Clinical Nurse Specialist Band 7 (Palliative Hub) Job Vacancy in South Tyneside, England, UK

Job description

Job responsibilities

The service provides specialist palliative and end of life care to any adult (age 18 or over) who is registered with a GP within the Cambridge and Peterborough Integrated Care Board via a telephone advice line.

The aim of the telephone advice line is to support patients in the community to remain in their usual place of residence for as long as it is appropriate and safe to do so. Providing support for patients, carers, and healthcare professionals will increase the potential for patients to remain in their usual place of residence and avoid unnecessary or unwanted acute admissions.

A key element of this service is to proactively encourage telephone calls from out-of-hour services, on-call doctors (HUC), the East of England Ambulance service, and other community services for patients, their families, and carers.

Job Purpose:

To work as an expert clinical nurse specialist within the Arthur Rank Hospice, providing a single point of access (SPA) through a centralised hub for patients, families, carers, health, and social care professionals.

To support people with cancer and other long-term conditions at an advanced progressive stage who have specialist palliative care needs who are on the End-of-Life care register.

To support patients and their carers to manage their conditions in their own communities to improve their quality of life.

To support community staff to enable them to deliver care with additional specialist advice and support.

To always provide a high standard of professional conduct and nursing care in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council Code of Professional Practice, demonstrating leadership in the nursing care of patients within the service.

As a member of the senior nursing team, provide specialist nursing advice, support and education to other health care professionals and volunteers and deputies for the Matron for Clinical Services in their absence as required.

Working across a 7-day period providing 24 hours a day advice and support as part of a Rota on the telephone advice line.

Main Responsibilities:

To holistically assess, plan, implement, and review therapeutic interventions of patients who contact the palliative Hub advice line.

Attendance at GSF meetings and offer support and advice to the other health care professionals attending.

Proactively manage Advance Care Plans (ACP) to ensure all patients that contact the palliative hub on have an ACP offered.

To demonstrate expertise and a firm knowledge base on which to underpin clinical practice when dealing with patients/carers living with a life limiting illness.

As a qualified non-medical prescriber, take responsibility for the assessment and clinical management of palliative care patients known to the service, prescribing medication to end of life patients within scope of clinical expertise. In accordance with NMC, Department of Health and RCN guidelines.

Provide clinical support to patients, families, clinicians over the telephone to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions.

Provide a resource for advice and support for healthcare professionals in the community and hospital settings.

Identify the needs of bereaved persons and refer to appropriate bereavement services

Communication

Promoting communication between services and encourage appropriate information giving across the Hospice and other providers to improve the quality of Palliative Care given to all patients and families

Allocating generalist clinical resource where appropriate and more specialist resource where required for patients who are in crisis

Effectively communicate with members of the MDT, including care homes, in the provision of care for patients with complex emotional/psychological, spiritual, physical needs and refer to appropriate disciplines

To use advanced interpersonal and communication skills to communicate and receive specialist and sensitive information.

To provide expert advice, information and psychological support to people affected by life limiting illness and members of the multi-disciplinary team.

To discuss care plans and therapeutic interventions with the patient and their carer in depth, with sensitivity, highly specialist knowledge and expertise.

Identify patient/carers barriers to effective communication and develop/implement strategies to overcome these ensuring patients are appropriately informed to make care decisions.

Provide a safe environment whereby patients feel able to express their emotions both negatively and positively

To function as patient advocate where appropriate.

To communicate and consult with other Health and Social Care Professionals and outside agencies and with service users to ensure the provision of a quality service for cancer patients and their families.

To enhance communication between primary, secondary, and tertiary care to promote a seamless service and improved patient experience.

Clinical and Practice Governance

Acting as a liaison between professionals who do not have access to SystmOne but are caring for the patient to provide them with the necessary information about that patient to enable them to fulfill their responsibilities (whilst maintaining information governance regulations)

Ensuring patient records are updated on SystmOne in a timely manner to enable all professionals dealing with the patient understand where they are in their care/pathway

To undertake detailed and specialist holistic assessment and analysis of the complex physical, psychological, social and information needs of patients with life limiting illness and their carers. To have up to date knowledge of the various options available.

To have respect for patient confidentiality, autonomy and always need for privacy.

To acknowledge individual needs in spiritual, religious, and cultural matters.

To act in accordance with the NMC Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses/ Midwives and Health Visitors and the scope of Professional Practice. Maintaining records for revalidation and actively participating in such.

Participate in clinical governance activities within the charity to ensure that professional practice and service is continually improved, and high standards of care are maintained and developed.

Leadership

Providing and promoting best practice in accordance with local and national end of life care initiatives.

Working with and provide specialist education for GP, District Nurses, allied health workers within primary and secondary care to develop palliative care within general practice

Providing research, audit, and education to review and enhance services

To function as a role model to the wider team demonstrating leadership and continuing development of high-quality clinical care and practice, whilst encouraging a culture of innovation and supported risk taking.

To collaborate with key stakeholders to support the end-of-life care pathway and service redesign taking account of national and local priorities, while responding to local need.

Education, Research and Audit

To facilitate and enable the education of patients and their carer/s to maximise their quality of life, living with a life limiting illness.

To assess training needs and implement and/or participate in educational programs and competency-based assessment for community nurses, doctors, allied health professionals, patients, and carers as appropriate.

To function as an educational and information resource for other professionals and the public, regarding all aspects of palliative and end of life care.

To actively support the ethos of palliative care in all healthcare settings.

Participate in clinical audits and quality improvement initiatives under the direction of the Matron

To collect and analyse information related to patients, carers, and other healthcare professionals satisfaction of the service. Utilise information as a means of effectively evaluating the service and informing future developments.

Health and Safety

• Attends statutory training with respect to lifting, fire safety and any others required
• Report any defect in equipment immediately to the person with overall responsibility at that time.
• Undertake risk assessments

Key working relationships

Colleagues working collaboratively, sharing information

Other hospices networking, sharing information

Patients and families providing emotional and spiritual support, guidance, and signposting to other services.

East Anglian Ambulance Trust shared decision making, working collaboratively, sharing information and provide advice and guidance.

Nursing home and social care colleagues – sharing information and provide advice and guidance.

Out of hours Doctors and GPs – shared decision making, working collaboratively, sharing information and provide advice and guidance.

Community nurses – shared decision making, working collaboratively, sharing information and provide advice and guidance.

Person Specification

Skills/Ability/Knowledge

Essential

• Specialist up-to-date knowledge of palliative care
• Committed to the development of palliative care skills in others
• Knowledge of clinical governance and its application in the context of this post
• Ability to work unsupervised (lone worker), and make decisions relating to care planning
• Able to resolve professional and ethical issues – essential
• Ability to prioritise issues and tasks
• Committed to working in partnership with patients their relatives and carers to other organisations and agencies
• Ability to effectively delegate tasks to appropriately trained staff
• Understanding and commitment to multi-disciplinary team
• Ability to translate best practice evidence into local policy
• Teaching/assessment and presentation skills – essential
• IT literate
• Organisation and negotiation skills
• Exemplary written and verbal communication skills

Other Requirements

Essential

• Satisfactory enhanced DBS check
• Ability to work across 7-day period providing 24 hours a day advice and support as part of a rota.

Experience

Essential

• Relevant post registration experience
• Holistic assessment experience
• Advanced care planning experience
• Experience of multi-disciplinary working

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered General Nurse First Level degree.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).