Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

Breast Care Nurse

This job is now closed

Job summary

The Breast Care Nursing Team in Worcestershire are looking to appoint an enthusiastic , motivated and forward thinking Nurse to join the current team of Breast Care Nurses.

The role is full time Monday to Friday with a flexible working pattern.

As the Breast Care Nursing service covers all sites within the Trust there will be a need to cross cover services and work across different sites. The service covers both the symptomatic and NHS Breast Screening Service. We are looking for someone with Surgical and Oncology Nursing experience within a Breast Care setting who works well both in a team and as an individual.

The successful candidate will have experience of caring for patients who have had a diagnosis of breast cancer and have undergone treatment. You will be expected to manage your own caseload of patients and supervise other members of the Breast Care team, working within the NMC The Code Professional Standards of Practice and Behaviour for Nurses, Midwives and Nursing Associates.

If you have what it takes to deliver an exceptional service and also the ability to work with us to continue to improve and develop the service, we look forward to hearing from you.

Main duties of the job

In line with the person specification we require someone with good to excellent knowledge of current diagnostic and treatment pathways for patients diagnosed with breast cancer and who has excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Ideally you will have an understanding of the National Standards for Breast Care Nursing and how these recommendations will impact on the Breast care Nursing Service.

You must possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills and be able to work well both within a multi-disciplinary team and autonomously.

The post offers the opportunity to develop enhanced nursing skills, you would also be required to work with the Lead Breast Care Nurse in the initiation and development of new initiatives within the service.

If you feel you have the necessary skills and wish to be part of a friendly professional team we would be glad to receive your application, informal visits are welcomed.

About us

Our purpose is simple - Putting Patients First. We are looking for exceptional colleagues who can help us achieve this.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is a large acute and specialised hospital trust that provides a range of local acute services to the residents of Worcestershire and more specialised services to a larger population in Herefordshire and beyond.

The Trust operates hospital-based services from three sites in Kidderminster, Redditch and Worcester

Our workforce is over 7,000 strong, and our caring staff are recognised as providing good and outstanding patient-centred care. You could be one of them.

We are committed to recruiting the best people to work with us to achieve our Vision - working in partnership to provide the best healthcare for our communities, leading and supporting our teams to move 4ward. Our 4ward behaviours, which we ask all staff to demonstrate, underpin our everyday work and remain firmly at the heart of all we do.

Our objectives are simple:

Best services for local people
Best experience of care and best outcomes for our patients
Best use of resources
Best people

Better never stops, and our Clinical Services Strategy provides a clear future vision for our Trust, our hospitals, our services and our role in the wider health and care system.

We are proud to have achieved Timewise accreditation - this means we are committed to embedding flexible working within our organisation as a flex positive employer.

Date posted

22 March 2024

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£35,392 to £42,618 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number

C9365-24-0155

Job locations

Charles Hastings Way

Worcester

Worcestershire

WR5 1DD

Job description

Job responsibilities

The post holder will work as part of the breast cancer multidisciplinary team, under the supervision of the Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS), and be responsible for managing a caseload of breast cancer patients. The post holder will act as the patients keyworker, ensuring that they, and their carers, have access to specialist information, advice and support throughout the patient journey, liaising with other healthcare professionals across primary and secondary care to ensure a seamless service. The post holder will also provide effective input into the work of the Trust, to support the achievement of our vision and values.

Key Duties:

The post holder should be an experienced registered nurse with extensive knowledge and skills relating to breast cancer and benign breast disease. They should possess expert clinical skills combined with excellent communication skills in order to provide a holistic breast care nursing service for both symptomatic and screening patients.

As a Specialist Nurse the post holder will practice under the direction of the Clinical Nurse Specialist Team / Service Leader, working towards achieving agreed levels of competence, skills and knowledge to enable independent autonomous practice within their scope of clinical practice.

To become acquainted with the local assessment against national standards related

to breast cancer and take part in the Peer Review Process.

To become acquainted with the NHS Breast Screening Programmes Quality Assurance review process.

To promote the breast specialist nursing service through conferences and written papers.

Professional Responsibilities

Be fully conversant and wholly accountable for his / her practice, act and uphold the professional standards detailed within the Nursing and Midwifery Council Code of Professional Standards of Practice and Behaviour for Nurses and Midwives.

To act in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Code at all times, adhering to the Professional Standards of practice and behaviour for nurses, midwives and nursing associates, as detailed in The Code and to be accountable for own actions at all times.

The post holder will be professionally accountable for the maintenance of standards and professional practice as set by Trust Policies/Procedures, the NMC Code of Professional Standards of Practice and Behaviour and relevant professional guidelines,

To maintain accurate records for the clinical service and procedures performed in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, Trust and professional medico-legal requirements.

To ensure workload, activity and patient contacts are accurately recorded on the appropriate Information Systems (Clip, SCR, OASIS)

To continually strive to expand professional expertise, knowledge and evidence-based practice by attendance at educational opportunities.

Maintains high professional standards of care and professional expertise, keeping up to date with professional issues and ensuring they are reflected in practice.

Supporting Patient Excellence / Supporting Clinical Excellence

To fulfil the keyworker role, by providing breast cancer patients with a seamless, high quality pathway of care.

To undertake a comprehensive holisitic assessment of patients needs at key stages during the illness experience in line with national directives, referring on to other health care professionals / agencies where necessary, and participating in the Health and Well-being events.

To provide specialist support necessary for the patients and their families to make informed decisions about treatment options.

To demonstrate specialist practice in planning, implementing and evaluating nursing care, documenting the outcomes of consultations.

To provide Level 2 psychological support for patients and their carers, referring patients with complex needs to the Macmillan Clinical Psychologist.

To ensure patients receive verbal and written information at the appropriate point in their illness experience in line with the national information pathway for breast cancer.

To provide support necessary for those patients having treatment for benign breast disease.

To act as a specialist resource to other healthcare professionals relating to breast cancer providing specialist nursing advice and support.

To become acquainted with the local and network wide care pathways for patients with breast cancer including knowledge of contact points for referral and advice.

To act as a role model demonstrating high standards of holistic care.

To promote collaborative working relationships and effective communication between all members of the cancer multidisciplinary team, working across organisational and professional boundaries as necessary.

To assist in the provision of a comprehensive nurse led service, incorporating an early discharge, seroma assessment and aspiration, post-operative review and prosthetic service to enhance the patient pathway.

To provide a lymphoedema assessment and support service liaising with lymphoedema Clinical Nurse Specialist as per service policy.

Provide a high quality support service to well women, attending the Breast Screening Service assessment clinics and symptomatic service.

To support the implementation of the Breast Cancer stratified pathway.

To be acquainted with the NHS Breast Screening Programmes Quality Assurance review process.

To support the Breast Care Nursing Team in the development of policies and clinical guidelines, which are necessary to support the developing specialist nursing service.

To develop Standard Operating Policies (SOPs) and patient information in line with current guidelines, policies and research.

To promote the Breast Specialist Nursing Service through conferences and written papers.

To attend local and network meetings as necessary.

To be wholly accountable for own clinical practice, continually striving to expand professional expertise, knowledge and evidence-based practice by attendance at educational opportunities