Clinical Nurse Manager, Patient Flow, General Hospital

Details of Service

Bantry General Hospital is a Modal 2R hospital as defined by the Acute Medicine Programme.

It serves the population of West Cork and South Kerry by providing inpatient, outpatient and day patient services.

Bantry General Hospital provides a 24 hour medical service inclusive of the Medical Assessment Unit, Acute Medicine, Acute Stroke and Rehab and High Dependency Unit. It contains 50 acute inpatient beds and 12 rehab beds.

Bantry General Hospital delivers elective day-case surgical and endoscopy services.

Bantry General Hospital also has a HIQA registered 22 bed Residential Unit and offers a palliative care service (two beds).

Bantry General Hospital is supported by an Injury Unit and an Infusion Unit.

Specialist Nursing includes Cardiology, Diabetes, Tissue Viability, Dementia, Care of the Older Adult, Stroke and Infection Prevention and Control. A Practice Development team supports ongoing professional development.

Bantry General Hospital is a clinical site for the Undergraduate Nursing Programme in MTU Kerry.

Health Regions are geographically-based units with clearly defined populations. They align community and hospital services within specific areas. The HSE will retain a strong but leaner central organisation, with more service provision developed at a local level.

The HSE South West health region will manage and deliver all public health and social care services in Cork and Kerry. HSE South West includes all hospital and community healthcare services in the region.

This includes:

• South / South West Hospital Group S/SWHG

• Cork Kerry Community Healthcare CKCH

The Department of Population and Public Health is also now aligned with this health region

HSE Services working within this region include

• Acute hospital services

• Primary care services

• Community services

• Social care services

• Health and social care professionals

• Voluntary sector services

South / South West Hospital Group and Cork Kerry Community Healthcare will become part of HSE South West Health Region from 3rd March, 2025, and the transition to the new structures will be taking place throughout 2025.

Purpose of the Post

The overall purpose of the CNM3 Patient Flow is the appropriate and optimal utilisation of in-patient beds in Bantry General Hospital (BGH). The patient flow manager is responsible for proactively managing bed occupancy for both elective and emergency admissions optimising the bed flow in BGH. This role will be a key enabler to support the effective co-ordination of patient admissions, transfers and discharges.

The Patient Flow Manager – CNM3 is responsible for the standard of nursing care within the BGH and leads the nursing team in the development and coordination of the service within the south west region and its defined priorities.

Performance management systems and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are part of the function of this role and you will be required to participate in the Hospitals’ performance management programme.

The post holder will be responsible for the achievement of Local and National Patient Flow KPI’s and have responsibility to ensure that the hospital achieves agreed KPI’s. The measurement and monitoring of KPI’s will be undertaken by the CNMIII who will audit compliance and initiate improvement plans where necessary.

The Patient Flow Manager – CNM3 will:

· Assess and ensure the prompt availability of beds to accommodate daily admissions and transfers to BGH.

· Escalate any delays in bed availability which have the potential to cause a delay in the timely admission or transfer of patients in BGH and within the region (HSE South) where appropriate.

· The CNM3 Patient Flow has a key role in the management of patient flow to and from the Medical Assessment Unit and to other departments within the hospital and externally.

· In order to enhance the effectiveness of patient flow across the hospital, the CNM3 Patient Flow will engage and influence the prioritisation of patient aces to diagnostic facilities in collaboration with clinicians and other key flow management personnel.

· Work collaboratively with “in-house” colleagues who have responsibility to drive processes essential to timely discharge such as plan for every patient, discharge planning, predicted date of discharge, criteria-led discharge.

· Undertake daily ward rounds to determine accurate bed availability and be aware of bed status in relation to planned discharges, potential discharges and any patients who could possibly be discharged in the event of a bed crisis.

· Record and provide reports on bed management activity and to manage DTOC (delayed transfer of care) portal and DTOC patients in line with best practice.

· Be fully conversant with the bed management role in relation to major emergency planning for the hospital.

· Engage and influence the performance of the hospital patient flow pathways and support systems to facilitate optimum efficiency, effectiveness and safe responsive high quality patient services.

· Provide leadership and be accountable and responsible to further develop governance structures and within those have the authority to assess, plan, action, improve and review unscheduled care patient flow and KPIs.

· Have responsibility for developing and enhancing relationships across the Primary and Community Care structures creating collaborative fora in order to improve integrated working and problem-solving to reduce unnecessary attendances and support early discharge to the most appropriate setting.

· Collaborate with established clinical programmes to facilitate timely patient flow and will monitor (using data, analysis and intelligence) effectiveness and report on the performance of the patient pathways.

· The CNM3 Patient Flow will identify and support opportunities to develop IT practices to enhance patient care and flow, and to increase efficiency while decreasing workload e.g. the development of systems to facilitate rapid ordering, tracing, and review of diagnostic testing, electronic bed mapping and navigational hub.

· While recognising that the escalation policy contains automatic trigger, the CNM3 Patient Flow will be responsible for ensuring that the policy is promptly implemented and recorded as implemented in accordance with the provisions of the escalation policy, and to ensure that the escalation policy overall, is subject to regular and rigorous review.

Informal Enquiries

We welcome enquiries about the role.

Contact Catherine Harte (Interim Director of Nursing)catherinem.harte@hse.ie for enquiries relating to the post

Contact Tamara Broderick- People Resourcing, Tamara.broderick@hse.ie – for enquiries relating to the recruitment process