Clinical Manager

Purpose

The clinical manager is responsible for overseeing the safe delivery of nursing care and ensuring that the home’s clinical/care performance meets required fundamental standards. He or she adopts a ‘hands on’ approach, working with and taking responsibility for the nursing and care assistant teams and applying the highest standards of modern and professional practice. He or she ensures that the home’s policies and procedures are followed, along with relevant legislation, to meet residents’ individual needs. He or she also takes overall responsibility for managing the home in the absence of the home (registered manager).

Reporting to: Home Manager

What does the role involve?

The clinical manager has immense responsibility for the overall safety of nursing care and supports the home manager in facilitating the smooth running of the home.  He or she also takes responsibility for the running of the home in the absence of the home manager.

A clinical manager’s shift often starts early in preparation for the busy day ahead. The first task may be to do a ‘quality walk’ on all the floors, talking to night staff about what has happened during the night. He or she will later attend the nurses’ handover meeting and ensure that nurses, carers and assistant practitioners all know what is scheduled to happen that day.

Because quality assurance is a crucial aspect of a clinical manager’s role, they will spend time each day auditing various aspects of care delivery to identify errors and areas for improvement, developing action plans to rectify and problem areas. This may include reviewing the effectiveness of care plans or checking that medication is administered and stored safely. The clinical manager also conducts pre-admission assessments to evaluate potential residents’ needs and ensure that the home can meet these fully and safely.

Another core responsibility is to provide leadership and support to the nursing team. The clinical manager works closely with nursing team leaders to ensure that care aligns with residents’ needs. This involves offering guidance and addressing any challenges. The clinical manager conducts supervision and appraisals, dealing with staff rotas to ensure adequate coverage and assisting with recruitment and onboarding processes. They also help ensure that staff have the relevant skills and training to provide safe and effective care.