Clare Metcalfe

Clare Metcalfe is a Registered Learning Disability Nurse (RNLD) and one of the two Chief Nurses for Thornbury Community Services (TCS) and Pulse Nursing at Home, part of Acacium Group.

She has over 26 years’ experience working in various healthcare settings including Community Care Services, Inpatient Services and Autism Diagnosis Services. She has experience working as a Community Nurse and Staff Nurse for the NHS and a Care Assistant at Bupa.

Working as the Chief Nurse, Clare is responsible for:

• Ensuring our clients receive individualised world-class care
• Overseeing all clinical elements in the services we deliver
• Making sure we continue to grow safely and effectively whilst maintaining world-class standards
• Ensuring our clients’ needs are at the centre of everything we do
• Building strategies to grow the Clinical Team and enter new markets and revenue streams
• Ensuring evidenced based best practices and associated legislations are current and implemented to support all clinical activity
• Continually improve the quality of services we provide to all stakeholders to empower and support our clients
• Establishing policies and processes to enable us to achieve standards
• Analysing trends around restrictive practice and risks
• Driving key strategies and initiatives to improve quality across the service
• Ensuring delivery of care maintains standards and social care initiatives are embedded within our care services
• Implementing quality strategies for continually improving services

In 2022, TCS received an ‘Outstanding’ care provider rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Chief Nurses Clare and Thomas Dowle worked together to ensure TCS met the five Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOEs). You can view the CQC’s report of TCS here.

Qualifications:

• Advanced Diploma in Learning Disability Nursing
• Post Diploma in Positive Behavioural Support (PBS)
• Masters in PBS in Leading and Developing Services
• Masters in Autism Spectrum Condition
• ADOS trained
• ADI trained
• Level 5 Apprenticeship Management Course – in progress
• Certificate Qualification in Sensory Processing

Events and external appearances:

• Speaker at the Transforming Care Roundtable webinar
• Panel member at Understanding Positive Behaviour Support in the Community live webinar
• Delivered mental health workshops to our nurses, support workers and healthcare assistants (HCAs) for our Wellbeing and Support Hub
• Chaired 2-part live webinar series for Talking Mental Health
• Exceptional Performance Award winner at Acacium Group
• Hosted at the National Autistic Society Awards
• Nominated finalist for The National Learning Disabilities & Autism Awards

What attracted you to working in community care?

“Seeing how care in the community supports and enables individuals to live fulfilling lives is what drives me as a nurse. I have always been passionate about person-centred care, and providing that to people in the community at TCS and Pulse Nursing at Home is very fulfilling.”