Senior Diabetes Specialist Nurse
Job Description
Job summary
Following the retirement of the current post-holder, the Diabetes inpatient team at Worcestershire Royal Hospitals need a Senior Diabetes Specialist Nurse to lead the inpatient team based at the Alexandra Hospital.
This is an exciting opportunity to make a real difference to patients experience in hospital and have an impact on improving patient safety. You will be part of a wider diabetes inpatient team that covers all 3 hospitals in the trust and you may have to undertake cross site travel from time to time.
The inpatient team also manages all of the pregnancy related diabetes antenatal care for those with pre-existing diabetes and gestational diabetes. This will involve being familiar with diabetes technology including Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems, insulin pumps and hybrid closed loops.
You will need to use your teaching skills to support teaching at all levels whether this is doctors in training, nursing staff, healthcare assistants or patients and relatives. You must be able to engage your audience whether the training is in person or online.
There will be opportunities to undertake study to enhance your practice and undertake a non-medical prescribing qualification if you don't hold one already.
INTERVIEWS WILL BE HELD ON TUESDAY 7TH JANUARY 2025
Main duties of the job
The hospital has an Accident and Emergency Department and mix of medical and surgical beds with all surgery being elective. The hospital caries out bariatric surgery and you will be involved with post surgery management plans for those with diabetes who are undergoing this type of surgery.
You will review inpatients with diabetes who are having issues with glucose management and advise on treatment / management plans. You will see any diabetes emergency patients with DKA, HHS or hypoglycaemia and advise on management. You will also provide training to staff who have to deal with these emergencies. You will work closely with the local community diabetes teams to ensure urgent care is prioritised to avoid diabetes related admission if possible. Together with the community team, you will act as a point of contact for GP services with any urgent advice they require.
You will support the writing and updating of diabetes related guidelines and reporting any failures to follow guidelines so that patient safety and learning from errors can be optimised.
About us
Our purpose is simple - Putting Patients First. We are looking for exceptional colleagues who can help us achieve this.
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is a large acute and specialised hospital trust that provides a range of local acute services to the residents of Worcestershire and more specialised services to a larger population in Herefordshire and beyond.
The Trust operates hospital-based services from three sites in Kidderminster, Redditch and Worcester
Our workforce is over 7,000 strong, and our caring staff are recognised as providing good and outstanding patient-centred care. You could be one of them.
We are committed to recruiting the best people to work with us to achieve our Vision - working in partnership to provide the best healthcare for our communities, leading and supporting our teams to move 4ward. Our 4ward behaviours, which we ask all staff to demonstrate, underpin our everyday work and remain firmly at the heart of all we do.
Our objectives are simple:
- Best services for local people
- Best experience of care and best outcomes for our patients
- Best use of resources
- Best people
Better never stops, and our Clinical Services Strategy provides a clear future vision for our Trust, our hospitals, our services and our role in the wider health and care system.
We are proud to have achieved Timewise accreditation - this means we are committed to embedding flexible working within our organisation as a flex positive employer.
Job responsibilities
Clinical
- Work both autonomously and as part of the team to provide a resource of highly specialist advice, information and support to all members of the primary health care team in the delivery of effective diabetes care.
- Work both autonomously and as part of the team to provide a resource of highly specialist advice, information and support to all members of the primary health care team in the delivery of effective diabetes care.
- Receive referrals from other health professional disciplines and self-referrals from patients and relatives, assess and effectively prioritise these in order to autonomously manage a caseload of patients.
- Undertake specialist assessments of diabetes care needs and work with primary and secondary care givers to improve the quality of life of patients, relatives and carers living with a chronic long term condition.
- Following specialist assessment, initiates, plans of care for patients with highly complex care needs and responsible for reviewing, evaluating and initiating action within broad policies.
- Frequently uses advanced communication skills to communicate highly sensitive information to patients and carers. E.g. breaking bad news such as foetal abnormalities, loss of sight.
- Provide a nurse prescribing facility to diabetes care patients in line with the agreed guidelines for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, following completion of the accredited university training and registration with the NMC.
- Assess those recently diagnosed as part of the continuing care for families and carers, where specialist intervention in required. Acts on the assessment to plan and implement as appropriate care strategy.
- Deliver care within Worcestershire to meet the needs of the service.
- Frequently act as primary resources to health professional in all care settings giving specialist diabetes advice regarding highly complex symptom management and care planning.
- Regularly assess patients within the acute trust and initiating a plan of care to avoid admission if appropriate clinically and facilitate an early discharge.
- Review and develop appropriate patient documentation/information in line with Trust policy and Government recommendations.
- Involved in the development and delivery of a diabetes care advice service in line with NICE guidelines.
- Attend diabetes care MDT meetings, presenting new and complex patients in line with clinical governance.
- Provide highly skilled practical knowledge in the use of complex specialist equipment e.g.: Continuous glucose monitoring and insulin Pump therapy.
- To participate in a 7 day per week Diabetes service that includes weekends and bank holidays.
Education
- Organise and run diabetes care study days and mandatory training for all disciplines of staff.
- Develop an education strategy in diabetes care countywide, identifying the educational needs of staff in other services with reference to diabetes care. Plan and provide appropriate education/training for these groups.
- Present on related courses, study days and training programmes to disseminate evidence based diabetes are knowledge and practice.
- Participate in developing and providing education/training programmes in the management of diabetes for patients, carers and healthcare professionals to improve practice.
- Provide education and training for patients, relatives and carers.
- Participate in Countywide diabetes care education initiatives and development.
- Provide placements/mentorship for professionals undertaking diabetes courses at graduate/undergraduate and pre-registration levels.
Research and Audit
- Develop, implement, audit to measure and evaluate standards of practice relating to specialist diabetes care. Ensure the dissemination of best practice.
- Formulate long term strategic plans which impact across the County, in line with local/national initiatives. Propose, develop and implement policy changes on issues such as NSF for Diabetes (DOH 2001).
- Responsible for the development of data for the countywide audit and benchmarking activates of the specialist diabetes care service.
- Adhere to the Trusts complaint procedure with regard to written and verbal complaints. Using appropriate referral mechanisms in order to resolve the situation and/or in conjunction with the PALS officer.
- Individual staff have a role in suggesting and implementing approved improvements to services and exercise professional responsibility for both themselves and their peers within an open just and fair culture.
- Develop an operational policy, review and update annually in line with Worcestershire diabetes care network group.
- Ensure clinical effectiveness by critically appraising current research and applying to practice.
- To co-operate and support clinical practitioners wishing to undertake research in diabetes care and take an active role in developing and participation in further research.
Continuing Professional ...
