Clinical Nurse Specialist

JOB PURPOSE Provide high quality community specialist palliative care nursing services to patients and their families within the boroughs that the hospice serves Working as an integrated team of nurses, you will contribute to the overall care of patient and families referred to St Josephs within the community setting. Specialising in the advisory and Care Coordinator component of this support you will have shared clinical responsibility for the patients within a defined area and within the team as a whole As a team member you will contribute to a positive supportive working environment with an emphasis on team work and cooperation. You will participate in a rota system providing a 7 day a week face to face and telephone service for patients and their families. This may include visiting out of hours in exceptional circumstances Provide a flexible role within and between teams to cover leave, sickness and emergencies and to provide general supervision to band 6 nurses Identify opportunities for clinical audit and research and undertake these activities within the research governance framework of the hospice It is anticipated that the work plan will be 10% supervision, 80% clinical,clinical management, and 10% Education and Teaching. BACKGROUND INFORMATION St. Josephs Hospice is a charity established in 1905 by the Religious Sisters of Charity to offer patients diagnosed with a life limiting illness a range of care and professional advisory services. It currently provides high quality palliative and end of life care to a significant and growing number of people living in East London and beyond. It employs a large team of clinical staff, including medical practitioners who work across community, in-patient and out-patient services delivering individualised, responsive and holistic support to patients and their families/carers. KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS You will work closely with a range of professionals within the hospice and external partners to identify and support expert care to patients and their families within the boroughs. You will be expected to build close and effective working relationships with professionals providing end of life care within the boroughs. MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES Leadership and managerial The Clinical Nurse Specialist will oversee the community nursing service for a defined area, this included delegating tasks to and coordinating the work of the Band 6 Associated Nurse Specialist to ensure all patients in your area review timely intervention, this includes the provision of face to face visits. Assist the Head of Community Palliative Care with translating service strategy into effective operational functionality and objectives Provide professional and clinical nursing leadership to other Palliative Care Nurse Practitioners and grades of staff, acting as a point of expertise, providing advice and support, this include providing management and clinical supervision. Take management responsibility for other grades of staff and participate in the performance management cycle including undertaking appraisals Input into workforce planning process and maintaining effective use of resources, rota and rotation of staff Participate in multi-professional meetings, acting as a patient advocate and representing nursing Attend appropriate patient related and team meetings Participate in service development initiatives as appropriate and instigate and manage change within a complex environment Work with the Head of Community Palliative Care to develop St Josephs policies and processes and ensure team compliance Responsible for assurance of standards and clinical governance, standard setting and audit. Clinical As Care Coordinator participate in First Contact assessment and decision- making, included attendance at the first contact meeting Responsible for the continued co-ordination of the content and delivery of your allocated patient's care plan, and assure that the patient is getting the right service from St Josephs. In times of absence act as coordinator to ensure that all patients in your area receive the care needed. Undertake patient assessments to an advanced level, using appropriate tools Be able to undertake nurse prescribing In liaison with other Nurse Practitioners, ensure the overall quality and provision of nursing care of patients and families referred to St Josephs in the community setting and their needs are met Promote the principles and practice of palliative care as an extension of the hospice into the community Work across a range of settings, including community visits e.g. home/care home/community hospitals), telephone conversations and patients in outpatient services Assess the needs of patients and their carers and identify their respective physical, psychological, social, cultural and spiritual needs Work within a team framework, collaborating with colleagues and members of other disciplines Use a proactive and sensitive approach with patients and relatives to enable involvement in advance care planning Assess peoples information needs and provide relevant information to meet those needs using resources within the hospice Offer bereavement support to carers in collaboration with the bereavement team, or refer them onto the appropriate service Provide appropriate specialist nursing interventions Participate in the out of hours rota to provide telephone advice and exceptional visits if indicated Contribute to patient management by attending GP MDT meetings, care home MDT, District Nurse Forums, hospital and other practice based meetings Liaise and communicate with community, nursing home and hospital staff in order to raise awareness and promote Hospice services Ensure that all relevant information is documented and recorded on the appropriate systems Foster positive working relations with the Primary Healthcare professionals and with other health and social care professionals in the delivery of community based palliative care. Service Development Provide input to service development initiatives using the appropriate evidence Ensure systems are in place to ensure continuous improvement, quality assurance and clinical governance Promote and engage staff in new ways of working - such as the use of technology and working off site Develop and review departmental policies and processes and ensure team compliance. Produce and maintain statistical information as required, particularly for workforce planning, audit and funding purposes Keep abreast of current advances in nursing practice and research Together with the Head of Community Palliative Care, initiate, promote and participate in nursing and inter-disciplinary audit projects Together with the Head of Community Palliative Care, take a key role in the hospice Clinical Governance framework Work across professional boundaries using creative reasoning and problem solving. Education and Training Take responsibility for attending and ensure others attendance at mandatory and hospice compulsory training and in-house courses in line with organisational policy and current legislation Actively participate in, and contribute to the on-going educational programme of the Hospice Attend and actively participate in the identified CPD opportunities provided Proactively maintain appropriate level of clinical competence as identified within the St Josephs Competencies Identify training and education needs in line with service provision with Head of the Community Palliative Care Team. Assist in orientation programmes for new members of staff Act as a mentor and supervisor for developing staff under the direction of the Head of Community Palliative Care Team. Initiate and participate in research projects as required. To undertake regular audit to facilitate the provision of high quality services Take personal responsibility for life-long learning, self -development and reflection. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT Identify own learning and development needs in order to meet the key requirements of the post Take responsibility for linking own development needs with the Hospice appraisal and objective setting process Take responsibility for own continuing development by undertaking specific areas of work/projects to develop new skills. EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES Comply with and promote St Josephs Hospice Equal Opportunity Policy and avoid any behaviour which discriminates against colleagues, potential employees, patients/clients or their families on the grounds of sex, marital status, race, age, belief, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, religion, disability, creed, class, gender or sexual orientation.

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