Specialist Nurse Learning Disabilities and Autism

Job description

Job responsibilities

To ensure high professional standards of nursing practice in accordance with the NMC code of Conduct.

Actively promote the role of the specialist nurse role within the acute trust ensuring such information is also accessible to people with a learning disability and their carers.

Identify barriers to accessing acute health care services, for adults with a learning disability and autism, and plan actions and initiatives to overcome and assist easier access to the acute services.

To raise the profile of the health care needs of people with a learning disability across secondary care provision.

Develop closer links between primary healthcare services and secondary care in order to help facilitate a smooth pathway through acute services. This is to enable continuity for patients and their families/support workers when accessing both elective and emergency treatment. Planning effective care whilst in hospital, and then assist with comprehensive discharge/aftercare arrangements for adult patients with a learning disability.

To bridge the gap between learning disability and secondary services to enable better communication and access to healthcare for people with learning disabilities.

To facilitate the meeting of individual healthcare needs for people with complex needs.

Work with the Integrated Learning Disability Teams to ensure effective health facilitation and a smoother pathway from primary care into secondary care.

To work in partnership with people with learning disabilities, self-advocacy group, PALS and carers groups in the development, implementation and maintenance of service provision.

To develop and maintain networking and liaison with partners in primary, community and learning disability services.

To be an active member of North East and Cumbria learning disability network, and LeDeR assurance panels (Learning from lives and deaths of people with a learning disability and people with autism), produce regular reports as required.

To assist in providing information so that the health needs of people with learning disabilities are reflected within Trust priorities.

To assist in the development of local strategies and minimum standards for working with people with learning disabilities when in hospital.

To attend meetings relevant to the role as agreed with the Lead Nurse for learning disabilities.

Develop the design and development of training packages.

To coordinate and assist in the delivery of training to meet identified needs specifically to ensure that colleagues within CDDFT are aware of and able to meet the needs of people with a learning disability.

Facilitate work based learning opportunities such as working with teams on bespoke sessions to meet specific needs of staff.

Develop comprehensive training packages and initiatives for all staff disciplines.

Contribute to the overall evaluation of training initiatives, ensuring that the evaluation code of practice is applied.

Ensure staff are aware of training and development opportunities open to them using communications links in the Trust.

Observes personal duty of care in relation to physical and financial resources.

Work to Trust policies and procedures.

To use the IT systems and facilities effectively.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Significant experience working with people with a learning disability and/or autism
• Significant experience of working within acute and primary care services

Statutory Registration

Essential

• Active 1st Level NMC Registration

Qualifications

Essential

• First Level Registered nurse RGN/RNLD
• Masters Degree or equivalent demonstrable experience
• Recognised teaching qualification
• Key skills in literacy, numeracy, and IT

Special Skills & Knowledge

Essential

• Significant experience working with people with a learning disability and autism.
• Significant experience of working within acute services and primary care services.
• Significant experience of working with service users and their families and carers.
• Significant experience of working with people who display behavior that challenges.
• Assesses needs and develops and implements specialist nursing care programs/education programs for patients, carers, relatives and staff.
• Ability to co-ordinate multi-disciplinary group meetings.
• Ability to communicate condition related information to patients, family, and carers.
• Develops protocols for specialist area.
• Accountable for own professional actions, decision making, and record keeping.
• Demonstrable knowledge of integrating research and evidence based practice into clinical work.

Special Requirements

Essential

• Able to travel across Trust sites to meet the requirements of the post.
• Able to travel within the community.

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

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

Address

University Hospital Of North Durham

North Road

Durham

DH1 5TW

Employer's website

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