Practice Nurse

Job responsibilities

Job Summary

We are looking for a Practice Nurse to provide and maintain a high standard of nursing care for our 10,900 patients as well as providing nursing assistance to the doctors and other members of the Primary healthcare team.

Applicant should have a minimum of 2 years post registration experience and have worked in Primary care with an interest in Respiratory care and experience in Diabetes.

The post will be clinic based and include treatment room duties as well as management of Long-Term Conditions.

Primary Responsibilities

Assist GPs to help deliver effective implementation of management of patients with chronic diseases as detailed by the Quality Outcomes Framework.

Support the implementation of evidence-based guidelines in conjunction with the practice nursing team.

Encourage the development of integrated services within Primary care to include integrated practice-based teams and multidisciplinary working.

Continuously look at developing the role with the wider team to provide safer and improved care.

Promote your own continuing professional development and participate in annual appraisal.

Provide nursing treatments to patients in participation with general practitioners using agreed protocols.

To provide, assessment, screening treatment services and health education advice.

To provide general and specific health screening to the practice patients (within agreed protocols) with referral to general practitioner as necessary.

Be competent and confident in managing people with long term health conditions.

Be competent in the administration of childhood immunisations and travel vaccination, participating in the vaccination and immunisation programmes for both adults and children whilst ensuring safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs.

Work with patients to support compliance with, and adhere to, prescribed treatments.

Support patients to adopt health promotion strategies that promote healthy lifestyles and apply principles of self- care.

Utilise and demonstrate sensitive communication styles, to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment.

Recognise and work within own competence and professional code of conduct as regulated by NMC.

Produce accurate, contemporaneous, and complete records of patients consultation, consistent with legislation policies and procedures.

Prioritise, organise, and manage own workload in a manner that maintains and promotes quality.

Maintain and control injectable and oral drug stocks in the treatment rooms.

A duty to advise senior nurses of potential problems or errors within the range of assigned tasks.

Perform venepuncture and electrocardiography.

Undertake Diabetic patient support management.

Undertake opportunistic screening when required.

Undertake wound care/management dressing techniques.

Carry out ear examination and referral.

Perform cervical screening and promote breast awareness.

Undertake Sexual Health promotion and contraception.

Carry out treatment room duties as required, wound care, ulcer care, dopplers.

Assessing problems presented opportunistically by patients.

Chaperoning and assisting patients where appropriate who are being examined by another clinician.

Provide advice on standard lifestyle issues, assist and support patients in changing their unhealthy behaviours and refer appropriately.

Recognise the signs of child abuse, addictive behaviours, suicidal tendencies and be aware of local referral procedures.

Apply infection control measures when collecting and handling laboratory specimens. Disposing of waste materials, dealing with blood and body fluids spillages and report and treat sharps injuries.

Undertake first aid and management of emergencies i.e., burns, haemorrhage, hypo/hyperglycaemic emergencies, /asthma attacks.

Undertake annual training and demonstrate competency in anaphylaxis and resuscitation techniques.

Part takes in audit work as and when required.

Attend and participate in any practice meetings when required.

Apply practice policies, standards, and guidance.

The above job description of responsibilities is not exhaustive, and the practice Nurse maybe asked to perform other duties. These may vary from time to time but will not change the general character of the post or the level of any responsibility entailed.

General Responsibilities

All staff at Upwell Health Centre have a duty to conform to the following:

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I)

A good attitude and positive action towards ED&I create 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 you treat our patients and their colleagues with dignity and respect.

Safety, Health, Environment and Fire

This practice is committed to supporting and promoting opportunities to 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 cooperate with employers to ensure compliance with health and safety requirements. All personnel are to comply with the Health and Safety atWork 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 always maintain confidentiality. It is essential that if, the legal requirements are to be met and the trust of our patients is to be retained that all staff protect patient information and provide a confidential service.

Quality & 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 health care 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.

Training

On arrival at the practice all personnel are to complete a practice induction programme; this is managed by the HR Manager. Mandatory attendance at practice governance and training sessions is required. Completion of all mandatory training is also required.

Learning and Development

The effective use of training and development is fundamental in 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 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 Upwell Health Centre must adhere to the information contained with practice policies and regional directives, ensuring protocols are always adhered to. 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 always remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity immediately to their line manager. Under no circumstances are staff to share the codes for the door locks to anyone and are to ensure that restricted areas remain effectively secured.

Professional Conduct

At Upwell Health Centre 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.

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered General Nurse
• Good standard of education with good literacy and numeracy skills

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Commitment to professional development
• Competent in the nursing duties required for the role
• Excellent communication skills (written, oral and presenting)
• Knowledge of Primary Care
• IT skills Microsoft Windows, Excel, Teams, Outlook
• Ability to motivate and train staff

Other Requirements

Essential

• Flexibility to work outside of core office hours if required.
• Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check
• Maintain confidentiality at all times and adhere to information governance standards
• Full UK driving licence and willingness to drive if required.

Experience

Essential

• Experience in similar role- Practice nursing
• Experience of working with the general public
• Experience of working in a health care setting
• NHS / Primary Care General Practice experience
• Experience in recording and maintaining accurate clinical information using templates

Desirable

• Experience in Systemone computer system

Personal Qualities

Essential

• An understanding, acceptance and adherence to the need for strict confidentiality
• Ability to use own judgement, resourcefulness and common sense
• Ability to work without direct supervision and determine own workload priorities
• Polite and confident
• Hard working, Flexible and cooperative work ethic
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Motivated and proactive
• High levels of integrity and loyalty
• Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations
• Ability to work under pressure
• Confident, assertive and resilient
• Highly reliable and consistent in terms of attending work
• Ability to work well with other members of the team, to motivate team, enhance morale and maintain a positive working environment, including team building sessions

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).