Practice Nurse Band 6/7

Job description

Job responsibilities

JOB DESCRIPTION

TITLE OF POST: Practice Nurse

HOURS OF EMPLOYMENT: 30 hours per week

APPOINTMENT: Permanent

REPORTS TO: GP Partners/Lead Nurse (Clinically)

Practice Manager (Administratively)

Job summary:

The practice nurse will work as part of the primary healthcare team providing Personal Medical Services to the patients of practice.

Job responsibilities:

Chronic Disease Management

• Experience in Chronic Disease Management.
• Asthma/COPD/Peak Flow Readings/Spirometry
• Hypertension Management
• Knowledge of national and local guidelines with the ability to apply these to individual patients and set targets
• Can initiate and titrate medications as appropriate
• Ideally a non-medical prescriber
• Ability to support patients with lifestyle changes

Other Health Areas

• Assist in and perform routine tasks related to patient care as directed by senior nursing staff and GPs
• Cytology
• Wound care / ulcer care/Doppler
• Removal of Sutures
• New Patient Medicals/Urinalysis
• Travel Clinic
• ECGs
• Venepuncture
• Ear syringing
• Routine immunizations/Childhood immunisations
• Chaperoning and assisting patients where appropriate who are being examined by another clinician
• Assisting GPs with minor surgery and coil fittings
• Requesting pathology tests, for example urine culture, swabs
• Contraception.
• Following agreed clinical protocols with referral to senior nurses or GPs as appropriate
• Other tasks will include
• Maintaining and cleaning equipment used by the nurses and GPs
• Maintaining GP and Nurses rooms, stocking and rotating items as required
• Maintain general tidiness and cleanliness of nurses and treatment rooms
• Maintain stock of waiting room leaflets as instructed by partners and General Manager
• Ordering of Health Promotion Literature
• Ordering of stock from the District Hospital
• Ordering of vaccinations to maintain stock levels
• Participation in administrative systems in the Practice
• At all times there will be a need to maintain accurate records
• A duty to advise senior nurses of potential problems or errors within a range of assigned tasks
• Attend and participate in any Practice meetings when required.
• On occasion there may be a requirement to undertake home visits
• Any other delegated duties appropriate to the post

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 confidential
• Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons, in accordance with 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 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
• Responsible for the correct and safe management of the specimens process, including collection, labelling, handling, use of correct and clean containers, storage and transport arrangements
• Management and maintenance of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the practice including provision, ordering, availability and ongoing correct usage by staff
• Responsible for hand hygiene across the practice
• Ownership of 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
• 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 provision of hand cleansing facilities, wipes etc are sufficient to ensure a good clinical working environment. Lack of facilities to be escalated as appropriate.
• Safe management of sharps procedures including training, use, storage and disposal
• 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 correction of 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 business, and assuming responsibility in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness across the business in consultation (where appropriate) with other sector managers
• Undertaking periodic infection control training (minimum twice annually)
• Routine management of own team / team areas, and maintenance of work space standards
• Waste management including collection, handling, segregation, container management, storage and collection
• Spillage control procedures, management and training
• Decontamination control procedures, management and training, and equipment maintenance
• Maintenance of sterile environments
• 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 by:

• Acting in a way that recognizes 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.

Personal/Professional development:

The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, such training to include:

• Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development
• Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work

Quality:

The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will:

• Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk
• Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision
• Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance
• Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs
• Effectively manage own time, workload and resources

Communication:

The post-holder should recognize the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:

• Communicate effectively with other team members
• Communicate effectively with patients and carers
• Recognize peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly

Contribution to the implementation of services:

The post-holder will:

• Apply practice policies, standards and guidance
• Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work
• Participate in audit where appropriate

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Knowledge of needs of patients with long-term conditions
• Aware of accountability of own role and other roles in a nurse led service
• Knowledge of health promotion strategies
• Awareness of clinical governance issues in primary care
• Knowledge of patient group directions and associated policy
• Change management skills and ability to support patients to change lifestyle
• Communication skills, both written and verbal
• Ability to communicate difficult messages to patients and families
• Self-directed practitioner
• Highly motivated
• Flexibility
• Enthusiasm
• Team player
• Ability to work across boundaries
• Minimum 2 years post registration experience
• Management of long-term conditions
• Involvement in implementing and using protocols and clinical guidelines
• Registered first level nurse
• Clinical supervision training and experience
• Negotiation and conflict management skills
• IT skills

Desirable

• Ability to identify determinants on health in the local area
• Knowledge of public health issues in the local area
• Awareness of local and national health policy
• Awareness of issues within the wider health economy
• Clinical skills cervical cytology, immunisation and vaccination, ear care, minor surgery and wound care
• Experience of teaching and mentorship in a clinical setting
• Chronic Disease Experience.
• One year recent primary and community nursing experience
• Participation in quality initiatives such as clinical benchmarking
• Experience of audit
• Relevant nursing/health degree
• Non medical prescribing
• Chronic disease modules
• Mentor teaching 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

The Lakeside Practice

Address

The Lakeside Practice

White Wings Centre

Spa Pool Road , Askern, Doncaster

South Yorkshire

DN6 0HZ

Employer's website

http://www.thelakesidepractice.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)