Specialist Community Practitioner

Job description

Job responsibilities

Main duties & responsibilities

• Work as a Community Specialist practitioner to assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate interventions and treatments for patients within their scope of professional practice.
• Support the transfer of patients between their own home and acute / community hospitals ensuring there is continuity of care at admission and post discharge.
• Be able to display autonomy within their scope of practice whilst being supported to make clinical judgements on a range of complex issues which may require analysis, interpretation of information to make a diagnosis and management plan that is safe and appropriate, including referral to acute services where required.
• Conduct regular care plan reviews at a frequency appropriate to the patients needs ensuring personalised care and support plans for individuals.
• Ensure patients and carers and or advocates views are taken into account in every stage of the decision making process with sound documentation to clearly understand how decisions were made.
• Manage and respond to an array of clinical documents within a timeframe appropriate to need which then may require further referral, investigation, prescription or liaison with other specialists as is required.
• Be able to identify clinical emergencies, deteriorating patients or patients at risk of deterioration ensuring prioritising timely and appropriate actions to promote quality and safety of care delivery.
• Always work within own individual scope of practice and competence ensuring to seek advice and or support from other senior colleagues or GPs within Haven PCN as required.
• To be able to fully assess, tolerate and manage risk and deal with uncertainty within individuals personalised care plans and ensuring communication with all relevant parties appropriately where such needs are present.
• Share knowledge and expertise, acting as an expert resource to others.
• To attend and participate in practice clinical meetings and other multi-disciplinary meetings where necessary and communicate appropriately.

Admin & Professional

• To use nursing knowledge and skills to provide high standards of evidence-based patient centred care.
• To be accountable for own professional actions adhering to the Nursing & Midwifery standards and guidelines.
• Contribute to the development of the clinical governance for the service including participating in audit and incident reporting.
• As part of the team work collaboratively with all partners to contribute to the ongoing development of the service, and policies and procedures.
• To maintain your current registration with the NMC and fulfil all relevant continuing professional development needs.
• To maintain accurate contemporaneous electronic records on all aspects of the care process and patient contact.
• Awareness of, and compliance with, all relevant local/clinical policies and guidelines.
• Identify potential for any incidents or potential for harm, ensuring raise awareness with clinical or operational lead and putting in place any factors to mitigate risk.
• Participate in data collection data for audit purposes and be responsible for monitoring progress against key performance targets.
• Effectively manage own time, workload and resources.
• Value and respect colleagues, other members of staff and patients and show commitment to working as a team member.

Communication

• Establish positive working relationships and effective communication with the Haven GP Practices and all appropriate partners across the local health and social care sector e.g. Palliative Care and other secondary care consultants, Adult Social Care, care home staff, community and acute care teams.
• Utilise and demonstrate sensitive communication styles to ensure patients and their families are fully informed and consent to treatment.
• Where patients have reduced or no capacity to make decisions develop knowledge and skills around ensuring decision making is lawful and within their best interests.
• Ability to cope with frequently challenging, diverse and stressful situations.

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 strictly confidential.
• Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other health care workers or the business of the Practices may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the Practices policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of sensitive data.

Equality & Diversity

• The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:
• Acting in a way that recognises the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with the procedures and policies of the registered Practice, and current legislation.
• Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues.

Education

• Participate in clinical supervision.
• Support others with their training and development needs.
• To participate in continuing education and maintain competency level of professional knowledge and skills and maintain documentary evidence of such training.
• Undertake mandatory training and be responsible for keeping this training up to date.
• Maintain professional development in Safeguarding, risk awareness, health and safety, manual handling etc.
• Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills.

Health & Safety

• Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, as an employee, you must take reasonable care for the health and safety of yourself and for other persons who may be affected by your acts or omissions at work. The Act also states that you must not intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided in the interests of health, safety and welfare.
• Use personal security systems within the workplace according to local guidelines.
• Identify risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages risks.
• Use appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy, safe and free from hazards.
• You are also required to make yourself aware of the site (s) health and safety policies and to report any accidents/incidents.
• All staff are reminded of their responsibility to adhere to departmental Infection Prevention Policies, including policies for the cleaning and contamination of equipment, in order to protect their own health and that of other employees, visitors and patients.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Nurse on the NMC register
• Non-Medical Prescribing qualification
• Completion of clinical skills module or equivalent
• Evidence of continual professional development and the practical application of new skills to the workplace

Desirable

• Mentoring/teaching qualification
• Specialist knowledge within specific long term conditions.
• Specialist knowledge within frailty and or palliative care.

Experience

Essential

• Able to demonstrate a good understanding of the specialist practitioner nursing role related to older people and people with complex care needs.
• Familiar with requirements of specific assessments expected within care of older frail people ie Complex geriatric assessment, 4AT, GPCOG etc
• To demonstrate a sound working knowledge of current issues within the NHS
• To demonstrate knowledge of management of patients with complex health or long term conditions
• To have a good understanding of the range of needs people within nursing and residential care may present.
• To have understanding of and experience working within the community.
• To have experience working with people with complex learning disability needs.
• Supervisory skills
• Experience of a clinical software system

Desirable

• Experience of primary care
• Experience of working with frail/elderly patients
• Experience palliative / end of life care
• Professional development within care of people with Learning Disabilities
• Knowledge of Enhanced Care for Older People (ENCOP) with willingness to complete Essential and Specialist levels and pertinent Advanced Domains over time

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

Westcroft House Surgery

Address

66 Main Street

Egremont

Cumbria

CA22 2DB

Employer's website

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