Akeso Nursing Unit Manager

We provide meaningful careers that connect people with purpose.

We are united by a common purpose of providing the best and safest care; and by our shared values of Care, Truth, Participation, Compassion and Dignity.

Netcare invites you to be part of our journey.

The Nursing Unit Manager is responsible for maintaining the best practice standards in the nursing unit. He/she maintains these standards by leading, planning, co-ordinating and evaluating services performed in the nursing unit. The Nursing Unit Manager ensures optimal patient care through detailed staff development and medical/nursing research.

The Unit Manager will be responsible for co-ordinating improved quality nursing care by ensuring compliance to professional and ethical practice. The incumbent will also be responsible for monitoring and ensuring that nursing care and service delivery is implemented and practised within a multi-disciplinary quality assurance team. In accordance, the incumbent will be accountable for co-ordinating capacity-building, mentoring and training.

The role of the Unit Manager is to ensure ongoing support and training of the permanent staff in accordance with Akeso policies and procedures.

KEY WORK OUTPUT AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

CONSISTANCY OF CARE

Key responsibilities

• The Nursing Unit Manager is a role model for staff at all times and in all spheres.
• The Nursing Unit Manager plays a pivotal role in providing clinical leadership and ensuring delivery of high-quality mental health and physical health care to patients within the Akeso Clinic. The Nursing Unit Manager has knowledge, skills, attitude and role models a high standard of practice at all times.
• The Nursing Unit Manager has advanced skills and knowledge in the specialised field of mental health and will have decision-making responsibilities over the delivery of clinical care across the Clinic to ensure it reflects the organisation’s mission and vision.
• The Nursing Unit Manager provides strong and consistent leadership through developing a cohesive and effective nursing team and processes to enhance patients’ outcomes while maintaining privacy and safety for staff, patients and visitors.

The position description is a broad indication of the work required from the individual employee holding a particular position. The employee may be required to undertake certain duties which may not be indicated in this position description. • • The description is regarded as a precise specification of duties but should be regarded as a guide to main responsibilities.

• The Nursing Unit Manager is a leader, able to lead a nursing unit to the benefit of maintaining practices and procedures of medical care. He/she has excellent communication skills, both verbal and written. A Nursing Unit Manager exhibits professionalism and models these characteristics for nursing staff. He/she maintains awareness of current nursing trends. He/she forms part of the nursing management team and works collaboratively with the Nursing Services Manager and the Hospital Manager.

Hospital Manager.

• Nursing unit objectives are drawn up by the Nursing Unit Manager in collaboration with the Nursing Services Manager.
• Co-ordinates nursing staff on a day-to-day basis in accordance with the nursing acuities, including managing nursing staff assignments.
• Monitors and evaluates the nursing staff working under him/her.
• Delegates supervisory duties to other persons on the nursing staff (eg Registered Nurse).
• Promotes team-building and positivity amongst staff.
• Orientation of new staff.
• Directs the nursing staff regarding appropriate clinical practices to ensure quality care to patients.
• Takes a leading role in incident management and provides guidance to staff.
• Delegates staff’s duties on a daily basis / shift by shift in accordance with the nursing acuities.
• He/she conducts clinical and quality rounds and submits daily reports to the NSM.
• He/she carries out clinical risk assessment from time to time.
• To be on call on a rotational basis.

Administrative duties

• Identifies the need to develop new policies through consultations, needs analysis, meetings and observations.
• Takes an active role in policy and procedures review processes.
• Keeps self-informed of all hospital policies guiding nursing practice.
• Attends ward rounds where necessary and allocates a Registered Nurse in his/her absence.
• Attends meetings within the clinic: Operational meetings (weekly), meeting with Nursing Service Manager and Hospital Manager (weekly) and provides feedback to nursing staff as indicated.
• Plans and draws up the duty roster in a timely manner.
• Ensures that every shift has the right skill mix and maximises the utilisation of human resources within the nursing discipline.
• Timely completion of time sheets to nursing agencies and Hospital Manager.
• Liaises with nursing agencies regarding staffing.
• Fills in shifts as the need arises and in keeping with the nursing acuities.
• Utilisation of the delegation sheet to ensure equal distribution of duties, enhances accountability and ensures that resources are utilised to the maximum.
• Conducts monthly ward meetings and submits minutes to the NSM.
• Drafts a yearly staff leave plan and adjusts it according to ward needs in consultation with the NSM.
• Drafts a yearly in-service training programme and adjusts it to the ward needs in consultation with the NSM.
• Initiates progressive discipline and issues verbal, written warnings and final written warnings in consultation with the NSM.
• Participates in the initiation and conducting of staff disciplinary enquiries.
• Involved in nursing staff recruitment and retention processes.
• Conducts job interviews with the Nursing Service Manager.
• Submits overtime ward report monthly.
• Delegates RN for ECT weekly.

Finance

• The Nursing Unit Manager is not directly involved in financial estimates. However, he/she is expected to be prudent in the supervision and utilisation of human and material resources:
• Assists in and maintains the nursing operational budget.
• Ensures that human and material resources are utilised effectively, efficiently and with control.
• Manage all costs emanating from the department.
• Ensure correct billing, stock management and purchasing.
• Facilitate timeous and accurate compilation of files.

• Ordering of hospital stock – preventing stock-piling, ensuring appropriate use

• Oversees the ordering of patients’ medication, orders the ward medication stock.

• Checks and counts schedule drugs weekly.

• Purchases supplies and equipment for the nursing team as needed.

• Accounts for the ward allocated stock monthly to the NSM and the HM.

• Ensures that proper billing is done at the ward level.

Education

• Involvement in ongoing clinical teaching and training (on-the-spot teaching, yearly in-service training) is part of the NUM’s responsibilities to the nursing staff.
• Possesses a sound knowledge and understanding of South African Nursing Council (SANC) regulations, Scope of Practice of Registered Nurses, Enrolled Nurses, and Enrolled Nursing Assistant – keeping abreast with changes in the nursing profession.
• Has sound knowledge of the Mental Health Care Act No. 17, 2002, National Health Act 2003, Department of Health policies, National Core Standards guidelines and Mental Health Policy.
• Responsible for own professional development and education and avails self for courses/seminars and NSM development programmes.
• Leads by example.
• Mentors junior personnel.
• Maintains a leading role in staff orientation programmes.
• Determines the educational needs of staff through consultation, feedback and own observations.
• Develops In-Service training calendar in consultation with the NSM for nursing staff.
• Participates in rendering in-service education to nursing personnel.
• Ensures that all relevant legislations, policy and procedure manuals are available to nursing staff and provides expert advice to nursing staff regarding same.
• Attends conferences and seminars, and provides feedback to nursing staff.
• Keeps self-updated with new developments within the profession.
• Involves self in any research studies occurring within the hospital.

Professional conduct

• To interact with the patient in a polite and professional manner.
• To treat the patient with dignity and respect.
• To listen to the patient and be non-judgemental.
• To be an advocate for the patient.
• To establish and maintain a therapeutic relationship.
• To be an advocate for the clinic.
• To be a role model for peers and subordinates.
• To treat all clinic personnel with dignity and respect.
• To be non-judgemental towards your colleagues.
• To be helpful towards clinic personnel and the general public

General

• Ensures that all Health and Safety regulations are adhered to.
• Performs various tasks as assigned by management.
• Maintains a high level of confidentiality.

Patient care

• Provision of mental and physical health care.
• Promotes and preserves the caring and professional approach of the nursing team in person-centred health and care.
• Liaises with doctors to support detailed feedback regarding patients’ care, providing good-quality patient service.

Personnel

• Training, monitoring and management of nursing staff.
• Liaises with Nursing (Services) Manager and staff.
• Promotes and co-ordinates training and development of the nursing department. Assists with patients’ and doctors’ complaints.
• Ensures Akeso staff members have the necessary documentation on file and have a clear-to-work status.
• Liaises closely with nursing agency regarding staff requirements.
• Works closely with the Nursing (Services) Manager and/or Human Resources department to assist with disciplinary enquiries and relevant labour law legislation.

Ward rounds

The Nursing Unit Manager will attend and chair all the ward rounds to his/her unit(s). In ward round the NUM is to ensure that all patients on their unit, as well as all matters relating to their unit, are discussed. All discussions are to remain professional and to ensure that effective management of each patient is achieved (assessment, definition of treatment and selection of appropriate referrals). If consultants to their unit are absent from the ward round, the NUM is to ensure that all relevant feedback from ward round discussions are communicated with the relevant consultant(s).

Management of staff members

The Nursing Unit Manager is responsible for the management of their unit’s co-ordinator as well as all staff members that contribute to their unit(s). This involves providing clear guidelines of the unit’s objectives to all team members (permanent and consultants) that contribute to their unit(s) to ensure consistency in content addressed in both individual and group sessions. The relationship between the NUM and each staff member should be managed to ensure effective feedback can be given to each other. The relationships established should also allow for the NUM to identify and address any conflicts, performance or disciplinary issues and training needs amongst his/her team. The NUM is to remain in control and co-ordinate the leave of all team members so as to ensure that the therapeutic needs of the unit continue to be met effectively.

The Nursing Unit Manager will remain in close communication at all times with management so as to ensure complete transparency, which will allow management to support the NUM in decisions that are made within the unit(s) and the implementation thereof.

Patient numbers

• The Nursing Unit Manager is responsible for staying abreast of the patient numbers on their unit whilst remaining conscious of the quality of care. They are responsible for ensuring patient numbers are maintained throughout the year and reporting to management any difficulties they may have in doing so. The NUM should be actively involved in the assessment, admission and transferring of all patients across to their unit(s) and should maintain a positive attitude towards high patient numbers to their team. They should also be actively involved in the continual marketing of their unit to encourage new referrals.

Marketing

• The Nursing Unit Manager is responsible for remaining active in the continual marketing of their unit(s). They are responsible for establishing positive relationships with all existing referral sources, as well as being enthusiastic in the development of new ones. They are primarily responsible for the correspondence to all referral sources and for ensuring all relevant feedback is communicated to the referrer to ensure that confidence in the unit’s programme is maintained.

Corresponding with family members

• The Nursing Unit Manager is responsible for ensuring that all correspondence to family members adheres to the National Health Act 61/2003 of 2004 and The Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2004. The NUM is also to ensure that feedback to family members is prompt and effective in notifying the family and ensuring the appropriate referral of the family member when necessary.

Training

• The Nursing Unit Manager will be required to ensure that own training needs are met as well as the needs of their team to ensure that the most effective treatment and management techniques are being implemented at all times.

General

• Ensure that all Health and Safety regulations are adhered to.
• Perform various tasks as assigned by management.
• Maintain a high level of confidentiality.

Governance and quality management

• Identify quality improvement opportunities and ensure appropriate strategy and Quality Improvement initiatives are developed and measured.

Risk management

• Investigate all negative incidents and ensure appropriate recording of incidents.
• Monitor safety standards in accordance with the Machine and Occupational Safety Act (Act 6 of 1983). Report all accidents and incidents to Line Manager / Safety Representatives.
• Ensure compliance with protocols, procedures and policies.