University Hospital Kerry (UHK) is a dynamic, large Model 3 Acute Hospital situated in Tralee, Co.
Kerry.
UHK is the third largest hospital within the HSE South West Region, with close links to the tertiary referral centre at Cork University Hospital.
As a teaching hospital, UHK primary academic partner is University College Cork.
It also has close affiliations with Munster Technology University, Kerry.
The hospital has a staff compliment in excess of 1,650 WTE, of which 680 WTE are nursing and midwifery.
UHK serves a population of over 180,554.
The catchment area include Kerry, North and West Cork, South and West Limerick.
In addition, approximately 2 million tourists visit this region on an annual basis, with some requiring acute hospital services.
UHK provides a wide array of services including General Medicine, Surgery, Paediatrics, Neonatal unit, Critical Care (Intensive Care and a Coronary Care Unit), Maternity and Womens Health Services, Palliative medicine and Mental Health.
The hospital has a 24/7 Emergency Department and an Acute Medical Assessment.
Day services include Day Surgery, Ear Nose & Throat, Renal Dialysis, Oncology day, Colposcopy / hysteroscopy, and visiting speciality services for Dermatology, Neurology, Plastic Surgery and Ophthalmology.
The ED cares for ~ 36,000 emergency presentations.
The average annual activity levels are approximately 13,000 inpatient discharges, 11,000 day case presentations and 54,000 outpatient attendances.
Health Region Implementation The reorganisation of the Health Service Executive (HSE) into 6 new health regions, in turn divided into 20 Integrated Health Areas (IHA) is central to the Sláintecare vision for care delivery.
The HSE South West is one of 6 Health Regions, within 3 IHAs.
The 3 IHA in the HSE South West are Cork South and West, Cork North and East and Kerry.
UHK sits within IHA Kerry.
The new regional structures will provide the organisational and aligned corporate and clinical governance arrangements to enable population-based planning, management, and delivery of integrated care for people within a region.
The primary objective of this reform is to help deliver universal and integrated care for people, providing them with timely access to the care they need, when they need it.
This will help to ensure that the needs of people are prioritised by promoting a culture that seeks to continuously improve the access to, and quality of health and social care services.
The structure and associated functions of the Health Regions are evolving in line with the implementation of the Health Regions programme to achieve a clinically led, professionally managed, integrated governance structure which will result in:
An integrated approach to management, governance and service delivery across hospital-based and community-based services The delivery of high-quality and safe services Regional and national consistency in quality and standards of care High standards in clinical aspects of governance Sustainable quality assurance and improvement Bringing decision making closer to the point of care with increased responsiveness More streamlined care pathways for patients within and across specialties, organisations and functions The DON will play a significant role in terms of planning nursing services to facilitate integration of care and support the Health Region programme of care delivery.
Much guidance and strategic policy development has come into effect which paves the way for nursing and midwifery professionals.
The Report of the Expert Review Body on Nursing and Midwifery (DoH, ****) offers huge opportunities for nurses and midwives to strengthen their capacity to deliver and co-ordinate excellence in care design, integration and delivery of modern healthcare.
The strategy for the Office of the Chief Nursing Officer ********* outlines key priorities to further build capacity and capability within the nursing and midwifery workforce, influence technology supported care and maximise the contribution of nurses and midwives in delivering safe and quality care for patients and service users.
Pupose of the post The primary focus of the Director of Nursing role is to improve the patient experience, quality of care and patient outcomes in the context of developing a culture of performance improvement within the allocated resources.
The Director of Nursing is;
· Responsible for providing strong strategic, professional and clinical leadership for all Nursing and Health Care Assistant staff within the context of working within a Multidisciplinary and Integrated Teams within the HSE South West Regional structure.
· Accountable for the development of staffing structures, delivery of the policy for safe staffing and skill mix staffing skill mix in the acute setting and for the clinical and operational competence of all staff under his/her authority.
· Demonstrate leadership in relation to the core HSE values of Care, Compassion, Trust and Learning through Integr8 commitments.
(HSE Corporate Plan ***********).
· Quality and Patient Safety will be to the forefront of the post and the post-holder will play a key role in working with the National Clinical Care Programmes and the development and implementation of Quality & Patient Safety initiatives for his/her areas of responsibility.
The Director of Nursing is a member of the Hospital Executive Management Team (EMT), Regional DONM team and will have a key role in creating an atmosphere and culture where excellence can flourish with strong multidisciplinary collaboration across the Hospital, HSE South West and integrated care areas.
We welcome enquires about the role.
For informal enquiries please contact:
Ms.
Mary Fitzgerald, Head of Service, University Hospital Kerry.
Tel: ***********
Email; ****** Ms.
Nicola Brett, Regional Director of Nursing and Midwifery, HSE South West.
Tel: ***********
Email: ****** For information in realtion to the recruitment process please contact ******