# Band 8a - Matron, Ophthalmology

**Company**: West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
**Location**: Watford
**Experience**: senior
**Salary**: £59,798 to £67,020 a year inc. HCA
**Category**: Healthcare
**Industry**: Healthcare

**Apply**: https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/C9360-26-0489?utm_source=yubhub.co&utm_medium=jobs_feed&utm_campaign=apply
**Canonical**: https://yubhub.co/jobs/job_4850aa19-6a8

## Description

We are seeking an experienced, dynamic and highly motivated Matron to lead our Ophthalmology services within the Surgery, Anaesthetics & Cancer Division.

This is an exciting opportunity for a senior nurse with extensive ophthalmology experience to provide visible clinical, professional and operational leadership across our services.

As Matron, you will champion high-quality patient care, lead service improvement, support workforce development and ensure delivery of safe, effective and responsive services.

Working closely with clinical and operational leaders, you will play a key role in shaping the future of ophthalmology services, including the development of advanced clinical practice roles and innovative models of care.

This role includes a clinical component, participation in the Senior Nurse out-of-hours rota and following a year focus on Ophthalmology expanding the portfolio to include Head and Neck services.

This is a cross site role.

**Main duties of the job**

- Provide strong professional leadership to nursing teams, ensuring patients remain at the centre of all care delivery.

- Maintain a visible clinical presence and support frontline care delivery.

- Drive quality improvement, governance, patient safety and patient experience initiatives.

- Manage and develop senior nursing staff through appraisal, coaching and workforce planning.

- Lead responses to patient feedback, incidents and complaints to improve services.

- Support education, training and professional development across the workforce.

- Develop future workforce models, including Advanced Nurse Practitioner roles.

- Manage resources effectively and contribute to budget planning and financial performance.

- Work collaboratively with consultants, multidisciplinary teams, community partners and external stakeholders to deliver seamless patient pathways.

**About us**

With a new hospital planned for Watford, work underway to update theatres at St Albans City Hospital and plans for a neighbourhood healthcare centre in Hemel Hempstead, this is an exciting time to join us. We are building on the success of our award-winning virtual hospital and re-imagining models of care, working closely with partners and making the most of advances in digital healthcare. Staff wellbeing and development are a priority, as is the role of innovation in improving clinical care, outcomes and patient experience. Our vision is Excellent patient care, together and our values are to be empowered, compassionate, professional and inclusive.

**Benefits**

- Flexible working options

- Staff wellbeing and development programmes

- Opportunities for professional growth and career development

**Person Specification**

- Current and relevant NMC registration

- First level registered nurse

- Postgraduate qualification in Ophthalmology

- Evidence of continuous professional development

- Management experience including staff management

- Practice assessor or equivalent teaching qualification

- Experience at Band 7 or equivalent

- Current knowledge of clinical practice in an acute setting

- Experience working in partnership with multi-disciplinary team

- Knowledge of current developments in nursing and the NHS

## Skills

### Required
- NMC registration
- Ophthalmology
- Leadership
- Management
- Quality Improvement
- Governance
- Patient Safety
- Patient Experience
- Workforce Development
- Advanced Nurse Practitioner roles
- Resource Management
- Budget Planning
- Multidisciplinary teamwork

### Nice to have
- Master's level study
- Non Medical Prescriber Course
- Experience obtained in more than one clinical setting
- Research experience
- Audit experience

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Source: [Apply at jobs.nhs.uk](https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/C9360-26-0489?utm_source=yubhub.co&utm_medium=jobs_feed&utm_campaign=apply)