Community Heart Failure Nurse

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust

This job is now closed

Job summary

The Community Heart Failure Service is a well-established team of experienced Heart Failure Specialist Nurses, Heart Failure Assistant, and admin staff, working across Central locality of Horsham, Crawley, and Mid Sussex. You will work within the Heart Failure team with patients in the community and clinic setting but you will have clinical support from senior team members as well as the primary and secondary care heart failure teams.

Our aim is to improve patient's symptoms and quality of life using pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions, requiring close monitoring, whilst working hard to reduce unnecessary hospital admission & readmission in line with National initiatives and guidance.

To provide expertise, increase the skills & confidence of other team members and community practitioners in the care and management of heart failure patients and support the use of the NICE & ESC Clinical Guidelines for heart failure.

Main duties of the job

To contribute to the management of patients with Heart Failure in the community and clinic settings.
Optimising their care and treatment, to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions, and manage and respond to exacerbation / deterioration of their condition with direct support from HFSN.
To liaise with secondary care and GPs as directed by HFSN to ensure seamless care pathways.
To refer to, and discharge to, other services within the Trust and to use management plans as appropriate
To provide education and support to other members of the multidisciplinary team
To ensure carers receive support and are signposted to appropriate services
To ensure excellent end of life care as appropriate
Work towards completing the Heart Failure Competency Framework for Health Care Professionals, under guidance from Heart Failure Nurse Specialists within team.

About us

We are the main provider of NHS community services across East and West Sussex. Our 6,000 staff serve a population of 1.3 million providing essential medical, nursing, and therapeutic care to adults and children.

Our Trust vision is to provide excellent care at the heart of the community, helping people plan, manage, adapt to changes in their health, supporting avoidable hospital admissions and reducing hospital stay times.

We have opportunities for everyone across our wide variety of services including medical, clinical, support and corporate services.

Why work for us?

Positive 2023 NHS Staff Survey results, scoring highly in compassionate culture & leadership, and staff wellbeing support
Variety of working environments across the community, in patients' homes, within our community hospitals and bases across the county
Supportive flexible working patterns such as: part time, flexi time, annualised hours, and flexi retirement options
Excellent training and development opportunities
Research opportunities
Cost-effective workplace nurseries in Crawley, Hove and Brighton
Thriving BAME, Disability and Wellbeing, LGBT+ and Religion and Belief staff networks
Level 3 accredited Disability Confident Leader, committed to creating inclusive workplaces
Veteran Aware Trust, achieving accreditation from Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA)
Located in stunning Sussex, with easy access to the South Downs and the coast
Access to a wide range of benefits and discounts for NHS staff

Date posted

03 May 2024

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 5

Salary

£28,407 to £34,581 a year per annum pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time, Flexible working

Reference number

150-CP0021-WST

Job locations

Horsham Hospital

Rose Wing

Horsham Hospital

RH12 2DR

Job description

Job responsibilities

- Co-manage their own caseload with direct support from Band 7 Heart Failure Specialist Nurse within the team

- Provide follow up for patients who have been admitted to hospital with heart failure, & provide input to patients with a new diagnosis of heartfailure, or those with an exacerbation of their heart failure in the community

- Review medication regimes to ensure patients are receiving appropriate therapy within agreed prescription guidelines as directed by HFSN

- Be responsible for the assessment of these patients, develop a nursing care plan, and deliver heart failure care according to the patients individual management plan under direction of HFSN. Evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions and feedback to HFSN

- Provide health education strategies for patients, carers, team members & other health professionals, focusing on medication and symptom management that meets individual patient need & choice.

- Provide a patient held record to empower the patient with their heart failure management with support from HFSN

- Develop an individual plan of care through consultations tailored to meet the patients individual needs. This may include clinic visits, home visits or visits to nursing and residential homes.

- Provide heart failure advice and support to other team members and themultidisciplinary team for heart failure patients as they approach the end of their life, drawing on the expertise of the Palliative care team when required.

- Collect audit data from this group of patients in line with the NSF, NICE clinical guideline, and local outcomes, these will be used to support effective evaluation of service.

- Regularly auditing service effectiveness in achieving improved patient outcomes, including reducing unnecessary admissions to secondary care

- Provide ongoing telephone support, accessibility and expert advice to the patient, their careers, and other health professionals.

- Work in collaboration with existing services delivering exercise, to develop a holistic programme for those with the potential to benefit.