Practice Nurse

Job responsibilities

GENERIC RESPONSIBILITIES:

All staff at Greenbank Surgery have a duty to conform to the following:

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

A good attitude and positive action towards ED&I creates an environment where all individuals are able to achieve their full potential. Creating such an environment is important for three reasons: it improves operational effectiveness, it is morally the right thing to do and it is required by law.

Patients and their families have the right to be treated fairly and be routinely involved in decisions about their treatment and care. They can expect to be treated with dignity and respect and will not be discriminated against on any grounds including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Patients have a responsibility to treat other patients and our staff with dignity and respect.

Staff have the right to be treated fairly in recruitment and career progression. Staff can expect to work in an environment where diversity is valued and equality of opportunity is promoted. Staff will not be discriminated against on any grounds including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Staff have a responsibility to ensure that they treat our patients and their colleagues with dignity and respect.

Safety, Health, Environment and Fire (SHEF)

This practice is committed to supporting and promoting opportunities for staff to maintain their health, well-being and safety. You have a duty to take reasonable care of health and safety at work for you, your team and others and to co-operate with employers to ensure compliance with health and safety requirements. All personnel are to comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Environmental Protection Act 1990, Environment Act 1995, Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1999 and other statutory legislation.

Confidentiality

This practice is committed to maintaining an outstanding confidential service. Patients entrust and permit us to collect and retain sensitive information relating to their health and other matters pertaining to their care. They do so in confidence and have a right to expect all staff will respect their privacy and maintain confidentiality at all times. It is essential that, if the legal requirements are to be met and the trust of our patients is to be retained, all staff protect patient information and provide a confidential service.

Quality and Continuous Improvement (CI)

To preserve and improve the quality of our output, all personnel are required to think not only of what they do, but how they achieve it. By continually re-examining our processes, we will be able to develop and improve the overall effectiveness of the way we work. The responsibility for this rests with everyone working within the practice to look for opportunities to improve quality and share good practice.

This practice continually strives to improve work processes which deliver healthcare with improved results across all areas of our service provision. We promote a culture of continuous improvement where everyone counts and staff are permitted to make suggestions and contributions to improve our service delivery and enhance patient care.

Induction training

On arrival at the practice all new personnel are to complete a practice induction programme. This is managed by the practice managers.

Learning and development

The effective use of training and development is fundamental to ensuring that all staff are equipped with the appropriate skills, knowledge, attitude and competences to perform their role. All staff will be required to partake and complete mandatory training as directed by the training coordinator, as well as participating in the practice training programme. Staff will also be permitted (subject to approval) to undertake external training courses which will enhance their knowledge and skills, progress their career and ultimately enable them to improve processes and service delivery.

Collaborative working

All staff are to recognise the significance of collaborative working. Teamwork is essential in multidisciplinary environments. Effective communication is also essential and all staff must ensure they communicate in a manner which enables the sharing of information in an appropriate manner.

Service delivery

Staff at Greenbank Surgery must adhere to the information contained within practice policies and regional directives, ensuring protocols are adhered to at all times. Staff will be given detailed information during the induction process regarding policy and procedure.

Security

The security of the practice is the responsibility of all personnel. Staff must ensure they remain vigilant at all times and report any suspicious activity immediately to their line manager. Under no circumstances are staff to share the codes for the door locks with anyone and they are to ensure that restricted areas remain effectively secured.

Professional conduct

At Greenbank Surgery, staff are required to dress appropriately for their role. Administrative staff will be provided with a uniform whilst clinical staff must dress in accordance with their role.

Leave

All personnel are entitled to take leave. Line managers are to ensure all of their staff are encouraged to take all of their leave entitlement.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

The following are the core responsibilities of a practice nurse. There may be, on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks. This will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels:

1. To act as the Infection Prevention Control (IPC) lead and to work to the IPC Policy providing audits, training, support and evidence of compliance to the practice manager
2. To produce the IPC annual statement in conjunction with the practice manager
3. To develop, implement and embed health promotion and well-being programmes
4. To implement and evaluate individual treatment plans for chronic disease patients that promote health and well-being
5. To identify, manage and support patients at risk of developing long term conditions, preventing adverse effects to patients health
6. To provide routine nursing care to patients as required in accordance with clinical based evidence, NICE and the NSF
7. To diagnose and manage acute and chronic conditions
8. To prescribe medication for patients in accordance with PGDs and own scope of practice
9. To review patient medications to enhance compliance
10. To provide guidance to patients in the use of prescribed and over-the-counter medications regarding side effects and dosages
11. To oversee the provision of wound care services to patients
12. To co-ordinate the provision of travel medicine services
13. To request pathology services as necessary
14. To process pathology results as required
15. To oversee the provision of chronic disease clinics, delivering patient care as necessary, referring patients to secondary/specialist care as required
16. To maintain accurate clinical records in conjunction with extant legislation
17. To ensure read codes are used effectively by all members of the nursing team
18. To ensure the appropriate maintenance and use of chronic disease registers
19. To develop, implement, embed and participate in well woman clinics
20. To develop, implement, embed and participate in well man clinics
21. To chaperone patients where necessary
22. To assist GPs with minor surgery when required
23. To prioritise health issues and intervene appropriately
24. To support the team in dealing with clinical emergencies
25. To recognise, assess and refer patients presenting with mental health needs
26. To implement vaccination programmes for adults and children
27. To support patients in the use of their prescribed medicines or over-the-counter medicines (within own scope of practice)
28. To liaise with external services/agencies to ensure the patient is supported appropriately (vulnerable patients etc.)
29. To delegate clinical responsibilities appropriately (ensuring safe practice and the task is within the scope of practice of the individual)
30. To support the clinical team with all safeguarding matters in accordance with local and national policies
31. To understand practice and local policies for substance abuse and addictive behaviour, referring patients appropriately
32. To deliver opportunistic health promotion where appropriate

SECONDARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

In addition to the primary responsibilities, the practice nurse may be requested to:

• . Develop and review audit protocols and process for the practice, effectively utilising the audit cycle
• Develop, review and implement nursing protocols in conjunction with the partners
• Support all members of the nursing team, providing guidance when necessary, and training needs analyses as required
• Participate in local initiatives to enhance service delivery and patient care
• Support and participate in shared learning within the practice
• Continually review clinical practices, responding to national policies and initiatives where appropriate
• Participate in the review of significant and near-miss events applying a structured approach, i.e. root cause analysis (RCA)
• Co-ordinate the nursing team rota, ensuring sufficient staff are available to meet patient needs
• Assist with the planning and implementation of changes within the nursing team, enhancing the provision of services to patients
• Support the practice team with the reviewing and implementation of practice policies and protocols, ensuring conformance to extant legislation

Clinical Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Wound care/removal of sutures and staples
• ECGs
• Venepuncture
• New patient medicals
• Chaperone procedure
• Requesting pathology tests and processing the results, advising patients accordingly
• Travel medicine
• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Asthma
• Spirometry
• CHD
• Immunisations (routine, childhood and travel)
• Womens health (cervical cytology, contraception, etc.)
• Understand the importance of evidence-based practice
• Broad knowledge of clinical governance
• Ability to record accurate clinical notes
• Ability to work within own scope of practice and understand when to refer to GPs
• Understanding of infection prevention and control measures
• Knowledge of health promotion strategies
• Understand the requirement for PGDs and associated policy

Desirable

• Knowledge of public health issues in the local area
• Awareness of issues within the wider health arena

Skills

Essential

• Excellent communication skills (written and oral)
• Strong IT skills
• Clear, polite telephone manner
• Competent in the use of Office and Outlook
• Effective time management (planning and organising)
• Ability to work as a team member and autonomously
• Good interpersonal skills
• Problem solving and analytical skills
• Ability to follow clinical policy and procedure

Desirable

• SystmOne skills
• Experience with audit and able to lead audit programmes
• Experience with clinical risk management

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working in a primary care environment
• Experience of chronic disease management
• Experience of working autonomously

Desirable

• Experience of working as a practice nurse or community nurse
• Experience of infection prevention and control measures

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Nurse

Desirable

• Post graduate diploma or degree (Chronic Disease Management)
• Nurse prescriber

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Polite and confident
• Flexible and co-operative
• Motivated, forward thinker
• Problem solver with the ability to process information accurately and effectively, interpreting data as required
• High levels of integrity and loyalty
• Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations
• Ability to work under pressure/in stressful situations
• Effectively able to communicate and understand the needs of the patient
• Commitment to ongoing professional development
• Effectively utilise resources
• Punctual and committed to supporting the team effort

Other Requirements

Essential

• Flexibility to work outside of core office hours
• Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check
• Occupational health clearance
• Meet the requirements and produce evidence for nurse revalidation
• Evidence of continuing professional development (CPD) commensurate with the role of a lead practice nurse

Other Requirements

Essential

• Flexibility to work outside of core office hours
• Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check
• Occupational health clearance
• Meet the requirements and produce evidence for nurse revalidation
• Evidence of continuing professional development (CPD) commensurate with the role of a lead practice nurse

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).