Deputy District Nurse

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Responsibilities

Central and North West London NHS Trust is committed to providing safe, effective services and providing patients and families with a positive experience.

Patient Safety

Band 6 nurses contribute to the provision of safe and reliable services by:

• Using their clinical judgement and risk assessments to keep the people using our services as safe as possible
• Safeguarding people by recognising and responding when an adult or child might be at risk from abuse but also recognising their own limits and asking for help and escalate concerns when necessary
• Escalating safety concerns and by doing so acting as effective advocates for those who use our services
• Being open and transparent about their own practice
• Supervising the work of others
• Reflecting on everyday practice to identify areas where improvements in safety or quality can be made
• Working with others to create a culture of continuous improvement
• Maintaining accurate, legible, comprehensive records
• Maintaining compliance with their mandatory training requirements.

The NMC plays an important role in safeguarding the public by regulating the work of nurses and all nurses, including Band 6 nurses, are expected to register with the NMC each year and adhere to the NMC Code of Conduct.

Clinical Outcomes

Band 6 nurses often work with people who have complex needs and contribute to the effectiveness of services by:

• Being confident, autonomous practitioners who take responsibility for the care they give to patients but also take responsibility for overseeing the work of others in the team including less experienced nurses and staff without a professional qualification
• Providing skilled, evidence based nursing care which adheres to agreed policies and procedures
• Working with patients and families in all stages of the care planning process including assessing risks and needs
• Acting as patient advocates in the multi-disciplinary team and overseeing the work of others to ensure that they are also responding to the needs of patients and providing clinically effective care
• Working as autonomous practitioners and taking responsibility for the care they give to patients but also work as team members
• Contributing to creating and maintaining high performing teams by
• Communicating well with all members of the team
• Understanding their role in the team and how they help the team achieve its objectives
• Reflecting on their own practice regularly and encouraging the whole team to reflect on their practices in handovers and team meetings
• Encouraging the team to learn from adverse events or respond to data analysis from audits or benchmarking exercises and implement sustainable initiatives which improve clinical outcomes

Patient Experience

Band 6 nurses contribute to the people using our services feeling respected and empowered to make decisions about their health and wellbeing by:

• Working in partnership with patients and their families and carers
• Gaining consent and, as far as possible, involving people in all decision making
• Signposting patients and carers to the courses provided by the Recovery and Wellbeing College or services provided by the local authority or voluntary sector
• Reassuring people by being professional, responsive, knowledgeable and confident
• Demonstrating clinical leadership and challenging any poor behaviour to patients, families or other staff members and creating a positive, inclusive culture in which everyone is treated with kindness and respect and the trusts values are embedded in all practice
• Responding to complaints or concerns effectively and quickly in line with the Trust policy

Supporting yourself and others

All services and teams in the Trust should be able to demonstrate that they are meeting the Care Quality Commission (CQC) standards of care. Band 6 nurses are expected to be Clinical Leaders and play an active role in ensuring that the team understands the CQC standards and what individual team members do to help achieve those standards by:

• Taking a lead role in gathering and recording evidence which demonstrates that CQC and locally agreed standards are being met: assessing the performance of the whole team by using audit and benchmarking exercises and often contribute to the implementation of quality improvement initiatives
• Contributing to the performance management of teams and creating a positive culture in which the team can learn from mistakes and is enthusiastic to improve
• Deputising for the team leader / ward manager and ensuring that there is no fall in performance in their absence. This may include managing the team and coordinating shifts.

Engaged staff are more productive and Band 6 nurses play a role in engaging in other staff members in the Trust and the work we do by:

• Providing supervision and annual appraisals to individuals and giving constructive, regular feedback which helps those individuals reflect on their work, understand their objectives and the CQC standards and monitor their progress towards achieving them
• Participating constructively in their own supervision and annual appraisal processes
• Using continuing professional development funds to develop a relevant clinical specialism, gain sign-off mentorship skills or undertake accredited leadership or management modules.

Clinical Leadership

Service Specific Responsibilities

The service specific responsibilities attached to this Band 6 nurse post are explained in the Service Specific Section attached to this Job Description and the attached Person Specification

Person Specification

Qualification

Essential

• Registered Nurse Adult
• Evidence of relevant Continuous Professional Development
• Numeracy skills required for the safe administration of medicines

Desirable

• Mentorship qualification

Experience

Essential

• Previous experience as a Band 5/6 community nurse or equivalent level

Other

Essential

• Access to Care or other motor vehicle for use for work purposes
• Valid UK driving licence

Desirable

• Supervision, Line management and appraisal training

Skills and knowledge

Essential

• Able to communicate with the multi-disciplinary team, present cases, take note of actions, update others in the team and use handover effectively. Speaking face to face but also by telephone and writing letters and reports.
• Maintaining accurate, timely, concise and legible clinical records both electronic and handwritten which adhere to the CNWL policies
• Able to talk to people about sensitive issues in a supportive manner but also challenge others assertively where necessary
• Able to maintain electronic patient records
• Use Microsoft Word for letter and report writing
• You are expected to have the skills required to act as a professional, registered nurse and adhere to the NMC Code of Conduc
• Clinical Skills Specific to Service Catheterisation - Wound care - Palliative Care & End of life care - IV administration - Injections - Doppler assessments - Compression bandaging - Diabetes Management - Venepuncture
• Work well with other members of the team including communicating effectively, being kind and considerate, reliable and enthusiastic
• Manage others and contribute to the management of the team
• Contribute to the culture of the team and play a role in making it inclusive, kind and hard working
• Coordinate work allocation and shifts (if appropriate)
• Help others in the team achieve their objectives and deliver safe, effective care
• Mentor, teach and support others in the team
• Supervise others in the team
• Facilitate appraisals

Desirable

• Expertise in particular skills and evidence of how you developed them and use them in your current role
• Supervision, Line management and appraisal training
• HR skills training e.g. recruitment, managing absence

Attitudes, aptitudes, personal characteristics

Essential

• Caring for the people who use our services, their families and carers, and other staff
• Respectful of others and genuinely treating them how you would want to be treated
• Able and willing to work with service users, family and carers, and other staff in a way which empowers and supports others and makes them feel better about themselves
• Able and willing to work in partnership with service users, their friends and family as well as other health care professionals

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Hillingdon

Hillingdon

UB8 1QG

Employer's website

https://www.cnwl.nhs.uk/work (Opens in a new tab)