.
Qualifications and Training

Essential
Clinical practitioner qualification.

Desirable
Clinical or management degree.
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2.
Experience

Essential
Meeting financial and key performance indicators.
Management, motivation and development of teams in particular a track record of
successfully applying performance management
Evidence of management of change and taking a key role in strategic management
initiatives.
Supporting the commercial development of clinical services including actively creating
new business and innovative opportunities.
Experience of consultant engagement to increase business performance, plus the ability
to challenge consultants to influence best practice
Previous experience as clinical Head of Department managing multidisciplinary teams.
Positive working relationship with regulators.
Dealing with serious adverse events.

Desirable
Strategic planning and development.
3.
Knowledge and Technical Ability

Essential
Knowledge of effective resource management tools e.g. finance - cost control; peoplejob design, restructuring, scheduling hours
MS Office and other relevant packages
Business Development skills e.g. creation of business cases
Understanding of marketing products and services
HR policies and procedures, particularly Performance Review
Comprehensive knowledge of all clinical competency frameworks and how these are
effectively applied in practise
Numerical and verbal ability
Root cause analysis

4.
Desirable
Skills and Behaviours
Leadership
Strategic planning
Passion for Customers
Planning and Organisation
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Problem Solving and Continuous Improvement
Communication and Influencing
Working Collaboratively
Concern for Standards
Business Focus
5.
Other
Practitioner registration and regulation.
Empathy for principles and importance of equal opportunities and dignity at work
Occasional need to exceed contracted hours due to the urgent/unforeseen needs of the
business
Flexible work processes across multidisciplinary clinical area
Willing to travel on company business and to share expertise between hospital locations.
Willing to lead corporate initiatives.
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Judgment Skills
9

Makes operational judgements, manages conflicting views and reconciles inter and intra
professional differences of opinion.

Uses a range of skills which exhibit as high performance practices to the customer.

Is commercially astute, and can think strategically, plan tactically and execute strategies
effectively.
Freedom of action.
10

Reports to Hospital Director.

Use initiative while working within established procedures, and practice to acceptable standards
for results.

Work within a wide range of clinical and professional guidelines.

Responsible for day-to-day management of self and all members of the clinical teams.

Act as an accountable practitioner, guided by the precedent and clearly defined occupational
policies and procedures, including the Nursing and Midwifery Council Code of Professional
Conduct and the Health Professions Council.

Act as an ambassador for Spire Healthcare
Dimensions

Demonstrates own activities or workplace routines to new or less experienced employees in own
work area.

Achieves the responsibilities within this job description in conjunction with the competencies for
Head of Clinical Services/Matron, as presented by Spire Healthcare.

Provides clinical and professional supervision to members of staff.
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Environment

The post holder will be based within a Spire hospital, functioning within a generally predictable
work pattern, although there will be regular periods of unplanned work that interrupts routine and
includes urgent requests for advice and information. There will often be pressures to work to strict
deadlines on some initiatives.

Frequent mental effort will be required to manage both routine and unpredictable demands on
clinical expertise and managerial issues.

The post holder will work within a team advising, educating and managing audit of clinical
practice.

There will be occasional exposure to distressing or emotional circumstances from both patients
and staff.
I have read, understood and accept this job description
Name :
Signature :
Position
Date :
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Review Date: Dec 09
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