Integrated Discharge Team Leader

The post holder will be responsible to act as a lead in discharge planning across all areas of the trust. The post holder is responsible for managing a team of nurses who are responsible for the assessment and discharge planning of patients with complex needs ensuring the team provide a high quality, effective specialist nursing service to patients. The post holder will possess expertise in clinical risk evaluation, change management and the provision of educational support to patients, carers and colleagues across organisational and professional boundaries.Main duties of the job 1) To lead and manage the Integrated Discharge Team on a day to day basis, providing clinical leadership, support and guidance. 2) To support members of the team with facilitating discharge plans where there is a dispute with an individual case. 3) To assume responsibility for the most complex cases, including leading on the assessment of homeless patients ensuring that statutory responsibilities have been met. 4) To assume clinical responsibility for Intermediate Care placements made by the integrated discharge team and to deal with any issues that arising from these placements. 5) To ensure discharge pathways, red to green initiative and estimated discharge dates are embedded across the trust. 6) Maintains patient records appropriately and records relevant information. 7) To work with the appropriate managers to ensure the agreed Hospital Discharge Policy is effectively implemented and reviewed, identifying potential initiatives to promote greater integration between hospital, community and social services. 8)To act as the designated clinical link for the Trust in relation to NHS Fully Funded Continuing Care.

The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provides services to West Cheshire and to Welsh patients covered by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership. Its services are provided from three locations:

• The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 438 general and acute beds
• Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 56 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility
• Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population.
The Trust employs over 6258 staff (headcount) which includes temporary bank staff and provides acute emergency and elective services, primary care direct access services and obstetric services to a population of approximately 407,000. This includes 357,000 residents in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire which has a population of approximately 50,000. The Trust is a busy district general hospital and in 2022/2023, there were more than 503,342 patient attendances (inpatient, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery. This is an increase of nearly 10,000 compared to the previous year when there were 494,387 patient attendances.