Job responsibilities
Key tasks and responsibilities
The
role entails but is not limited to: -
Clinical Practice
Demonstrate the necessary skills to
establish and maintain effective communication for patients, relatives and
members of the multidisciplinary team.
Communicating with patients and relatives,
providing active listening, counsel, information and teaching about the dying
process. Using proficient interpersonal and communication skills in a frequently
highly challenging and emotive atmosphere
Communicate with other healthcare / allied
healthcare professionals within the acute and Primary Care Teams, key
workers, social services, nursing and residential homes to enhance the flow
of communication and facilitate admission / discharge.
Establish strong effective working
relationships with all members of the multidisciplinary team.
Ensure that patients are referred to other
members of the team such as dietician, occupational therapist, family support
and physiotherapist as required.
Ensure that patients are referred to other
hospice services as required e.g. Day Hospice.
Maintain a good working relationship with
the patient and their relatives ensuring that they receive a personalised and
sensitive, professional service at all times.
Ensure that support is given to carers and
families providing information and explanation on external resources
available and referring them to the necessary organisations where
appropriate.
Establish excellent professional
relationships with primary care colleagues providing information to these
professionals, particularly the key worker, enabling them to care well for
these patients when in the community.
Manage patient admission and discharge,
assessing and advising patients and relatives in crisis situations where
significant barriers to acceptance of help will need to be handled using the highest
level of interpersonal and communication skills. Presenting complex,
sensitive or contentious information for patients, clients and staff.
Provide emotional / spiritual support to
patient and families throughout the disease and dying trajectory, providing
and receiving highly complex, sensitive or contentious information.
Provide out of hours telephone support and
advice for patients, relatives and external healthcare professionals
regarding symptom control and psychological care and advice when required.
Clinical and Professional Responsibilities:
To provide total physical, emotional and
spiritual care and support to patients, relatives and carers throughout their
admission.
To be competent in the use of syringe pumps
and infusions
To be competent in the use of IT skills
(clinical software, word, intra and internet)
To attend and present at case conferences
and multi-disciplinary team meetings to ensure effective communication with
all members of the hospice inter-disciplinary and primary care teams, acting
as the patients advocate.
To assess needs and develop, implement and
evaluate special palliative nursing care, in consultation with other members
of the multi-disciplinary team, to ensure effective high-quality specialist
palliative nursing care for patients, identifying and helping to meet their
physical, psycho-social, emotional and spiritual needs.
To ensure that supportive nursing care and
therapies, which may be completed by healthcare assistants, are given safely
and that supervising and monitoring of these patients is maintained.
To provide a nurse-led holistic assessment
for patients giving them in-depth information regarding the treatment and
care involved, covering contra-indications and ensuring the focus is the patients
perception of their quality of life.
Undertake safe and effective discharge
planning, using the discharge pathway, including information on how to remain
safe when discharged into the community and how to contact the emergency out
of hours service if they become unwell.
Verify death of patients, perform last
offices, provide bereavement support for families and transfer deceased
patients to the mortuary whilst ensuring the philosophy of the hospice is respected
and maintained
Ensure that nursing records and documents
are completed accurately and legibly to meet organisational, professional and
legal requirements.
Assist in maintaining custody of controlled
drugs by ordering, checking and administering and ensuring safe handling
according to Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).
Adhere to and provide professional standards
and codes of conduct, act as an effective role model, educator and mentor for
junior members of staff.
Adhere to hospice policies and procedures.
Maintain and develop own professional practice,
keeping abreast of new developments and concepts both clinical and
professional.
Managerial responsibilities:
Co-ordinate, supervise and motivate a team
of nurses as shift team leader and act as a resource for other staff with
less palliative care knowledge and experience, actively participating in
training and education of qualified and unqualified staff to assist in the
professional clinical development of self and colleagues.
Assessing, planning, implementing and
evaluating individual specialist palliative patient care without supervision,
advising patients and relatives accordingly.
Collect, collate, evaluate and report
information to maintain accurate records. Take a proactive role in producing
accurate and complete records which are consistent with legislation, policies
and procedures.
Together with the senior nursing team apply
standards of nursing care and ensure that these are maintained at optimum
level.
Be accountable for the care delivered by
health care assistants when under the post holders supervision.
Deal with accidents and incidents and
complaints involving patients, relatives, visitors and staff by completing
statements and reporting such incidents/accidents in accordance with hospice
policy.
Participate in the maintaining of equipment
and adequate supplies of stores, including an awareness of budgeting costs in
order that all resources are used appropriately and judiciously.
Education and Development Responsibilities:
Attend mandatory training and relevant
course/study days in accordance with the training and education policy and
keep a personal portfolio of such.
Participate with other IPU staff in ensuring
a conducive learning experience for junior staff and students.
Participate in the orientation/education
programmes of all new staff.
Be responsible for ensuring own clinical
supervision, and that an annual Individual Performance Review is undertaken.
To maintain clinical and professional
competence by keeping up to date with nursing healthcare trends and
developments by reading clinical/ professional literature, research,
attending study days and by liaising with other professionals.
Research and Quality Responsibilities:
Participate in any nursing research
initiatives within the unit
To be aware and comply with the requirements
pertaining to Health and Safety at Work Act,
especially in relation to COSHH, the Data
Protection Act and the NMC Code of Professional Practice
In conjunction with the senior nursing team,
ensure that any service improvement action plans are successfully
implemented.
To participate in hospice wide and service
specific audit programmes, policy and procedure development and the wider
clinical governance agenda.
To be conversant and comply with the
policies and procedures of St Giles Hospice including
Confidentiality, Health and Safety, Fire and
Child Protection.
Key Relationships:
Director of Clinical Services and Quality
Ward Manager
Medical Director and medical team
Wider Internal Clinical services team
Head of Specialist Services
Head of Clinical Education and Quality
External MDT including GPs and District
Nurses
Just so yo know:
This post is subject to a Disclose and Barring Service (DBS) check.
We may review applications before the application review date, however, if you apply after the application review date, your application may not be considered. We will accept applications until we have successfully filled the role, this may be earlier than the closing date.
If you have not heard within 14 days of the application close date, then please consider that your application has been unsuccessful at this time.
As part of your application your data will be managed in line with St Giles Hospice Privacy Policy and kept for 6 months. If you would like to see this in full, please visit https://www.stgileshospice.com/privacy-policy/