Hospice Staff Nurse

Job responsibilities

3. Duties

Professional and Clinical duties include:

To practice as a professional nurse in direct patient care, ensuring that the dignity, safety and confidentiality of patients is always respected and that all patients receive the highest possible standards of holistic care.

To recognise nutritional and hydration needs of patients and liaise with catering staff to ensure the provision of appropriate meals; acknowledging and assisting patients that require assistance with diet and fluids.

To promote professional standards of behaviour and ensure that junior nursing staff are aware of their personal accountability and their responsibilities as articulated in the Code of Professional Conduct of the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC).

To be able to contribute to policies, procedures and service development, assisting in carrying out regular reviews and audits as appropriate.

To work closely with the multi-disciplinary team in creating a collaborative and planned approach to patient care.

To maintain personal contact with patients, relatives and carers ensuring that their psychological, spiritual and social needs are met.

To maintain custody and storage of controlled and other drugs, checking and witnessing administration procedures and strictly adhering to the Hospices Medicines Management policy.

To assist in fostering an atmosphere of reflective practice, where team members openly discuss the standards of individual practice and critical incidents are a learning opportunity for all.

To contribute to the development of professional nursing practice, demonstrating a commitment to disseminating information, sharing experiences and identifying opportunities for the development of services.

To take responsibility for the accuracy and legibility of patient care records.

To ensure the East Cheshire Hospice Safeguarding policy is adhered to by being committed to safeguarding the patients, staff and volunteers from harm, and uphold the responsibility as a member of staff, to ensure that any concerns are raised and acted upon immediately. Staff are expected to report concerns, participate in enquiries, and where appropriate develop a protection plan, reflecting on outcomes to develop further.

Management and Personnel duties include:

To be able to deputise in the absence of the Sister and be responsible for all patient support services if / when in charge of the unit by ensuring an equal and high quality of service for all aspects of care.

To assist with the induction, orientation and development of new or less experienced staff and volunteers within the team.

To ensure effective communication is maintained within the team, through formal and informal routes.

To identify and resolve specific managerial problems that may arise within a shift, when in charge. Reporting difficulties to the Inpatient Unit Manager, Sister and/or Head of Clinical Services.

To accept responsibility for specific administrative tasks as delegated by the Head of Clinical Services, Inpatient Unit Manager or Sister e.g. monitor systems for the ordering of clinical stores or equipment maintenance and repair.

To assist in promoting a healthy and safe working environment by ensuring compliance with all legislation and appropriate regulations. This includes establishing and maintaining systems for the conducting of Health and Safety Audits, the completion of risk and COSHH assessments and for the updating and communication of all relevant policies.

To record and monitor all accidents, untoward incidents etc. and report to the Sister, Inpatient Unit manager and/or Head of Clinical Services.

Education & Auditing duties include:

To contribute to the preparation of Care Quality Commission Annual Self-Assessments and to any inspections as required.

To be able to demonstrate a commitment to research-based practice and clinical excellence.

To attend/contribute to an education programme that consists of multi-disciplinary clinical sessions, attending conferences, educational programmes; being prepared to share any new knowledge with colleagues, Healthcare Assistants and student nurses.

To contribute to the development of East Cheshire Hospice as a centre of excellence, engaging with personal development plans.

To assist in investigating, in conjunction with the Head of Clinical Services and Unit Manager, complaints about aspects of patient care.

To attend statutory and mandatory training sessions at the request of the Head of Clinical Services.

Control of Infection

Prevention and management of infection is the responsibility of all members of staff and volunteers working at East Cheshire Hospice and forms an integral element of patient safety programmes. Where control of infection regimes are in force they are to be complied with at all times and staff are reminded of the importance of maintaining a high standard of personal and environmental hygiene and to follow local protocols.

Person Specification

Other

Essential

• Commitment to professional development
• Ability to work nights, weekends and bank holidays.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working in a similar environment.

Desirable

• Experience of delivering holistic care.
• Experience of mentoring staff.

Skills & Knowledge

Essential

• Excellent time management.
• Excellent communication.
• Ability and desire to work independently and within a team.
• Commitment towards various quality and professional standards.

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered nurse

Desirable

• Recognised post-registration palliative care qualification.

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).

Employer details

Employer name

East Cheshire Hospice

Address

Millbank Drive

Macclesfield

Cheshire

SK10 3DR

Employer's website

https://www.eastcheshirehospice.org.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)