Roaming Car Service Nurse

Job responsibilities

Key Tasks

To work with, and support, the patient, relatives, and carers; being sensitive to their changing physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs.

To provide skilled nursing care within the care plan of the District Nurse, and in accordance with the medical care prescribed by the GP.

To provide nursing care and support to the families and carers of individual patients in the place they call home across North Derbyshire.

To communicate and liaise with the patients usual care team including District Nurses, other palliative care support such as the DHU/111 Roaming Service as well as the Hospices Roaming Car Service Manager or deputy, reporting on the condition and needs of the patients and providing and maintaining nursing reports and records, as necessary.

To collect and report any required data to support delivery of the service, documenting directly on to SystmOne or in reporting systems as appropriate.

To attend team meetings on a regular basis, undertaking clinical supervision, mandatory and on-going training and education as required.

To maintain professional confidentiality in all matters relating to patient care.

To be professionally accountable as described in the NMC Code of professional conduct.

Clinical

To be responsible for the administration of controlled medicines and be aware of current drugs/therapies used in symptom control.

Demonstrate nursing procedures, where appropriate, to carers or colleagues to assist in promoting and maintaining patient comfort.

To be competent in the use of syringe drivers, other specialist equipment and aids, and utilise these when appropriate.

To be competent in all clinical procedures required for symptom management in end-of-life care, following Blythe House Hospice policies and procedures

Advise the Hospice at Home team of any equipment and aids required for the provision of efficient nursing care to meet the needs of the patient.

To be familiar with the procedure in the event of an emergency or death of the patient, including that for the verification of death.

To conduct the verification of death, if formally trained/qualified and competent to do so once it has been confirmed to verify through contacting DHU overnight.

To be aware if a DNACPR/ReSPECT order is signed and in place for each patient and take appropriate action when required. Also, to alert the co-ordination team if a DNACPR/ReSPECT Form is not in place.

To develop, with support where required, a high level of specialist palliative care knowledge which includes key issues relating to the last year of life, such as:

To have the patient and their loved ones at the centre of all decisions

Effective clinical liaison skills

Advanced communication skills

The shape and function of professional services

Symptom management

National frameworks and guidance

Key ethical issues

Prognostic indicator tools

High standard of clinical record writing

To develop and utilise advanced communication skills with patients, carers and families.

To develop and deploy a specialist understanding of the complexities of patients requiring end of life care and managing those problems.

To be both a flexible and adaptable practitioner who works closely and effectively with clinical leads and local teams.

To ensure patients and their families are protected from harm, in line with the Safeguarding Policy and the Mental Capacity Act.

To practise in line with the NMC professional code of conduct and act as a role model within Blythe House Hospice.

Management Responsibilities

To assist the Roaming Car Service Manager in the delivery of the service as directed to ensure that the service is efficiently and effectively managed.

To actively contribute towards the evaluation and development of the service

To maintain effective .communication within your own team, other hospice departments and community colleagues.

To ensure service sustainability through integrated team working across clinical departments and partner organisations.

To understand financial implications of service delivery.

Quality and Education

To contribute to the delivery of ongoing training programmes to ensure the Roaming Car Service team and HCAs have up to date knowledge and skills relevant to their roles and responsibilities.

To ensure and record compliance with CQC regulations and contribute to provide evidence of compliance.

To ensure all significant events, drug errors or service issues are reported in a timely way.

To ensure issues are raised of alleged wrongdoing or malpractice with the appropriate line manager as well as ensuring that any member of staff who raises such issues will be protected under the Hospice Whistleblowing policy.

To be responsible for accurate recording of incidents, accidents and complaints in line with Blythe House Hospice policies and procedures.

To contribute to the further development of methods of data collection in line with national guidance and Blythe House Hospice policies.

To ensure all confidential information, hard and soft data within the department is managed securely and maintained in accordance with GDPR, relevant policies and procedures.

To support the process of ensuring the quality of care is measured against agreed standards.

To input appropriate data/outcomes using audit tools when required.

To support the monitoring and evaluation of the performance of the Hospice at Home service.

Communication and Team Working

To assess and ensure the patients needs are met by discussing, referring and sharing patient care with key professionals and demonstrates via a high level of communication skills.

To be knowledgeable, respectful and supportive of all teams within Blythe House Hospice.

To represent Blythe House Hospice in an enthusiastic, polished and proficient manner in all professional and public forums.

To have/develop a high standard of written and electronic reporting and presenting.

To respond collaboratively and supportively to the volunteer workforce of Blythe House Hospice.

Child Protection and Vulnerable People:

It is the responsibility of all staff to:

Safeguard children and/or vulnerable adults; to access training to ensure they know what constitutes abuse, and what support is available to them, at a level appropriate to their role and responsibilities;

To report any concerns, without delay, to the identified person within their department/division or area of responsibility as per the relevant policies, keeping clear records, and following up as required to ensure necessary actions have been taken.

Equality and Diversity:

All employees have a positive duty to comply with our Equality and Diversity Policy and to ensure that their colleagues are treated with respect and dignity. It is important to both communicate and promote the equal opportunities policy as part of a collective effort on a regular and ongoing basis.

This Job Description describes the main duties of the post holder and is not exhaustive. It will be reviewed with the post holder as part of the regular performance review and staff development procedure. This Job Description does not form part of the Contract of Employment.

Experience

Essential

• 2 years post registration experience in a primary care setting
• Post registration experience of palliative care in specialist or general setting
• Nursing and/or palliative care in a community setting

Desirable

• Experience of bereavement support

Personal Attributes

Essential

• - Flexible and adaptable
• - High professional standards and practises with integrity
• - Sense of humour
• - High level of self-awareness
• - Hard working and team player
• - Innovative and inspirational

Skills and Ability

Essential

• - Strong organisation skill
• - Good communication and interpersonal skills
• - Ability to manage time and caseloads effectively
• - Ability to work autonomously on own initiative and as part of a team
• - Reflective Practitioner
• - IT skills including the ability to use Word/PowerPoint/ Excel
• - Able to drive and have access to a car for work

Desirable

• - Experience of leading teams
• - Knowledge of measuring patient outcomes and data collection
• - Teaching skills / qualification

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Nurse, Part 1 of register

Desirable

• Post registration qualification in palliative care
• ENB 931 desirable

Knowledge

Essential

• - Sound knowledge of fundamental palliative and end of life care issues
• - Sound knowledge and practice of symptom management in palliative and end of life care
• - Demonstrable interest and passion for palliative and end of life care

Desirable

• - Knowledge of Advance Care planning, DNACPR guidance
• - Knowledge of local clinical services, particularly primary care services

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).