Job responsibilities
OVERALL PURPOSE: To
develop skills and competencies to provide specialist palliative
care knowledge, expertise
and support to patients, carers, their GPs and all other health
care professionals to
maximise the patients quality of life.
JOB
PURPOSE: The
intention is that the post holder has an opportunity to develop their skills in palliative care
and increase their clinical competencies and skills, moving from intermediate to advanced
clinical practitioner in this defined area.
The post holder will have a key role in providing support to
patients in their own homes who have palliative and end of life care needs,
raising clinical standards and promoting a learning environment for other
health care providers. You will be responsible for planning, assessing,
implementing and evaluating care in partnership with the District nurse teams
and out of hours providers. The post holder will take responsibility for the
management of the designated case load in the absence of the CNS..
MAIN DUTIES OF POST
Assess patients requiring palliative
care in the community and contribute to their total nursing care and management
of symptoms by providing support and specialist advice to both the patient and carers.
Participate in the development and delivery
of management plans in conjunction with the primary health care team. Reviewing
and undertaking assessments as required for the management of complex symptoms.
To liaise with the
health care professionals working in the neighbourhoods and other members of
the Trinity Clinical Nurse Specialist Team
To liaise and work closely with
the Trinity Clinical Nurse Specialist Team Leader and Specialist Palliative
Care Nursing staff in the community to ensure that the community service
remains efficient and effective.
Set and maintain high standards of
patient care in Palliative Nursing,
Demonstrate enhanced communication
skills, when dealing with patients and families.
Undertake discussion regarding
advanced care planning.
Take referrals direct from General
Practitioners, Hospital Consultants and Clinical Nurse Specialists.
Support the Clinical Nurse specialist
to maintain a designated case load, ensuring effective use of resources and
regular review of patients, prioritising workload and managing resource
allocation when required.
Feedback to designated caseload
holders
Advise and support the Primary Health Care
Team regarding End of Life care
Advise and liaise with third sector and
voluntary organisations regarding patients requiring Specialist Palliative
Care.
Contribute to the assessment and
prioritisation of patients for admission to the Hospice.
Advise and liaise with General Practitioners
regarding pain and complex symptom management, care needs, admission to Hospice
or referral for appropriate care.
Develop enhanced skills to understand family
dynamics and give specialist emotional
and psychological interventions to the patient and carers as needed.
Liaise with Hospice Chaplains and the Clergy
in order to provide spiritual support when needed.
Continue to support relatives during
bereavement, as appropriate. Identify problems and refer them for appropriate
care to the Linden Centre.
Keep accurate and up to date nursing
records of each patient, reporting and discussing any problems which may occur
with Trinity Clinical Nurse Specialist mentor, Manager and Hospice Consultant
as appropriate.
Be involved in audit of patient care and
participate in research programmes to promote high standards of Specialist
Palliative Care.
Attend staff meetings in the community and
Trinity, communicating information as appropriate (GSF, MDT, Complex
neighbourhood discussions, extensive care).
Maintain confidentiality in all matters,
presenting a professional attitude at all times.
Supervise the work of
healthcare assistants and ensure hospice policies are followed.
Be prepared to cope
with incidents or emergency situations as they arise and report to senior nurse
on duty.
Cover a 24 hour
nursing rota for enhanced professional development in the total care of
patients requiring specialist palliative care.
GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES
To
undertake all mandatory training as required by Trinity Hospice and Palliative
Care Services.
Maintaining
the strict confidentiality of all information acquired especially with regard
to patients and staff.
To
participate in the appraisal and personal development reviews annually
Improve
knowledge and utilise competencies to influence self-development.
To
be a co-operative and supportive member of the Trinity staff team, ensuring
that all members are aware of any issues in the post holders workload, which
may affect other members of the Trinity team and identify to the Line Manager.
To
take responsibility for being up to date with current policies and procedures
and to adhere to these.
Cooperating
fully in the introduction of any new technology and new methods as appropriate.
To
promote at all times the Hospice philosophy and uphold the Trinity core values.
Any
other duties that may be reasonably requested.
CLINICAL
Support
the management of an identified caseload of patients with advancing disease who
require Specialist Palliative Care in the community setting and communicate
with the case load holder regarding the progress of such.
Develop
expert clinical skills to manage patients with complex Specialist palliative
care needs
Develop
advanced com skills to enable patients and carers to make informed choices
regarding their care and management.
Act
as patient advocate in often emotionally charged situations involving other
health care professionals, family and carers.
Maintain
accurate records of all patient, carer and healthcare professional contacts so
the activity of the Trinity Clinical Nurse Specialist Community Palliative Care
Team can be audited and evaluated.
Record
all contacts in our IT system as required to fulfil the minimum data set
requirements
Assess
and refer appropriately to other Hospice services with the consent of the
patient.
To
administer drugs and assist with their ordering in accordance with NMC
standards for the Administration of medicines.
To
verify when a death has occurred, notify families and carers as appropriate.
Be
responsible for co-ordinating flexible care provision to enable patients to stay
at home (72 hour care package)
Undertake V300 non-medical prescribing
course and actively prescribe within competencies (Following completion of
symptom management portfolio and discussion with NMP lead)
EDUCATION
- Support
the education of families in helping them to give care and support to the
patient.
- Participate
alongside clinical mentor in Education Programmes organised at the
Education and Learning Centre for Palliative Care Studies based at Trinity
and in the Community Neighbourhoods.
- Participate
in educational events with the general public on the role of Palliative Care
Services in the community as required
- Work
actively towards degree using opportunity to extend clinical and
professional knowledge.
- Complete
Symptom management portfolio.
- Develop
computer skills to maintain records and collate statistics.
PERSONAL
- To seek Clinical Supervision from clinical mentor and community
Consultant as appropriate for complex clinical scenarios.
- Use opportunities to extend clinical and professional
knowledge. Take responsibility for own professional development,
identifying training and development needs to line manager. Participate in
1-1s
- Ensure personal safety in accordance with the Lone
worker policy
Monitor
relevant research developments and disseminate the findings to patients, relatives
and colleagues in the extended Health Care Team as appropriate to promote
effective patient care.
To
join with other staff in the promotion of the overall Palliative Care Service
as appropriate.
Comply
with Nursing and Midwifery Council Regulations.
For professional registration and practice.
To
undertake and support appropriate research activity and ensure awareness of and
act in accordance with Health and Safety at work.
Promote
the family of services at Trinity
