Practice Nurse

Job description

Job responsibilities

Main Duties & Responsibilities

Working within professional competencies and following practice policies, protocols and guidelines, duties will include:

• Support and enhance the patient care offered by the GPs
• Provide routine nursing care to patients including venepuncture, BP management, urinalysis, blood glucose testing, ECGs, cervical screening, wound management, taking swabs
• Undertake all the normal duties and responsibilities associated with a practice nurse working within primary care, including participating in all aspects of QOF, QIF and all enhanced services
• Advise, educate and develop ongoing healthcare with an emphasis on preventative measures
• Support and educate patients on their condition and development of self-management plans where appropriate
• Assess the needs of patients, to ensure the provision of healthcare is appropriate and provide safe, evidence based, cost effective, individualised patient care
• Identify, manage and support patients at risk of developing long-term conditions, preventing adverse effects to patients health
• Work autonomously in providing the care and management of chronic disease care provision and maintain standards of care for patients with acute and chronic medical conditions using national and local guidelines where appropriate
• Initiate and carry out programmes of health screening promoting health and wellbeing, giving general education and advice on weight, diet and healthy eating, activity and exercise, smoking cessation, alcohol consumption and chronic disease management
• Provide home visits to patients who are housebound to complete relevant assessments and treatments as necessary
• Administer child and adult immunisations and vaccinations in accordance with the GMS contract and following national and local programmes
• Provide up to date contraceptive and sexual health advice
• Request appropriate pathology tests and process results as required
• Provide assistance and chaperoning to GPs when required including in minor surgery and contraception clinics and other procedures
• Provide comprehensive travel health advice and vaccinations for patients prior to travel
• Support colleagues in dealing with clinical emergencies
• Maintain disease registers in liaison with administrative staff
• Act as Infection Control Lead and support clinical colleagues with Infection Control including reviewing policies, producing audits, training and evidence of compliance
• Support the clinical team with all safeguarding matters, in accordance with local and national policies
• Utilise a range of skills related to e-health and technology to enable care and support self-management

Other responsibilities within the practice:

• To work flexibly within the team and to provide cover as necessary
• Prepare and complete the revalidation process and ake responsibility for own professional development, learning and performance and demonstrate skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work
• Participation in an annual individual performance review and appraisal within the practice
• Attend training and events organised by the practice or other agencies, where appropriate, and ensure all mandatory training is completed
• Comply with all statutory and regulatory obligations and relevant practice policies/guidelines, including information governance and confidentiality
• Maintain quality within the practice and alert other team members to issues of quality and risk
• Participate in the development of nursing policies and protocols with reference to best practice
• To follow and update practice policies and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
• To attend and contribute to practice and clinical meetings
• Contribute to evaluation/audit within the practice to ensure we maintain a high standard of patient care

Confidentiality

• In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately
• In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential
• Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data

Health & safety

The post-holder will implement and lead on a full range of promotion and management of their own and others health and safety and infection control as defined in the practice health & safety policy, the practice health & safety manual, and the practice infection control policy and published procedures. This will include (but will not be limited to):

• Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines
• Awareness of national standards of infection control and cleanliness and regulatory / contractual / professional requirements, and good practice guidelines
• Correct personal use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and ensuring correct use of PPE by others, advising on appropriate circumstances for use by clinicians, staff and patients
• Management of the full range of infection control procedures in both routine and extraordinary circumstances (e.g. pandemic or individual infectious circumstances)
• Hand hygiene standards for self and others
• Managing directly all incidents of accidental exposure
• Management and advice relating to infection control and clinically based patient care protocols, and implementation of those protocols across the practice
• Active observation of current working practices across the practice in relation to infection control, cleanliness and related activities, ensuring that procedures are followed and weaknesses/training needs are identified, escalating issues as appropriate to the responsible person
• Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks across clinical and patient process
• Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills, and initiate and manage the training of others across the full range of infection control and patient processes
• Monitoring practice facilities and equipment in relation to infection control, ensuring that proper use is made of hand-cleansing facilities, wipes etc., and that these are sufficient to ensure a good clinical working environment. Lack of facilities to be escalated as appropriate
• Maintenance of own clean working environment
• Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy, clean and sterile and safe way, free from hazards. Initiation of remedial / corrective action where needed or escalation to responsible management
• Actively identifying, reporting, and correcting health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
• Keeping own work areas and general/patient areas generally clean, sterile, identifying issues and hazards/risks in relation to other work areas within the practice
• Demonstrate due regard for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children

Equality and diversity

The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:

• Acting in a way that recognises the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current legislation
• Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues
• Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights

Please note that as a member of the practice team, you should:

• Provide flexibility of work to maintain a high level of efficiency, i.e. working in any area of the practice if requested to do so, according to the needs of the practice
• Maintain a high level of attendance
• Comply at all times to the Staff Contract, Standard Operating Procedures and any other practice rules and procedures, including CQC policies

Person Specification

Skills

Essential

• Excellent communication skills (written and oral)
• Clear, polite telephone manner
• Effective time management
• Ability to work as a team member and autonomously
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Ability to follow clinical policy and procedure

Desirable

• EMIS user skills

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Nurse with Full NMC Registration
• Meet revalidation requirements and provide evidence
• Chronic disease management qualifications
• Up to date Vaccination & Immunisation qualification

Desirable

• Cervical cytology qualification

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working in a primary care environment
• Experience of continued professional development

Desirable

• Experience of working as a practice nurse or community nurse
• General understanding of the GMS contract / QOF / QIF
• Infection Prevention Control experience

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

Allen Street Clinic

Address

Allen Street

Cheadle

Stoke on Trent

ST10 1HJ

Employer's website

https://www.allenstreetclinic.com/ (Opens in a new tab)