Job responsibilities
Lead Nurse Responsibilities Patient Care
The implementation and coordination of nurse led clinics, liaising with GPs, nursing colleagues and Practice Manager as appropriate. Ensuring that call and recall systems is in place as necessary.
Involvement in assessing the future needs of the practice by identifying health needs within the practice population.
To ensure that policies and protocols are regularly reviewed, and are up to date with latest clinical guidelines in order to deliver an optimum standard of care to patients.
The use of audit and co-operate and participate as required in any research projects within the practice
Providing nursing input to any decision making processes affecting the care of patients (in order to give the perspective of an experienced practice nurse)
Involvement in the organisation of influenza clinics with the management team.
Personnel
Responsibility for organising the nursing rota, ensuring that arrangements are in place for annual leave cover.
Ensuring that nurse registration/ revalidation is valid and all necessary checks and cover are/is in place e.g. DBS checks, RCN insurance.
The teaching of practice nurses and HCAs in the practice team, extending skills to other learners e.g. students attached to the health visiting and/or district nursing teams and medical students.
The ongoing assessment of training and development needs within the nursing team for the purposes of personal development / revalidation, and in keeping with the needs of the practice (practice professional development plan).
To access educational requirements and pathways for advice relating to academic pathways for trained and untrained nurses.
To attend clinical meetings held in the surgery on a regular basis.
Involvement in the recruitment and selection process for members of the nursing team.
Professional responsibility to keep up to date with current practice.
Ensure good communication exists between nurses and all other members of Practice.
Ensuring delegation with and to other members of the team is appropriate and challenging when necessary.
Regularly monitoring skill mix within the team.
Assessing and monitoring nursing team clinical competencies in line with current guidance.
Ensuring risk assessments and DSE assessments are in place for all nursing team members.
Health and safety
Overall responsibility for health and safety in the clinical area to include:-
Ensuring that all equipment utilised in the treatment rooms are properly maintained and a record kept of the service intervals.
Liaising with the Practice Manager, with regard to faulty or broken equipment.
Ensuring the adequacy, availability and emptying of the sharps and dressings bins in line with current legislation.
Responsibility for the implementation and updating of the Infection Control Policy and that each member of staff has access to this.
Overall responsibility for the implementation of the Needlestick Injury Policy.
Ensuring safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs is appropriately delegated, where appropriate oversees the monitoring, stock control and documentation of controlled drug usage according to legal requirements.
Ensuring that adequate training and raised awareness is given to all the staff, including the cleaners with regard to the: -
- Handling of specimens
- Use of protective clothing
- Dealing with body fluid spillage
- Hepatitis B immunisation where appropriate and boosters when needed
- Gloves and alcohol foam wash are available to both reception and cleaning staff
- Location of emergency care equipment / resus trolley
- PPE
- Managing and assessing risk within the areas of their responsibility, ensuring adequate measures are in place to protect staff and patients.
- Ensuring that the nursing team works to up to date policies and protocols including PGDs and PSDs.
Treatment room duties:
- Overall responsibility of chronic disease management
- To ensure that adequate treatment room supplies are maintained and that resuscitation equipment is safely maintained.
- To undertake health promotion activities and counselling of patients as required, if appropriate training has been undertaken.
- Collection of other pathological specimens
- Ear care, including ear syringing
- Administration of anti-psychotic medication
- Organisation of any national vaccination programmes.
- Minor operations; to include explanation to patient of the procedure and the preparation of room and equipment.
- Knowledge of instrument cleaning and sterilising
- Ensuring that consulting rooms and treatment rooms are tidy and fully stocked (in the absence of the HCA)
- Control of infection within the practice following the practice protocol
- Any other procedure for which the nurse is trained and competent and may be required for the operation of an efficient treatment room.
- To work within practice policies and protocols
(These tasks can be added to if a new competence is acquired)
Additional Duties and Responsibilities
- Data entry onto the computer of all treatment undertaken by the nurse in the treatment room.
- To attend training and update sessions on main duties and responsibilities.
- To participate in audit and recall
- Stock control of all drugs, vaccines, dressings and equipment.
- Overall responsibility for monitoring / recording stock levels / checks of controlled drugs, including organisation and destruction of out of date stock, liaising with accountable CCG/NHSE officer.
- Overall responsibility of regular checks of resus trolley.
- Overall responsibility of ordering stock required for use within the clinical area, sourcing cost effective alternatives where applicable.
- Monitoring of cost effective dressings used within treatment room.
Professional Development
The practice nurse should maintain continued education by attending study days identified as necessary in order for continued professional development/ revalidation to take place.
Special requirements of the post:
- RGN
- Member of professional body
- To work in accordance with the NMC code of professional conduct/ revalidation.
- Safe prescribing, regular updates of relevant literature and medicines management.
To be flexible with regards to hours