Clinical Nurse Specialist

Arthur Rank Hospice Charity

The closing date is 02 April 2025

Job summary

Our Living Well Nursing Team specialise in palliative care, the compassionate team provide expert advice and support to patients who are living with a life limiting illness. As part of a rehabilitative palliative care approach, we offer advice around the control of symptoms that patients may be experiencing and how these symptoms can best be managed.Our aim is to enable patients to live the best quality of life that they can.

We have an opportunity to join this team as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in a part time role working 17.5 hours per week. We are happy to discuss working hours at interview, but for cover do require one of the working days to be a Tuesday.

Main duties of the job

This role will work as a core member of the Living Well Services Team to provide expert knowledge to patients and their families / carers. It will be responsible for undertaking holistic assessments of physical, psychological, and social needs of patients to plan, implement and review palliative care plans and therapeutic interventions. Other main duties will include:

Contributing towards strategic development of the service and to support and develop skills within the Living Well Services team.
Deputising for the Living Well Services Lead as required.
Providing clinical support, information, advice and psychological support to Living Well Service patients, their families and clinicians to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions/ risk of crises and maximise their quality of life.
Working with other healthcare professionals in the community and hospital settings, sharing knowledge and advice to ensure excellent care is provided.
Advising regarding future care planning and symptom managementto patients with complex symptoms requiring specialist palliative care.

To be successful in this role candidates must be a NMC Registered Nurse with a degree/ diploma in nursing or other health related subject. Its also required to have post registration experience working within palliative care with experience within training /education and MDT working.

About us

As an independent Charity, we match most of NHS Agenda for Change Ts&Cs including NHS pension scheme (relevant criteria apply) and annual leave.

Arthur Rank Hospice Charity has an outstanding reputation for excellence in palliative and end of life care. We support people in Cambridgeshire, who are living with an advanced serious illness or other life-limiting condition and those who need end-of-life care. Our Outstanding services are provided free of charge to patients and their families. Our aim is to provide the highest quality care, helping them to make every moment count.

We are committed to inclusivity, respect, fairness, engagement and equality of opportunity for our patients and their families, our staff and trustees, our volunteers and our supporters.

We value the strength that comes with difference and the positive contribution that diversity brings to our community, therefore, candidates with a disability that meet the minimum criteria will be guaranteed an interview. We are also working to increase diversity throughout the organisation and we particularly welcome applications from BAME people who are currently under-represented.

Arthur Rank Hospice Charity is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults who draw on care and support and expects all colleagues and volunteers to share this commitment.

ARHC encourage and support vaccine uptake, as this remains the best line of defence against COVID 19

Date posted

20 March 2025

Pay scheme

Other

Salary

£37,338 to £44,962 a year Pro rata for part time hours

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

B0202-25-0013

Job locations

Arthur Rank Hospice

Cherry Hinton Road

Shelford Bottom

Cambridge

CB22 3FB

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job Purpose:

To work as a Clinical Nurse Specialist and core member of the Living Well Services Team to provide expert knowledge and skills to patients and their families/carers. To liaise with and provide expert support for health and social care professionals and arrange meetings as required to improve care and liaise/update.

To deputise for the Living Well Services Lead, contribute towards strategic development of the service and to support and develop skills within the Living Well Services team.

Main Responsibilities:

Clinical

To undertake detailed and specialist holistic assessment and analysis of the complex physical, psychological, social and information needs of patients with life limiting illness and their carers. To have up to date knowledge of the various resources available.

To holistically plan, implement and review specialist palliative care therapeutic interventions of patients who are on the Living Well Services caseload.

Proactively ensure all patients referred to the Living Well Service have Advanced Care Planning offered to them and start to undertake with patients as required, whilst liaising closely with the GP.

To demonstrate expertise and a firm knowledge base on which to underpin clinical practice when dealing with patients/carers living with a life limiting illness.

Provide clinical support, information, advice and psychological support to Living Well Service patients, their families and clinicians to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions/ risk of crises and maximise their quality of life.

Provide expert knowledge for advice and support for healthcare professionals in the community and hospital settings to deliver excellence in palliative and end of life care e.g. GPs, DNs, Community and Hospital Specialist nurses and other AHP to devise care plans.

To advise regarding symptom management and medication to patients with complex symptoms requiring specialist palliative care, in collaboration with primary healthcare provider.

To discuss care plan options with the patient and their carer in depth, with sensitivity, highly specialist knowledge and expertise.

Identify the needs of bereaved persons and refer to appropriate bereavement services

To undertake medication reviews and administration of medications orally, via PEGs, nebulisers/ inhaled.

To work with the MDT and take a lead role in the absence of a Physiotherapist/ Occupational Therapist where appropriate in Moving And Handling emergencies.

To take a lead role in potential medical emergencies within the department, delegating tasks to the MDT and co-ordinating the care of the patient.

To use advanced interpersonal and communication skills to communicate and receive specialist and sensitive information. This includes identifying barriers to effective communication and develop/implement strategies to overcome these.

Ensure patients are appropriately informed to make care decisions by educating them and helping them to maximise their quality of life with a life limiting illness.

To act as patient advocate where appropriate.

To collaborate and enhance communication between external care services to promote the Living Well Service, provide a seamless service and improved patient experience.

To take responsibility for own practice and proactive management of the services caseload, prioritising as required to respond to unpredictable clinical emergencies.

With the team lead and multi-disciplinary team members develop and maintain up to date policies e.g. medicines management within the Living Well Services department

Operational

To deputise for the Living Well Services Lead as required in their absence.

To support the Living Well Services Lead in the development and provision of the Service as guided by the hospices values and operational plan.

To participate in the delivery of educational programs to colleagues as required, and to service users on a regular basis as part of the LWS program.

To oversee the patient plan and ensure goals being met in a timely and appropriate manner

To utilise professional judgement and work with the Living Well Services Lead to formulate, monitor and evaluate evidence-based standards and policies relating to specialist palliative care in the delivery of individualised patient care.

To act as a role model to the Living Well Services team demonstrating high-quality clinical care and practice, whilst encouraging a culture of innovation.

To manage members of the Living Well Services Team and feed back at 1:1s to Team Lead. This will include all elements of staff support e.g. one to ones.

Actively identify and participate in audits and research to aid the development of the service

To provide a high standard of professional conduct and nursing care at all times in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council Code of Professional Practice, demonstrating leadership in the nursing care of patients within the service.

To have respect for patient confidentiality, autonomy and need for privacy at all times. To acknowledge individual needs in spiritual, religious and cultural matters.

Observe and maintain strict confidentiality with regards to any patient/family/staff records and information in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act.

Any data that is taken/shared as part of a phone call, is transported or transferred electronically must be undertaken with regard to the Charitys Information Governance and Information Security policies.

Provide patients and their families /carers with information on standards they should expect from the team

Participate in clinical supervision on a regular basis

To participate in relevant emergency preparedness process for their team.