Hospice Community Carer Support Nurse / Clinical Nurse Specialist

Job responsibilities

JOB SUMMARY

To provide informal carers, who are caring for someone known to the hospice, with support and clinical advice where there are complex needs or experiencing crisis. To work at an enhanced level of practice to manage community patients in complex, challenging and changing situations and environments, seeking further guidance when the boundary of competence is reached. Will possess skills and capabilities across all four pillars of nursing: clinical practice, education, research and leadership. Required to function to a high level of autonomy within specialist palliative care.

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KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

To promote informal carer wellbeing to carers of known hospice patients

Provide person centred care to informal carers, identifying and addressing their health-related needs

To embed carers assessments throughout the service and complete a thorough assessment of need through the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool Intervention (CSNAT-I)

To provide short-term case management for informal carers with complex health heeds and who present in crisis

Provide advice and resources to other members of the team in relation to identifying and supporting informal carers

To undertake in-depth holistic assessments of patients with palliative care needs, regardless of their diagnosis and plan care to meet patient outcomes.

To provide information, advice, psychological and spiritual care to patients, their families and carers, liaising and referring on as necessary to appropriate healthcare professionals in the Hospice, Hospital and community.

Responsible for and manage a caseload of patients offering continuity of care.

Work in a collaborative, compassionate way, promoting equality, respecting diversity, and ensuring inclusivity, taking responsibility for challenging behaviour that does not align with these values.

Apply clinical reasoning to individual presentations and complex situations, utilising information from different sources to make timely, appropriate, and evidence-based judgements.

Optimise safety through assessment and management of risk.

Act as a key role within the Primary Care Hubs (PCH) taking a population health approach to assist in the management of carers in the end-of-life population within the PCHs.

Use advanced communication skills in delivering highly emotive information clearly, sensitively and unambiguously with staff, patients, families and professionals by face to face, telephone and/or electronic means. This may be where there are barriers to understanding.

Provide skilled and expert palliative nursing interventions, working closely with medical and other colleagues to ensure a coordinated and effective service across boundaries of inpatient, community and outpatients and across professionals.

Maintain and develop working relationships with community and hospital colleagues ensuring effective communication so enhancing patient care

Involve patients, families, and carers in co-production of and making informed decisions regarding strategies to manage their own health and wellbeing.

Participate in the development and updating of practice policies/guidelines and procedures using high-quality contemporary evidence-based resources.

Participate in the evaluation of significant events, capturing the learning from these experiences to improve patient care and service delivery.

Identify own personal development needs, proactively seek feedback, and take effective action to address them using a mix of strategies.

Share knowledge, experience and expertise with nurses and others at all levels, through strategies such as formal and informal teaching, facilitated reflective practice, skills supervision, coaching, mentoring and preceptorship.

Participate in the supervision, evaluation and assessment of nurses aspiring to work at an enhanced level.

Undertake activities that monitor and improve the effectiveness, impact, and value of own and others work.

Use a wide range of contemporary high-quality data, research, evidence based professional practice, and valid and reliable tools and techniques, to proactively evaluate and sustainably improve current ways of working.

Collect and demonstrate clinical outcomes as part of a project to support sustainable benefits to carers

Display self-leadership by managing own workload and competing demands.

Support innovation and service development utilising evidence-based approaches to optimise effective, sustainable change

Work within current evidence-based policies, processes, standards, and governance systems, alerting others when revisions are needed to ensure they remain fit for purpose.

Reflect on and contribute to improving ways of working and supporting a culture of safety

Promote a safeguarding is everyones business culture, acting as a safeguarding deputy if required.

Ensure adherence with relevant Infection Prevention and Control policies and procedures, raising any risks to the IPC group / service lead.

Lead and participate in research, integrating research-based evidence in all aspects of specialist palliative care into clinical practice

Contribute to the audit programme, taking a lead role in specialist palliative nursing audits.

Deputise for the Community Service Lead as requested.

Keep abreast of national policy on palliative and end of life nursing strategy to use as a framework for practice development.

To update own specialist skills and knowledge in cancer and palliative care, through continuous professional development

GENERAL

Where you are a member of a professional body you are required to conform to the professional standards set by that body. You are required to ensure your registration is current and practice continuous professional development.

Because of the special nature of the Hospice and its work, the post holder may on occasion be asked to undertake other duties to help maintain our high standard of care.

THIS JOB DESCRIPTION IS NOT NECESSARILY EXHAUSTIVE AND MAY BE SUBJECT TO REVIEW BY THE DIRECTOR OF CARE IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE POST HOLDER.

Qualifications

Essential

• First level Registered Nurse with current NMC registration.
• Level 6 and / or level 7 post registration education in palliative care or related qualification.
• Advanced communication course.
• Relevant mentorship qualification.

Desirable

• Non -Medical Prescribing.
• Supervision qualification.
• Counselling qualification.

Specific Skills

Essential

• Expert current knowledge of pain and symptom management, which underpins theory, usually gained through recent clinical practice at a senior level.
• Ability to identify psychological or spiritual distress requiring referral to other specialist services.
• Evidence of counselling skills and practical application.
• Evidence of ability to interact and influence at all levels within the organisation.
• Commitment to clinical excellence through regular professional updating.
• Computer literacy sufficient to input patient records and work efficiently and effectively.
• Able to prioritise and manage own time effectively.

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Ability to inspire and motivate others.
• Smart personal presentation, appropriate to the role.
• Can lead and develop team working.
• Car driver, holding a current valid driving licence.
• Active member of the multi-disciplinary team.
• Ability to work flexibly to the needs of the service.
• Proven personal coping strategies in dealing with emotionally loaded situations.

Experience

Essential

• Significant post registration experience including proven palliative care / Oncology experience at a Band 6 or above, or equivalent level.
• Experienced in assessing patient and carer needs that may be complex and subject to change.
• Knowledge of the national palliative care agenda.
• Have an understanding of safeguarding principles and be able to apply these within everyday practice.

Desirable

• Experience of working in the community.
• Previous experience of developing and implementing policies and procedures.

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).