Job responsibilities
To provide holistic
nursing care for patients with palliative care needs at the end of life, mostly
this will be patients in the last weeks of life
To provide emotional,
physical and psychological support to patients and carers
To work as
part of the hospice at home team providing packages of care for patients
requiring care and support in their own homes, this will involve a variable shift pattern including night shifts and
will involve both lone working and working directly with another colleague
To provide
planned care for individual patients working without direct supervision
with the support of and accountability to the Hospice at Home Registered nurses
To role
model the values of the hospice at al times and contribute to a positive
team culture
Internal
Hospice
at Home Team Leader and wider team
St
Peters Hospice Clinical Teams
Director
of Patient Care
Head
of Community Nursing
Fundraising,
Marketing and Communications Team
Learning
and Development Team
Clinical
Quality Improvement Team
External
Patients and their carers
Community Nursing Teams and other
Allied Health Care Professionals
General Practitioners
Other agencies providing care in the
patients home
Provide nursing
care for patients at the end of life
Have the
ability to monitor the patients condition and record findings accurately and
report the patients condition and progress accurately both verbally and in
writing
Recognise
changes in patients' conditions and take the appropriate action
Have the
ability to identify potential problems in relation to patients' situation and
communicate to the relevant health care professionals
Effectively
manage volatile or unpredictable situations and call for help and assistance
as appropriate
Cope with
highly distressing situations including when a patient dies during a visit
or shift
Work
collaboratively as a Hospice at Home team member and as part of the wider
multidisciplinary team to provide effective care delivery
Support
patients and carers to manage loss and change
Maintain a
safe working environment for patients, carers and staff
Work within
the limits of own competence and responsibility and ask for help as
necessary
Competencies
include but are not limited to:
catheter
care
wound
care
troubleshooting
syringe pumps
safe
handling of medicines
verification
of expected death (supported by
another registered healthcare professional working remotely)
Work to
support their team and can be counted on when people ask for help or
support
Work
according to St Peters Hospice
policies, procedures and values
Use hospice
resources efficiently and
effectively thinking of cost and environmental issues
Prioritise
own workload and manage own time to ensure priorities are met and
quality is not compromised
Be physically
able to support the manual handling and care needs of patients in a home
environment
Communication (KSF 2)
Will frequently
be required to use sensitive communication, using the highest level of
interpersonal and communication skills, e.g. When dealing with dying patients,
deteriorating patients and for patients with anxiety, agitation and panic
attacks and supporting carers who may be in a highly distressed state
Able to
demonstrate active listening skills and understand complex information about the patient to be able to effectively
address patient's needs
Ensure
effective communication with the Hospice at Home team as well as with the
wider multidisciplinary health care team.
Both verbal
and written communication skills are accurate, making relevant and up to
date records on EMIS and document using visit and shift summary templates
according to hospice guidelines
Ability to
communicate with patients whose first language is not English or patients
who have communication or language problems
Respect the
need for confidentiality of patient's details both verbally and written
Able to
demonstrate the English language proficiency level required for this post
Governance, Quality and Clinical Practice ( KSF1)
Maintain quality in own work and encourage others to do so
Monitor the quality of own work and alerts line
manager to quality issues, reporting any errors or issues according to policy
Discuss with line manager areas that would support
the development and improvement of care delivery
Adapt own work, takes on new tasks as agreed and asks
for help if needed
Attend and participate in team meetings and help
evaluate the service when asked to do so
Pass on any good ideas to improve services to line
manager
Alert line manager if new ways of working, polices or
strategies are having a negative impact on the service and therefore on patients
People and People Development (KSF 1- 2 )
Develop own skills and knowledge and provide information to others to
help their development
Identify when support needed in any areas of own work
Prepare for and takes part in own appraisal process
Identifie (with support if necessary) what
development gaps currently exist and how they may be met
Produce a personal development plan with appraiser
Take an active part in learning/development
activities and keeps a record of them
Maintain clinical
competencies via external and internal training and development
Works a minimum of three
planned shifts a year on the Inpatient Unit to support maintaining skills,
knowledge, and competency level
Support students on
placement including shadowing on a shift as appropriate
Mentor new health care
assistants with the support of the Hospice at Home registered nurses
Has the ability
to reflect on intense situations, with colleagues and/or by engaging with
clinical supervision and reflective practice
Health Safety and Security (KSF 2)
Monitor and maintain health, safety and security of self and others
Follow hospice policies, procedures and risk
assessments to keep self and others safe at work
Work in a way that reduces risks to health, safety
and security
Know what to do in an emergency at work, knows how to
get help and acts immediately to get help
Follows the lone working policy including the use of the solo protect device at all times
Look for potential risks to self and others in work
activities and processes
Manage identified risk in the best way possible
Report actual or potential problems that may put
health, safety or security at risk and suggests solutions
Suppors and challenge others in maintaining health,
safety and security at work
Is mentally and emotionally resilient in order to be able to support patients at end of
life, and the distress of their families and loved ones
Uses equipment
appropriately, once trained and instructs carers in the use and care of
simple equipment
Equality and Diversity (KSF 2)
Support equality and value diversity
Treat everyone with dignity and respect
Allow others to express their views even when
different from their own
Do not discriminate or offer a
lesser service because of others differences or different viewpoints
Challenge bias, prejudice and
intolerance if appropriate or bring it to the attention of their line manager
Use clear language when carrying out
duties that patients and families can relate to
Is aware of the impact of their own behaviour on others