Director Of Nursing, Assistant University Hospital

Details of Service

Cork University Hospital (CUH) has approximately 800 beds and this will increase further to 1,000 beds on completion of the transfer of additional services to the CUH campus. CUH currently employs approximately 3,269 (WTE) staff of multiple professions and is the primary teaching hospital for the Faculty of Health and Science in University College Cork (UCC). UCC is the Academic partner of the South/South West Hospital Group. CUH has very strong relationships with each of the six schools within the Science Faculty of UCC and this is a key area for future development to maximise the opportunities for both the service and academia.

CUH is a recommended Major Trauma Centre for the Republic of Ireland due to the wide range of specialties delivered by the hospital – including Neurosciences, Cardiac Services, Orthopaedics, General Surgery, Renal, Internal Medicine, Vascular, Ophthalmology, Urology, Plastic Surgery, Maxillary-Facial, Paediatrics, Intensive Care, Oncology, Haematology, Obstetrics, Gynaecology, Neonatology and Emergency Medicine.

CUH is the tertiary referral centre for the HSE Southern area, and the supra regional area of Limerick, Clare, Tipperary, Waterford and Kilkenny. CUH therefore acts as a regional centre for secondary and tertiary care for the catchment population of approx. 550,000 served by the HSE Southern area and a supra-regional centre for a total a population of 1.1 million.

Sláintecare is about delivering a safe, quality health and social care service that meets the needs of our growing population, and attracts and retains the very best healthcare clinicians, managers, and staff. The new Sláintecare Implementation Strategy and Action Plan 2021-2023 sets out the priorities and actions for the next phase of the reform programme. The aim is to deliver a universal health service that offers the right care, in the right place, at the right time.

Purpose of the Post

The Director of Nursing 1, Assistant (Infection Control) serves as part of the Senior Nurse Management Team and will operate within the wider hospital management team.

The Director of Nursing 1, Assistant (Infection Control) is responsible for the standard of nursing care within the directorate and leads the nursing team in the development and coordination of the service within the directorate’s defined priorities. They translate directorate priorities for all nursing and healthcare assistant (HCA) staff with the aim of achieving the best possible clinical outcomes and experience for patients.

As a core member of the directorate management team they play a significant role in leading, planning and commissioning new services, identifying continuous improvement to current services and identifying new innovative ways of delivering effective services.

Infection Control

Infection prevention and control is fundamental to the effective provision and management of a safe environment for patients, healthcare workers and visitors at CUH. Infection prevention and control is everyone’s responsibility.

The Infection Prevention and Control team (IPCT) is a multidisciplinary team who promote best infection prevention and control practice.

The IPCT includes

• Clinical Nurse Specialists
• Consultant Microbiologists
• Registrars / SpRs in Microbiology
• Surveillance Scientist
• Antimicrobial Pharmacist

These staff have a specialist knowledge, experience and training in Infection Prevention and Control in the hospital setting.

The work of the IPCT includes:

· Clinical advice service

· Infection prevention and control advice service including compiling records of patients colonised or infected with transmissible micro-organisms such as MRSA, Clostridium difficile, Influenza

· Liaison between the laboratory and ward staff in relation to positive microbiology results

· Identification, tracking and management of outbreak situations as they occur

· Education of all grades of staff

· Audit

· Production and update of infection prevention and control guidelines in relation to emerging national and international guidelines

· Surveillance

· Input into other services e.g., technical services, project works, commissioning, hygiene services, and waste management

· Outbreak management

Hospital KPIs

· The identification and development of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which are congruent with the hospital’s service plan targets.

· The development of Action Plans to address KPI targets.

· Driving and promoting a Performance Management culture.

· The management and delivery of KPIs as a routine and core business objective.

Informal Enquiries

We welcome enquiries about the role.

Contact Helen Cahalane– Director of Nursing, helen.cahalane@hse.ie 021 4922116- for further information about the role

Contact Tamara Broderick- Recruitment Function, tamara.broderick@hse.ie – for enquiries relating to the recruitment process