Job responsibilities
JOB PURPOSE
To work autonomously & without direct supervision within the clearly defined boundaries of their competencies & carry out specific delegated clinical task &responsibilities as per local policies/procedures.
Depending on role you will be required to work within a defined geographical area undertaking specific clinical nursing duties to patients in a variety of settings such as their own homes, care homes, other community locations or clinic settings.
To assess care needs, including observing any changes in clinical conditions & reporting the findings to appropriate level.
SCOPE &RANGE
To deliver &effective & competent level of HCA support & consistently deliver a patient focused provision which promotes good customer service &effective working relationships.
To work without direct supervision within the clearly defined boundaries of your competencies &carry out specific delegated clinical tasks/responsibilities, prioritising work in line with policies/procedures.
To take a holistic approach to patient management, carry out tasks/treatment plans as directed by registered staff, ensuring to report back to the appropriate worker any changes in clinical conditions &maintain accurate clinical records.
To participate in all mandatory training required for the role & participate in training that is role specific which includes training to respond to urgent situations e.g. safeguarding, untoward incidents.
Within your job role there will be clinical-specific competencies which you may need to undertake to enhance your knowledge &skills in practice, this may vary across clinical areas.
To work within Livewell Southwest (LWSW) policies, maintaining flexibility to carry out other duties as may be reasonably required &the ability to move across the organisation should the need arise for example in a pandemic situation.
To provide clinical/clerical duties relevant to the service you work within.
You may be required to travel/attend to service users based across Plymouth &other geographical areas.
You may be required to undertake 7 days working, including bank holidays, this is subject to the terms & conditions set out in your contract of employment.
MAIN DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES
To be responsible for contributing to the planning/monitoring/evaluating of patient centred care. Reporting back to the registered nurse & escalating concerns as required.
Following a Registered Nurse or Assistant Practitioners assessment of need the post holder will then implement a planned programme of care, with the support of a Registered Nurse.
To act as a role model for all staff/students demonstrating clinical skills & high standards of practice/professional conduct.
To take responsibility for your own personal/professional development, maintain competence, knowledge &skills commensurate with the role.
To participate in Reflective Practice, Practice Supervision & Appraisals & line management supervision as per policy.
To take a flexible approach to supporting colleagues in times of caseload pressures, including working with colleagues to maintain support across the teams with the resources available.
You will have no direct responsibility for finances; however, you will adhere to the relevant trust policies on financial issues.
To exercise a duty of care in relation to the use of the organisations equipment/resources in a cost-effective manner.
Monitoring/ordering of stock levels & to utilise resources economically & effectively & promote cost consciousness throughout the service.
To have a working knowledge &be responsible for ensuring nurses & patients equipment is in safe working order, disposed of or returned when no longer required as per Policy & to inform Line Manager if any problems occur.
To use LWSW resources responsibly.
To maintain accurate records, which are confidential, contemporaneous & legible, with all care given documented at the time in line with clinical guidance in LWSW policies.
You will be expected to participate in standard of patients records by audit or peer review & have a regular open discussion with team members.
Make appropriate records in the multi-disciplinary patient file &/or electronic records, which may be required to be counter-signed by a registered nurse.
Complete on time & submit all necessary forms, documentation, including IT data & forward as required by the manager/organisation.
To always maintain/preserve confidentiality & be aware of GDPR, Access to Health Records & Consent for Treatment.
To access NHS email & other information through LWSW intranet.
To be responsible for organising own time management daily in line with caseload demands, using own initiative &be flexible when organising own workload on a day-today basis, which is often unpredictable in order to respond to the needs of the service.
Where appropriate, to organise hospital records upon delivery ensuring they are available to the correct clinician. Using the appropriate clinical systems to track &trace and returning when completed.
To provide appropriate support/advice to family/carers, demonstrating tact & sensitivity in dealing with complex & sensitive information &negotiating a positive outcome.
Act as a patient advocate as required ensuring individual needs, preferences & choices are delivered by the Service.
To ensure privacy, dignity & human rights are respected for patients and carers.
To provide basic education & continuing support to patients, family & carers.
To identify areas of concern regarding practice & communicate to the registered nurse.
Assist registered nurses in delivering high standards of care to patients referred to LWSW services.
To recognise & respond to any changes in patient care situations, which might include risks to self & others including adult & child protection concerns. You must inform the most appropriate professional at the earliest opportunity. Be conversant with the safeguarding adult & child protection procedures & policies.
To support the delivery of holistic evidence-based/best practice care to patients in accordance with National & organisation approved policies/procedures & individual care plans.
To undertake specific clinical tasks as delegated by registered staff having once undertaken relevant training & deemed competent. Working in line with the LWSW Delegation to band 3 & 4 support workers guidance.
You will be required to comply with all infection control policies & guidance, attend relevant updates & report issues of concern to their immediate line manager.
You will be required to comply with all relevant policies & procedures pertinent to your post. Current versions can be found on Healthnet or via your manager. Failure to follow correct policies & procedures may result in disciplinary action.
To contribute to the development/implementation/monitoring of standards of care.
To develop/maintain own clinical expertise by attending meetings, study days & in service training &learn new specialist skills required for service development. To maintain an up-to-date personal competency portfolio.
Only undertake work which is within own competence & to identify any work required to be undertaken by more senior staff.
To identify & take responsibility in the maintaining of clinical competencies in line with the job role. Ensuring these are adequately supported by clinical sign off. Identifying areas where this may be required.
To participate in team activities to develop & consolidate a cohesive & supportive team ensuring openness within the team.
To attend & participate in meetings as negotiated within the team & to provide relevant timely feedback.
You will be required to use a computer, being responsible for timely recording patient activities for IT data collection, dealing with e-mail queries, stock/equipment ordering.
To participate in an annual appraisal of their work in line with the Knowledge & Skills Framework (KSF) where the job description will be reviewed & objectives set. In line with the annual development plan the postholder will be expected to undertake any training or development required to fulfil their role.
To demonstrate effective communication with patients, staff& other members of the multi-disciplinary team. When communicating with patients it should be at the appropriate level for patients to understand such as patients suffering from terminal illness, dementia, disability, visually impairment &/or hearing impairment.
Able to communicate the role & eligibility criteria of the service in which you work within.
You will need to be able to develop professional & therapeutic relationships with the following groups: (this list is for example & not exhaustive)
Patients
Carers
Families
Physiotherapists
Occupational therapists
GPs/Consultants
Nurses
Social Workers
External agencies (community equipment provider/care agency/St Luke's etc)
PHYSICAL DEMANDS OF THE JOB
You may be required to drive or travel for periods of time between patients homes in all weather/seasons & requiring lifting bags & equipment from the car boot on each visit.
Staff members may need to exert moderate physical effort during their daily shifts, such as handling patients, dressing wounds & performing diagnostics, which may involve bending, kneeling & lifting limbs or heavy objects like buckets of water, requiring manual handling & equipment
Use of moving & handling equipment including hoists &other lifting equipment often in a confined space in the patients home on difficult floor surfaces e.g. carpet.
At each visit staff risk assess the need to move light furniture in patients home to allow nursing procedures to be carried out often within a confined space.
Regularly carry & transport equipment e.g. Nursing bag, documentation, laptop, observation equipment.
There may be a requirement for active participation in physical activity such as pulmonary rehabilitation.
