Barnsley Hospice

IPU Sister/ Charge Nurse

The closing date is 04 January 2026

Job summary

Join Our Team as a Sister/Charge Nurse In-patient Unit (IPU)!

Do you thrive on leading a team to deliver exceptional care? Do you want to make a real difference to patients and families when they need it most? Are you ready to take the next step in your nursing career in a supportive, specialist environment?

Barnsley Hospice is looking for a compassionate and experiencedIPUSister/Charge Nurseto join our dedicated In-patient Unit team. In this rewarding role, you'll lead by example, ensuring the highest standards of palliative and end-of-life care for our patients and their loved ones.

You'll be the Nurse in Charge, guiding and inspiring your team, supporting professional development, and maintaining a calm, safe environment. From managing complex care needs to coordinating discharges and driving quality improvements, you'll play a vital role in shaping the future of hospice care.

Were looking for someone who:

Is a confident leader with excellent clinical skills
Can inspire and support colleagues to deliver person-centred care
Thrives in a dynamic environment and embraces change
Wants to make a genuine difference to local families

At Barnsley Hospice, we value compassion, teamwork, and innovation. We welcome applications from all sections of the community and are committed to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion.

If you want a role withheart, purpose, and the chance to lead with impact, this could be the perfect opportunity for you.

Main duties of the job

The IPU Sister/Charge Nurse will work as part of a dedicated specialist team to deliver excellent high-quality care whilst working as the Nurse in charge, leading a team and maintaining quality performance. You will be responsible for the smooth running of the unit in the absence of the Ward Manager maintaining the highest professional and clinical standards, and ensuring a calm and safe environment for all our in-patients and those who visit.

To work as part of a team planning and providing direct specialist nursing care and co-ordinated interdisciplinary care for allocated patients in the IPU, ensuring care is in keeping with the needs and wishes of patients and their families. Leading by example through effective leadership skills whilst evolving the role of sister.

About us

Barnsley Hospice is a charity that provides specialist palliative and end of life care to hundreds of local people and those close to them each year. Our main priority is to achieve the best possible quality of life for people living with a life- limiting illness, whilst supporting those close to them during the period of illness and bereavement. As a specialist care provider, the range of skills we offer include, pain and symptom management, emotional support and end of life care. The hospice currently employs about 100 people and has a team of volunteers, based both at the hospice and within our Retail Hub.

We are committed to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in all that we do and welcome applications from all sections of the community. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQIA+ candidates and candidates with disabilities because we are committed to increasing the representation of these groups at Barnsley Hospice.

Date posted

15 December 2025

Pay scheme

Other

Salary

£37,710.40 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

B0048-25-0030

Job locations

104-106 Church Street

Gawber

Barnsley

S75 2RL

Job description

Job responsibilities

Main Duties & Responsibilities:

Key Duties and responsibilities

Quality (includes safety/experience/effectiveness)

1.Provide expert professional advice and support to patients and carers and signposting appropriately to ensure they receive the right care and support.

2.Support the Multi-Disciplinary Team and facilitate the clinical development of Registered Nurses, Nursing Associates, Healthcare Assistants and other members of the Multi-Disciplinary Team including students.

3.Contribute to local and regional clinical networks and specific groups.

4.Demonstrate and promote a holistic philosophy of patient care ensuring that clinical leadership focuses on a person-centred approach to care delivery.

5.Provide professional support and advice regarding issues of patient care to clinical leaders and all members of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT).

6.To identify, coordinate and prioritise referrals to the Hospice, working with other professionals to ensure a timely and effective response for patients, which ensures patient dependency is in line with staffing levels.

7.To provide skilled nursing interventions for patients, working closely with the MDT to ensure a co-ordinated response to complex problems, working across the boundaries of inpatient services and outpatient services as appropriate, and to review progress of patients.

8.To ensure discharge planning is embedded from the commencement of services and to oversee complex discharge planning.

9.To be actively involved in standard settings, implementation and review.

10.To undertake surveys, audit or research as necessary to ensure delivery of evidenced based practice.

Governance & Leadership

1.To line manage the Nursing Team in the delivery of high-quality individualised specialist palliative nursing care across all patient care services, undertaking regular performance review and appraisal of staff and implementation of personal development plans.

2.To exercise leadership as the nurse in charge by supporting and inspiring colleagues to continually aim for the highest standards of care by acting as a professional role model.

3.To work collaboratively with members of the MDT driving the Clinical Governance agenda, providing expert input and working across professional and organisational boundaries to improve the quality of Hospice care services.

4.To support the ward manager to ensure that patient activity levels meet the expectations of commissioners, whilst ensuring patient discharges are timely and safe.

5.To support the ward manager with the patient services departmental budgets ensuring best value for money. This will include; effective rostering, use of bank and agency staff (cancelling bank/agency shifts as appropriate for workload) and effective use of consumables.

6.To attend/Chair (in the absence of the Ward Manager) ward meetings and participate in meetings such as Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Group (QIPSG).

7.To conduct investigations when clinical incidents or concerns come to light and complaints from Barnsley hospice patients, staff and visitors, making recommendations to the Ward Manager for service improvement.

8.To assist in the recruitment of Hospice staff and volunteers and support the co-ordination and induction of new members of staff with the Ward Manager and Quality Matron.

9.To assist the Ward Manager in the development of new services and implementation of change in the clinical areas and across the organisation, suggesting ideas to enable the nursing team to adapt and manage change successfully.

Workforce Development & Professional Standards

1.Lead the delivery of a specialist subject within the clinical areas of the Hospice.

2.Act as a resource for Hospice staff regarding a specialist subject as appropriate.

3.Maintain the link and working relationship with a specialist subject team at local universities and attend meetings as required.

4.Link with other Hospice teams as required, promoting collaborative working and sharing of best practice.

5.Ensure specialist subject issues are incorporated into the internal education programme for nursing staff in partnership with the Quality Matron.

6.Identify new national guidelines and developments relating to specialist subject practice that will require local discussion and / or implementation.

7.Incorporate new guidelines into the Hospice policy as required.

8.Monitor the specialist subject through a program of audit and report any recommendations to the Ward Manager.

9.Report issues to staff as required via internal communication.

10.To recognise, prevent where possible and manage areas of conflict reporting to ward manager or quality matron if unable to resolve.

11.The post holder will be allocated one day per month to undertake the requirements of the role, in line with service needs.

12.Progress will be monitored and reported on a monthly basis to the Director of Nursing & AHPs by the Ward Manager.

13.To work alongside and network with other organisations and agencies to support increasing the Hospices profile and increasing awareness of services delivered.

14.To support revalidation with Registered Nurses and Nursing Associates to ensure continuation of registration with the NMC.