matron

Matron is the job title of a very senior or the chief nurse in several countries, including the United Kingdom, and other Commonwealth countries and former colonies. Etymology The chief nurse, in other words the person in charge of nursing in a hospital and the head of the nursing staff, is also known as the Chief Nursing officer or Chief Nursing Executive, senior nursing officer, matron, nursing officer, or clinical nurse manager in UK English; the head nurse or director of nursing in US English, and the nursing superintendent or matron in Indian English, among other countries in the Commonwealth of Nations. In the United Kingdom, matrons today "have powers over budgets, catering and cleaning as well as being in charge of nurses and doctors" and "have the powers to withhold payments from catering and cleaning services if they don't think they are giving the best service to the NHS." Historically, matrons supervised the hospital as a whole but today, they are in-charge of supervising two or three wards.