Lead Diabetes Nurse

Job responsibilities

Role Purpose

• To work autonomously as a Diabetes Nurse delivering immediate or planned diabetes care to patients with complex diabetes
• Support, manage, monitor, and maintain the efficient and continued development of diabetes care services within the Practice.
• To provide clinical leadership within the diabetes team
• Support training and development of clinical practitioners to ensure the consistent delivery of high-quality care diabetes within the service.
• To facilitate the planning, development, and evaluation of the diabetes service within the Practice
• Maintaining and developing own practice as a diabetes nurse, research, and educator
• To work within the framework of the NMC Code of Professional Conduct and Scope of Professional Practice to ensure that the best possible care is given to the Practice population

Role Responsibilities

Clinical:

• To co-ordinate the diabetes services within the Practice, networking with a multi-disciplinary team
• Use high decision-making skills in the assessment and management of patients with complex diabetes.
• Monitoring the control of existing diabetes caseload and ensuring accurate diagnosis, care, and education of all referrals with a new diabetes diagnosis.
• To provide people living with diabetes care that is patient centred, evidence-based, and treatment according to local protocols, guidelines, and published data from recent major diabetes trials.
• To prevent and detect early complications and other physical, social, or psychological problems.
• To liaise with other health professionals or voluntary organisations both community and hospital based
• Prescribe and review medication for therapeutic effectiveness, appropriate to patient needs and in accordance with evidence-based practice and national and practice protocols, and within scope of practice.
• Initiation and monitoring and appropriate follow up of injectable therapies in line with local formulary and guidance.
• To facilitate self-management of diabetes with appropriate education
• To provide diabetes specialist advice and support to community nursing staff, residential and nursing homes as required with occasional home visits.
• Apply infection control measures in all areas of Practice.
• Signpost effectively to other clinicians and agencies when appropriate.

Managerial Role

• Understand own role and scope within the Practice, responding to changes as needed.
• Participate in regular team meetings to maintain lines of communication.
• Attend and contribute to relevant internal and external meetings as required.
• Provision and promotion of evidence-based practice
• Remaining up to date with pertinent health policies, work with the practice team to consider the impact and the strategies for implementation.
• Monitor effectiveness of clinical practice through quality assurance strategies such as clinical audit and peer reviews
• To provide clinical leadership within the diabetes team, directing and supporting others through relevant change and new ways of working
• To support colleagues within their roles to enhance diabetes knowledge and skills.
• Development and maintenance of relevant policies and protocols that are relevant to the role of the lead diabetes nurse.
• Line manages diabetes team staff members according to the Practice organisational plan.
• Work with the Head of Clinical Services to maximise all areas of income for the Practice.
• Minimise expenditure for the Practice whilst ensuring high standards of care are provided.
• Develop, deliver, and maintain diabetes services including maintaining disease registers in liaison with administrative staff.
• Ensuring any changes to policies are cascaded accordingly to the relevant practice team.
• To support public health campaigns.
• To provide specialist knowledge on all public health programmes relating to the management of diabetes which is available to the public.

Professional Role:

• To plan and pursue own professional development with regular appropriate study days, conferences and journals and maintain links with secondary diabetes care as necessary.
• Critically reflect on own performance, through peer group and clinical supervision
• To maintain and develop personal professional profile.

Education and Research:

• Supporting patients, relatives/carers on all aspects of diabetes management through engagement with structured education programmes, virtual or individually
• Facilitation and provision of education for other health professionals and students
• To support the development of other clinicians in diabetes management
• To collaboratively identify areas for nursing practice development and maintain a learning environment.
• To recognise and use spontaneous learning opportunities.
• To participate in research projects applicable to diabetes care, management service review and service delivery

Performance Appraisal

• Provide ongoing performance management, feedback, and development to the diabetes team. Participate in the appraisal process as required for team members you directly line manage.

Employee Relations

• Maintain relationships with wider practice team and colleagues through team working, respect and communication.

Communication:

• To be aware of data protection issues.
• To liaise effectively with other health professionals both inside and outside the organisation, about accepting and making clinical referrals
• Communicate effectively with patients and relatives, considering differences in language, literacy, and culture.

Confidentiality:

• While 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 will have access to confidential information relating to the Practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential.
• Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other health care workers or the business of the Practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the Practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.

Quality

• Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk.
• Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision
• Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance.
• Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs.
• Effectively manage own time, workload, and resources
• Work with the general practice team to ensure the practice is compliant with CQC standards.
• To liaise effectively with other health professionals both inside and outside the organisation, with regard to accepting and making clinical referrals.
• Communicate effectively with patients and relatives, considering differences in language, literacy, and culture.

Health & Safety

• The post-holder will support, promote, and maintain the Practices Health & Safety Policy and Procedures and the Practices Infection Control Policy and Procedures.

Equality and Diversity

• The post-holder will support, promote, and maintain the Practices Equality & Diversity Policy.

Skills

Essential

• A conscientious and reflective Clinical Practitioner.
• Confident in the accurate analysis of data and information; and identifying implications for the individual patient/impact on care plan.
• The ability to take responsibility for the day the day to day running of the diabetes team
• Excellent organisational skills
• Ability to work under pressure, excellent time management skills and ability to prioritise workload
• Proficient in the use of MS Office, Word, Excel, SystmOne and or other Clinical Software
• Excellent interpersonal skills and communication skills demonstrating an ability to engage and communicate with individuals and groups,
• Able to lead and manage, motivate a team in occasionally a pressured environment.
• A Strategic thinker
• Ability to manage change

Additional requirements

Essential

• Commitment to continuing professional development of self and others.
• A flexible and adaptable approach to maintain the consistent delivery of high-quality services
• Able to maintain the consistent delivery of high-quality services.
• Satisfactory completion of an enhanced check through the Vetting and Barring Service (this will be taken up if offered the post).
• Legal Right to work in the UK
• A commitment to anti-discriminatory practices in employment, training, and service delivery.
• An understanding of Health and Safety responsibilities.
• Flexibility in working hours.
• Vaccinated or willing to be vaccinated for Hep B, MMR, Covid 19 and other relevant employment vaccinations programmes.

Experience

Essential

• Recent and relevant experience in diabetes practice nursing
• Post registration experience (Minimum 5 years).
• Proven ability to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of own clinic practice
• Evidence of capacity to work successfully autonomous and as part of a team
• Maintenance of up-to-date skills, knowledge and understanding; and on-going competence in all aspects of clinical role
• Evidence of capacity to work successfully, both as an autonomous practitioner and as part of a team
• Proven ability to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of and others own clinical practice
• Understand, interpret, and help implement local and national guidelines
• Understanding of infection prevention and control measures in clinical practice

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered General Nurse (Registered with the Nursing & Midwifery Council)
• Independent Nurse Prescriber Qualification
• Teaching/Mentoring qualification or qualification by experience to Diploma/Degree Module Level)

Desirable

• Accredited Qualification in Diabetes Care

Knowledge

Essential

• Understanding of effective team working
• Understanding of evidence-based practice
• Understanding of the NHS/ Primary Care services and the National standards that inform practice (IE PCN, QOF, NHS Long term plan)
• Understanding of their accountability arising from the relevant Professional/Governing Body.
• Understanding of equal opportunity and diversity issues
• Knowledge of confidentiality in the workplace/ information governance.

Desirable

• Understanding of systems to gain understanding of the health needs of the practice population as they relate to Primary Care

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).