Practice Nurse / Primary Care Nurse

Job description

Job responsibilities

The purpose of the role is to assist the clinical team in the service and delivery of the care management of the practice population.

SCOPE OF THE JOB:

The Primary Care Nurse will work under indirect supervision and perform tasks prescribed and delegated by the GP Partners, ACP / Nurse Manager and Primary Care Nurses working to Patient Specific Directions (PGDs), agreed Protocols, within an evidence base and within defined competencies to meet the needs of the patients.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS/CONTACTS

Internal:

- Clinical staff members such as GPs, Allied Health Professionals (AHPs), Practice Pharmacy team and Practice Nursing team

- Non- clinical staff members such as Operations Manager, Clinical Assistants and Patient Services team

- Community staff members such as Community Matrons, District Nurses, Mental Health and Social Care clinicians and Midwives

External:

- Patients, carers and relatives

- Practice suppliers (equipment, supplies and services)

DUTIES & Responsibilities

Patient Care:

Assessment, management and treatment of conditions within competence and as delegated.

- Chronic Disease Management such as: Asthma, COPD, Diabetes, Learning Disabilities, Long Term Conditions, NHS Health Checks

- Observations such as: ECGs, blood pressures, bloods, foot checks, urine analysis

- Procedures such as: spirometry, ear syringing, cervical cytology

- Wound care and minor injuries management i.e. removal of sutures and dressings

- General health and lifestyle advice

- Injections such as: B12 injections, hormone injections i.e. Depo

- Vaccinations such as: childhood immunisations, travel vaccinations, shingles, pneumococcal and shingles

- QoF and Enhanced Services

- Referrals

- Chaperoning duties

Record Keeping and Administration

- Accurately label and document patient samples and submit for collection and analysis

- Contribute to nursing team record keeping (clinical, administrative, health and safety related records)

- Maintain skills in using patient appointment system

- Make accurate and contemporaneous records of all patient encounters in accordance with practice records, protocols and coding protocols

Other Duties

The Primary Care Nurse may, from time to time, be asked to undertake other reasonable duties, with appropriate training. It is important that all members of staff are prepared to undertake additional or relinquish current duties to maintain service delivery to patients. It is expected that requests from the Trainee ACP Nurse Manager / Partners / Operations Manager will not be unreasonably refused.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

The Primary Care Nurse will:

- Attend and contribute to in-house training events and practice meetings

- Behave as a positive role model and comply with NMC Code of Conduct and keep registration up to date, documented and checked in the practice on an annual basis

- Maintain awareness of current evidence-based approaches to patient care and update practice accordingly and in consultation with the team

- Prioritise own work and work effectively with others to prioritise team and practice workload

- Take responsibility for own development, including maintenance of a personal development plan and record of learning, clinical supervision, staff appraisals, revalidation, giving and receiving feedback, performance, management with the support and supervision of qualified staff

- Undertake regular mandatory training (Safeguarding Adults and Children, Basic Life Support, Information Governance, Moving and Handling etc.)

- Undertake training needed to ensure competencies for delivering all responsibilities

Maintaining a Safe Clinical Environment

Health & Safety:

The Primary Care Nurse will be aware of and comply with the Practices Health and Safety policy. This will include:

- Adhering to all relevant policies including health and safety, infection prevention and control and cold chain

- Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills, and initiate and manage the training of others across the full range of infection control and patient processes

- Attending regular training and contribute to keeping the working area and patient areas safe, by minimising or eliminating hazards / risks and where discovered report accordingly and contribute to implementing control measures

- Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks across clinical and patient process

- Demonstrate due regard for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of adults and children

- Management and maintenance of personal protective equipment (PPE) for the practice including provision, ordering, availability and ongoing correct usage by staff

- Clean / maintain / dispose of any equipment / waste in accordance with infection prevention and control and equipment maintenance policies

- Record fridge temperatures, clean fridges, promptly report temperature variations from standard

Supplies Management

- Maintain accurate stock records and ordering levels, including liaison with ACP / Nurse Manager and / or Operations Manager by providing order confirmations for invoice checking

- Rotate refrigerated and non-refrigerated stock according to date, maintain appropriate records and discard out of date stock in accordance with practice protocol

Equipment Maintenance and Calibration

- Contribute to care and maintenance of equipment including cleaning and disinfecting items of equipment and keeping an up-to-date record

- Organise repair and regular maintenance and calibration of equipment, including equipment maintenance / checking / calibration log

Quality

- Contribute to clinical governance activities / clinical audit to ensure continual improvement of service delivery and work and offer agreed standards of care to patient cohort

- Contribute to complaints responses / reviews, significant event, peer review and other shared learning activities

- Undertake audits where appropriate to ensure working within current guidance, standards and policies

Communication

- Advise patients of the Primary Care Nurse role, its extent and limits

- Appropriately advise and refer on patients if they require the services of another colleague or service

- Communicate effectively, promptly and appropriately with patients and team members including discussing risks and benefits and obtaining consent where required

Confidentiality

- In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately

- In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, Practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as confidential

- Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons, in accordance with practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data

Equality & Diversity

The Primary Care Nurse will comply with the practices equality and diversity policy including:-

- Not discriminating against patients, carers, relatives or colleagues on the grounds of any of the protected characteristics in the equality act 2010 (or its amendments or later legislation)

- Recognising the rights of patients, carers, relatives and colleagues and respecting their needs, beliefs, privacy and dignity.

- Understand basic legal and communication issues regarding child abuse, family violence, vulnerable adults, substance abuse and addictive behaviour.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working in accordance with the NMC Code of Professional Conduct (2002) and The Scope of Professional Practice (1992)

Desirable

• Experience of working within Primary Care
• Experience of SystmOne clinical system

Qualities / Attributes

Essential

• Able to demonstrate enthusiasm to develop nursing skills
• 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
• Ability to work as part of an integrated multi-skilled team
• Pleasant and articulate
• Able to work under pressure and use own initiative
• Able to work in a changing environment

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered General Nurse
• A demonstrable commitment to Continuous Professional Development

Desirable

• Qualifications in Chronic Disease Management: i.e. Asthma, COPD & Diabetes

Knowledge / Skills

Essential

• Competent in basic nursing duties required for the post of a treatment room nurse including:
• Wound care management
• Injections / vaccinations
• Health and lifestyle reviews
• Excellent communication skills

Other

Essential

• Flexibility of working hours, ability to work at the desired times and across multiple sites

Desirable

• Hold full UK drivers licence

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Hollybrook Medical Centre

Address

Hollybrook Medical Centre

Hollybrook Way

Littleover

Derby

DE23 3TX

Employer's website

https://www.hollybrookmedicalcentre.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)