Governance Nurse Lead

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Governance Nurse Lead The closing date is 26 February 2026

Following investment through the Neonatal Critical Care Review funding we are seeking to employ an experienced, motivated, dynamic Neonatal nurse to join our team working cross-site as a Governance and Risk Nurse.

The aim of the role is to enhance the quality and safety of Neonatal care, showing leadership in the management of risk within both units and Care Group and achieve consistency in practice, high standards of care and innovation with a strong patient focus.

You should be keen to influence quality improvement for our babies / families and staff

Willing to work with the Matrons, Lead Nurse and Clinical Lead for Risk to manage Governance and risk on both units and across the Care Group

Have significant experience post specialist Neonatal course and should hold a mentorship qualification.

We pride ourselves in developing leaders for the future and as such, in return, we will enhance your leadership and management skills through individualised professional leadership and clinical development.

Main duties of the job The Neonatal Clinical Governance and Risk Nurse is a critical addition to the senior leadership across both sites and will provide leadership as well as contribute clinical knowledge to the clinical service. You will possess excellent communication and demonstrate commitment to patient safety and quality of care. Alongside the senior nursing team, you will be expected to assist in the assessment and improvement of both the Neonatal and Child Health governance and risk management strategy.

The role requires a deep understanding of the needs of neonatal patients and the ability to work collaboratively with a multidisciplinary team whilst developing and implementing high quality care to neonates and their family. You will assist in the development and provision of a comprehensive, high quality, family integrated and centred care service within the resources available.

The role will include using the Trust InPhase reporting system as well Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) to investigate and monitor action plans with provision of evidence. You will present reports and trends at the relevant Trust Governance platforms. You will be required to provide assurance and ensure standards are met for the London Operational Delivery Network as well as all external regulatory organisations in relation to safety, quality and key performance indicators for neonates.

About us The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King's to another level.

We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.

King's is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone's contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust's carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.

Job responsibilities Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Co-ordinate and promote the neonatology risk management processes.
• Oversee and monitor the staff use of the Trusts incident reporting system i.e. InPhase.
• Be a cohesive member of the Care Group and Trust Governance Team.
• Promote the Duty of Candour.
• Oversee national and local service evaluation and reviews and audits.
• Ensure the timely reporting by staff members of all neonatal clinical incidents.
• Collate incident statistics and monitor trends from adverse incidents.
• Communicate relevant findings to promote an environment which learns from incident reporting.
• Participate in the seamless investigation of all serious untoward incidents as instructed by lead Nurse/Matrons &/or the Trusts Governance and Risk team.
• Report incidents to other agencies where appropriate via the Trusts Governance and Risk Management Lead.
• Maintain and monitor the Neonatology Risk Register.
• Deputise as required at the Child Health Safety and Risk Management Board.
• Participate in the facilitation of department training programmes in relation to Health Care Governance.
• Production a risk management report as required.
• Develop clinical policies and guidelines to support risk management and clinical effectiveness and ensure archiving of all old policies.
• Participate in relevant clinical audits and risk assessments.

Complaints Management

• Work in partnership with the Neonatal Lead Nurse, / Matrons/Clinical Lead to manage the complaints process.
• Co-ordinate the prompt and succinct management of neonatology complaints within required timeframes.
• Maintain a high standard of investigation through the co-ordination of multi-professional responses.
• Within sphere of role, produce written responses to complaints which are considered, factual, empathetic and patient orientated and reflect a document which can be distributed on behalf of the Trust. Arrange and facilitate meetings with parent/carer(s) and their families and key staff members.
• Maintain a current log of complaints.
• Support the service to instigate changes in practice or systems in response to issues identified through the Trust complaint procedure.
• Provide advice for staff on both units and enable frontline staff to manage complaints appropriately.
• Support the complaints process through ongoing dialogue with the Trusts Patient Advice and Liaison Services Team (PALS).
• Ensure staff involved in the complaints process are supported in a sensitive manner.
• Produce timely reports which detail the themes and trends over designated reporting periods e.g., previous quarter.
• Regularly feedback to the Neonatal Management Team and the staff regarding trends and themes or individual issues.
• Liaise with and provide any documentation required.
• Act as the point of contact for the Patient Advice and Liaison Services Team (PALS).
• Act as the point of contact for families.

Litigation Responsibilities

• Work in partnership with the Trust legal department.
• Ensure that the Trust legal department are involved with the on-going management of legal cases.
• Support the multi-disciplinary team in the submission of evidence and statements.
• Maintain a register of ongoing legal cases for Neonatology.
• Contribute to the professional cohesive management of the litigation process in order to reduce the potentially negative impact to both the family and staff members.
• Maintain confidentiality relating to patients, staff and the Trust at all times.

Governance Issues

• Monitor both units compliance in governance issues.
• Contribute to the Neonatology Health and Safety Review process.
• Support the Matron and the Ward Managers with contemporary governance issues as they arise; and assist in the production and monitoring of action plans.
• Ensure Neonatal Business Continuity plans are in place and up to date.
• Support the Lead Nurse, Matrons, and Trusts Governance and Risk Lead in major escalation plans.
• Ensure safety plans & procedures are up to date for the service and workforce.

Education and Research

• To act as a mentor to junior staff members, responsible for the orientation, supervision and ongoing development of all learners (juniors, student nurses and midwives), in conjunction with Line Manager and Practice Development staff.
• To act as a mentor to staff and students undertaking further education as requested, ensuring a positive learning experience and facilitating the development of their clinical skills, completing competency documents.
• To contribute to the wider educational activities within the Care Group ensuring attendance at and contributing to the delivery of educational activities to the Multi-disciplinary team within the Care Group
• To participate in any research projects conducted in the clinical area as appropriate
• To assist in the development of policies and protocols within the clinical area and support the continuous quality improvement by audit and surveys and implement changes in the light of findings.
• To ensure that practice is evidence based and that clinical guideline standards and policies are implemented and to be actively involved in auditing practice in conjunction with the senior nursing team
• To act as a clinical resource within both units and across the Care Group as necessary

Communication

• Ensure all communication, which may be complex, contentious or sensitive, is undertaken in a responsive and inclusive manner, focusing on improvement and ways to move forward.
• Ensure all communication is presented appropriately to the different recipients, according to levels of understanding, type of communication being imparted and possible barriers such as language, culture . click apply for full job details