Lead Practice Nurse

Job responsibilities

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Clinical practiceAssess, plan, develop, implement, provide and evaluate treatment programmes including, but not limited to: Health promotion and well-being plus individual plans for patients with/at risk of a long term condition Manage and treat long-term conditions, in line with national and local policies and practice needs Review medication for therapeutic effectiveness, in accordance with evidence based practice and national/practice protocols, and work with patients to support adherence to prescribed treatments Prioritise health problems, intervening appropriately, to assist the patient in complex, urgent or emergency situations, including initiation of effective emergency care Support and manage health needs of women presenting for family planning and cervical cytology consultations Implement and participate in vaccination and immunisation programmes for both adults and children including patients travelling abroad Meet the needs of patients presenting for opportunistic wound care Assess, diagnose and treat minor illnesses Non-medical prescribing is an advantage

Organisational

• Manage the day to day running of key nursing systems and procedures in line with practice policies

• Develop clinical protocols and procedures, review and update as required
• Oversee and/or develop an effective nurse appointments systems with effective holiday/sickness cover

• Routinely monitor and assess nursing team performance against patient access and demand management targets
• To manage the system of Clinical Supervision/Peer Review, organising meetings, agenda and providing minutes
• To participate in the management of the Quality and Outcomes Framework Programme, maximising achievement of quality targets and providing effective patient care

Staffing

• Day to day management of the nursing team staff including healthcare support staff
• Production of staff rotas
• Conducting annual appraisals and performance reviews
• Managing annual leave and sickness absence in accordance with practice policies
• Provide nursing cover for unexpected absences
• Ensure staff have up to date mandatory training and other training relevant to their post
• Provide training and support to new staff
• Recruitment of new staff as required in liaison with the Operations Manager
• Ensure the smooth running of the surgeries through adequate nursing staffing levels, in liaison with the Business and Operations Managers.
• Contribute to the recruitment and retention of qualified and unqualified clinical staff, ensuring that all staff are legally and gainfully employed and fulfilling the requirements of the Recruitment Checklist
• Workload and staff development planning.
• Maintain the nursing staff databases for training and annual/sickness absence
• Ensure all staff have job descriptions that are updated appropriately and promptly when changes are introduced

Leadership personal and people development

Take responsibility for own development, learning and performance including participating in clinical supervision and acting as a positive role model Support the development of others in order to maximise staff potential Lead others to make realistic self-assessment of their knowledge and skills, challenging any complacency and actions that are not in the in the interest of the public and/or users of service Act as a clinical leader in the delivery of practice nursing services to patients, ensuring that the needs of the patient are the priority Lead the nursing team in the planning and implementation of local guidelines, protocols and standards, and of local projects or initiatives Promote the role of the nursing team in the provision of care

Delivering a quality service

Recognise and work within own competence and professional code of conduct as regulated by the NMC Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient consultation, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures Prioritise, organise and manage own and others workload in a manner that maintains and promotes quality Deliver care as an individual and team according to NSF, NICE guidelines and evidence-based care, assessing effectiveness of care delivery through peer review, benchmarking and formal evaluation and leading on the maintenance of quality governance systems for the nursing team Implement and review the application of evidence-based practice in nursing Utilise the audit cycle as a means of evaluating the quality of the work of self and the team, implementing improvements where required Evaluate patients response to health care provision and the effectiveness of care Lead and participate in shared learning across the practice and wider organisation and assess the impact of policy implementation on care delivery Monitor the performance of the nursing team in accordance with local policies Work within policies regarding family violence, vulnerable children and adults, substance abuse and addictive behaviour, and refer as appropriate Interpret national strategies and policies into local implementation strategies that are aligned to the values and culture of general practice

Team working

Work as an effective and responsible team leader, supporting others and exploring the mechanisms to develop new ways of working Delegate appropriately, adopting the principles of safe practice and assessment of competence of nurses Ensure clear nurse referral mechanisms are in place to meet patient needs Prioritise own and others workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are embedded within the culture of the team Lead nursing team activities that create opportunities to improve patient care Participate in research programmes Contribute nursing view to practice management Set specification and quality required from nursing admin support

Management of risk

Manage and assess risk within the areas of responsibility, ensuring adequate measures are in place to protect staff and patients Contribute to the Register of Risk, providing risk assessment as necessary Monitor work areas and practices to ensure they are safe and free from hazards and conform to health, safety and security legislation, policies, procedures and guidelines Ensure safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs Act as a role model to support members of the nursing team to undertake mandatory and statutory training requirements Apply infection-control measures with in the practice according to local and national guidelines Participate in the local implementation strategies that are aligned to the values and culture of general practice

Utilising information

Use technology and appropriate software packages as an aid to day to day operations Review and process data using accurate read codes in order to ensure easy accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes Adhere to statutory and practice requirements for Information Governance including confidentiality and Freedom of Information Act Collate, analyse and present clinical data and information to the team using appropriate charts and/or graphs to enhance care

Learning and development

Act as mentor for more junior staff and students, assessing competence against set standards Disseminate learning and information to other team members in order to share good practice and inform others about current and future developments (eg courses and conferences) Assess own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate Provide an educational role to patients, carers, families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning

Communication

Demonstrate sensitive communication styles to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment Communicate effectively with patients and carers, recognising the need for alternative methods of communication to overcome different levels of understanding, cultural background and preferred ways of communicating, including those receiving bad news Act as an advocate when representing patients and colleagues Participate in practice team meetings, delivering the nursing agenda and run nurse department meetings Produce written documents that evidence the contribution of the nursing team to the practice priorities

Equality and Diversity

Identify patterns of discrimination and take action to overcome this and promote diversity and equality of opportunity Support people who need assistance in exercising rights Monitor and evaluate adherence to local chaperoning policies Accept the rights if individuals to choose their care providers, participate in care and refuse care Assist patients from marginalised groups to access quality care

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered first level nurse
• Community nursing specialist qualification or equivalent
• Relevant nursing/health degree
• Mentor/teaching qualification
• Clinical supervision training and experience

Desirable

• Independent/supplementary nurse prescribing qualification

Experience

Essential

• Minimum 5 years post registration experience or equivalent
• At least 2 years recent primary and community nursing experience
• Experience in nurse-led management of long-term conditions
• Team leader experience
• Experience in implementing protocols and clinical guidelines
• Experience in quality initiatives such as clinical benchmarking
• Audit skills

Desirable

• Research Programmes

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Skills in management of patients with long long term conditions including COPD,Diabetes, Asthma
• Awareness of accountability of own and others roles in a nurse-led service
• Knowledge of health promotion strategies
• Awareness of local and national health strategy
• Knowledge of clinical governance issues in primary care
• Knowledge of patient group directions and
• associated policy
• Leadership skills
• Clinical leadership skills
• Skills in management of staff and teams
• Negotiation skills
• Clinical skills cervical cytology, immunisation and vaccination, ear care, COPD, asthma and diabetes
• Change-management skills and ability to support patients to change lifestyle
• Communication skills, both written and verbal
• Ability to communicate difficult messages to patients and families
• Negotiation and conflict management skills
• Teaching and mentorship experience in a clinical setting
• IT skills including Office, Outlook and EMIS

Desirable

• Knowledge of public health issues
• Ability to identify determinates on health in the local area
• Knowledge of public health issues in the area
• Wider health economy awareness
• Management knowledge
• Minor Illness qualification

Attributes

Essential

• Self-directed practitioner
• Highly motivated
• Flexibility
• Enthusiasm
• Team player

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).