Clinical Nurse Specialist Palliative care

Clinical Nurse Specialist Palliative Care

Due to a member retiring, we have a 0.6 WTE (22.5hrs/wk) vacancy for a Band 7 Clinical Nurse Specialist in palliative care. This is an exciting time to join our team, which is a small but highly regarded multidisciplinary team based within Whittington Hospital since the inception of the integrated care organisation: Whittington Health. The team covers the in-hospital palliative care needs of our patients, working closely with Islington and Haringey palliative care teams to provide seamless care before, during, and after hospital admissions. We have a strong presence in all areas of the hospital and lead on education in palliative and end-of-life care. We received a 'good' rating from the CQC for End of Life Care in April 2016.

Main Duties of the Job

1. To provide an autonomous nursing service using advanced clinical judgment and knowledge of palliative care.
2. To take responsibility for own evidence-based practice and implement and add to the body of knowledge that supports nursing practice within palliative care.
3. To lead and innovate nursing practice in palliative care both within the Trust and through local networks.
4. To develop all staff within the multidisciplinary team, providing support, advice, formal and informal education.

About Us

Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion, and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences.

Job Responsibilities

1. To provide a nursing service within palliative care by receiving direct referrals and undertaking assessments based on specialist palliative care needs.
2. To use advanced clinical judgment to plan, implement, and evaluate care for patients with complex physical and psychological problems.
3. To manage an agreed caseload, under the supervision of the Nurse Consultant, using in-depth knowledge of the patient/client group and acting as the key worker where appropriate.
4. To provide essential advisory and psychological care to patients referred to the palliative care team.
5. To document all care given using the Trust guidelines and guidelines relevant to community palliative care providers.
6. To act as an expert role model in nursing care to other nurses within the extended team.
7. To contribute to the development of nursing guidelines/protocols at a local/network level.
8. To foster communications between patients, families, carers, and health professionals and to provide relevant support, information, education, and counselling as required.
9. To work within a flexible approach that is responsive to patient/client need.

Person Specification Essential and Desirable

• Able to work autonomously and manage time effectively.
• Experience of caring for patients with advanced progressive disease.
• Physical assessment skills.
• Independent prescribing.
• Advanced communication skills training.
• Experience of audit and quality improvement.
• Knowledge of recent strategic developments in palliative care.

Experience

• RGN with a minimum of 5 years post-registration.
• Working at band 6 level or above for at least 2 years.
• 1st or 2nd degree in a relevant nursing subject.
• Experience of teaching.
• Has used clinical reflection or reflective practice in nursing.

Knowledge

• Knowledge of symptom control assessments and commonly used medications and dosages.
• Post-registration qualification in palliative/cancer/other medical specialty at Level 6.
• Opioid conversions.
• Knowledge of grief models.

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.

£44,806 to £60,981 a year per annum inclusive of HCAs (Depending on experience).