IPU Team Leader

Job responsibilities

ROLE PURPOSE:

To provide visible clinical leadership and expertise to support the delivery of high standards of patient and carer support. Job description and person specification March 2023.

To be part of the senior clinical team which ensures availability of advice and support across 24/7 and work as part of a multi-professional team providing palliative nursing care interventions for patients and their families across hospice services.

To provide clinical and managerial leadership to nursing and allied staff, ensuring effective day to day running of the IPU, whilst supporting the IPU Ward Manager.

PRIMARY DUTIES AND KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Work collaboratively with other Healthcare professionals to provide patient care which promotes best practice and maintains the patients optimum independence.

Use outcome and complexity measurements (OACC) competently and understands the importance of accurate data management for care services.

Work with patients and families to create management plans addressing their individual physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs reflecting the holistic principles of palliative care and always promoting dignity.

Demonstrate specialist clinical knowledge and expertise in palliative care to provide excellent patient care and to recognise the need for, instigate and interpret complex information and clinical investigations to address reversible causes of symptoms.

Demonstrate advanced communication skills with patients, carers and other health care professionals both face to face and via the telephone to share and gather information, offer support and advice and, initiate conversations with patients and their families to enable them to make informed decisions about their care at end of life.

Initiate and lead conversations surrounding advance care planning ensuring patients and carers are aware of choices at each stage.

Recognise signs of dying to initiate anticipatory prescribing so that symptoms can be addressed.

Maintain practical skills such as venepuncture, management of PICC lines, and male / female catheterisation and intravenous drug administration.

Ensure adequate ordering to control stocks of medical supplies and drugs.

Work within the boundaries of a multi-disciplinary team, instigate, lead, and contribute to multi-disciplinary discussions, including multidisciplinary team meetings, and refer to other members of the team to enhance patient care.

Plan, organise and allocate staff according to competencies, workload, and patient dependency to provide excellent patient care and best use of resources, across all hospice services.

Frequently undertake the role of the nurse in charge.

Take part in clinical audit and undertake risk assessments in line with the Trusts clinical governance processes.

Undertake activities associated with the line management of Registered Nurses, Paramedics, Nursing Associates and HealthCare Assistants (including but not restricted to supervision and support, absence and performance management, recruitment and induction)

Support the management of ward support volunteers.

Undertake mentorship of student nurses and return to practice nurses.

Participate in teaching and education programmes and assist in mentoring junior staff, student nurses and nursing assistants.

Demonstrate presentation skills to actively contribute to education and training both internally and externally as part of sharing good practice to enhance patient care.

Take part, under supervision, in investigations into complaints or incidents, completing the relevant sections of the accident, incident and near miss reports.

Maintain active registration on the Nursing and Midwifery Council register and meet the requirements of nurse revalidation.

Qualifications

Essential

• Experienced Registered Nurse with NMC registration.
• Educated to degree level (level 6).

Desirable

• Mentorship qualification.
• Level 6 Leadership qualification or commitment to undertake level 6 study in leadership (if not obtained already).

Experience

Essential

• Experience of assessing and planning care for patients.
• Experience of co-ordination clinical shifts.

Other Knowledge, skills and personal qualities

Essential

• Ability to handle feedback from patients and carers, including
• complaints, sensitively and in a timely manner.
• Demonstrable knowledge in symptom control to ensure the
• patients symptoms are addressed, and to guide other members
• of the health care team.
• Ability to maintain accurate written and computerised records,
• and minimum data requirements for accessing and recording
• information in accordance with NMC Guidelines for Records and
• Record Keeping (2009) and Code of Professional Conduct (2008).
• Strong leadership and effective delegation skills.
• Empathetic and courteous, always treating patients and their
• loved ones with care and consideration.
• Ability to work flexible shifts and take part in the senior nurse oncall rota to provide appropriate delivery of service on a rolling
• seven-day rota basis.
• Willingness to participate in own clinical supervision ensuring
• personal wellbeing and resilience and safe practice.
• Ability to demonstrate leadership through engagement with
• innovation in practice.
• Ability to demonstrate leadership through engagement with
• innovation in practice.

Desirable

• Post-registration education in a relevant subject.
• Evidence of recent professional development.
• Evidence of practice in a palliative care setting.

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).