Staff Nurse-Day Surgery Unit Ward (Newland Theatres) inFrognal Avenue inFrognal Avenue PUBLISHED THU 14 NOV 2024

Do you have a passion for Theatre Ward Nursing? Are you a Nurse? Do you want to help improve patient care and service? If so, we have fantastic opportunities to join our dynamic and established teams.

At the Newland Day Surgery Unit at Queen Marys Hospital in Sidcup, we can offer experience in ophthalmology, maxillo-facial and dental surgery. You will have career development opportunities and the chance to rotate through the different specialities to extend your expertise in nursing.

This is a great opportunity to join the Queen Marys Hospital day surgery team to become part of the dynamic theatre workforce delivering high-quality and patient-centred pre- and post-operative care while developing your skills and expertise in various specialities.

Our Team in the Day Surgery Ward works closely with the Theatre scrub, Anaesthetics, and Recovery team as part of the same unit.

We are a Nurse-led ward that cares for patients undergoing simple to complex procedures.

You must be a team player but also be able to manage your own workload within a rapid-paced area with a high turnover of patients daily. You must ensure patients are admitted, seen, and safely discharged in a timely manner. You should be a forward thinker who can meet the needs of your patients while staying calm and producing high-quality work. You must be proficient in using computer programmes for patient care. You must have excellent communication skills to conduct patient assessments and liaise with other health care professionals and the admin teams when required, both verbally and through electronic means.

Communication is key for all aspects of the job, whether you are obtaining information from a patient whilst carrying out an assessment or informing external agencies who may need to be involved in the care upon discharge and do so discreetly, especially when dealing with sensitive information. We have a duty of care to ensure our patients are safe, so you may be required to act upon any safeguarding concerns that could arise. Therefore, you must be someone who has excellent oral and written communication skills. You must be able to support other team members, problem-solve situations that arise, and escalate appropriately when required.

About us

Clinical Practice

• To adhere to the NMC Code of Professional Conduct at all times.
• To demonstrate expert knowledge in the daily practice of a day surgery unit.
• To demonstrate clinical expertise in the care of patients, young people, and their parents/guardians/NOK using the latest evidence-based practice.
• To assess, plan, implement and evaluate the needs of patients on an ongoing basis, coordinating the care given by all members of the clinical team.
• To accurately assimilate and interpret clinical information about the patients condition, instigate appropriate remedial action and promptly report changes.
• To act as a resource person to others, providing accurate information, advice and support to the multidisciplinary team, patients and their relatives.
• To ensure that accurate records are maintained reflecting both, the changes in the patients condition and the treatment delivered.
• To ensure that patients and their next of Kin are updated regularly with accurate information and ensure that this is presented in a sensitive way and one that they understand.
• To ensure that Clinical Guidelines are implemented and be actively involved in auditing practice in conjunction with the Line Manager and practice development staff.
• To ensure that practice is evidence-based and will support & assist in the development of policies and protocols within the clinical area.
• To uphold high standards of perioperative care, according to existing policies and standards.
• To support the process of continuous quality improvement, assisting in audits, formally evaluating standards of care and assisting in the implementation of changes in the light of such findings.
• To organise patient transfers both within and outside the department, escorting ill patients as requested.
• To contribute to the health education of patients and their families, ensuring that all patients receive appropriate advice and support to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
• To actively support the implementation of the Trust nursing / local perioperative strategy and uphold the ethos of the local philosophy.

Education & Research

• To act as a mentor to junior staff members, responsible for the orientation, supervision and ongoing development of junior and student learners, in conjunction with Line Manager and Practice Development staff.
• To act as practice supervisor/assessor, responsible for completing competency documents for junior staff within agreed timeframes.
• To act as an educator to students undertaking further education as requested, ensuring a positive learning experience and facilitating the development of their clinical skills.
• To contribute to the broader educational activities within the Care Group ensuring attendance at and contributing to the delivery of educational activities to the Multi-disciplinary team within the Care Group.
• To promote and encourage the application of research and of evidence-based practices.
• To participate in any research projects conducted in the clinical area as appropriate.
• To act as link nurse (i.e. for infection control, tissue viability, Dementia), ensuring attendance at and contribution to Trust-wide meetings and responsible for ensuring dissemination of relevant information from these to all staff within the Unit.

Management

• To manage the clinical workload effectively, ensuring care is prioritised appropriately.
• To contribute positively towards the delivery of a cost-effective service, adjusting staffing levels to meet demand and assisting the clinical co-ordinators to keep within agreed resources.
• To assist with the ongoing organisation of the unit, including responsibility for a designated area of practice within the department on a daily basis, to ensure optimal theatre utilisation at all times, facilitating timely admission and discharge of patients.
• To act as a team leader to an identified group of staff, monitoring and documenting the development of their clinical skills.
• To develop own skills in recruitment and retention, sickness management and performance management as determined by line manager.
• To actively support the process of risk management and health & safety upholding relevant policies to promote this and ensuring incidents are reported appropriately (in writing) and helping to identify ways of minimising errors and accidents to both patients and staff.
• To make a positive contribution to service development affecting the clinical area and positively influence others to adapt to change.
• To actively promote customer care, assisting in resolving local (informal) complaints and supporting the clinical co-ordinators to investigate formal problems.
• To assist with the monitoring of stock levels of clinical stores and technical equipment, resolving any shortfall as appropriate.
• To maintain standards of hygiene and cleanliness within the clinical area, actioning remedy as appropriate and reporting deficits to the Senior Nurse and/ or Service Manager, as appropriate.
• To carry the coordinators phone as required, resolving local problems/ conflicts, keeping managers/others always informed and maintaining positive team dynamics across the Care Group.
• To take a leadership role in crisis situations, resolving problems as necessary.
• To maintain confidentiality with regard to personal information pertaining to staff.
• To attend and contribute to departmental meetings as required.

Personal Professional Development

• To work within the scope of practice and accept responsibility for maintaining agreed levels of clinical competence and ensure clinical currency as new technologies are introduced.
• To keep up to date with NMC, theatre local policies and Trust/Care Group policies and guidelines and to adhere to these at all times.
• To be a fully active and committed member of the multidisciplinary team operating in the Care Group.
• To demonstrate an insight into one's own professional development, contributing to the process of identifying one's own educational and clinical training needs in conjunction with the clinical coordinator.
• Participate in own Individual Performance Review and, after suitable training, be responsible for undertaking timely reviews for own team of junior staff.
• To ensure own educational commitment is at least sufficient to maintain the professional bodys requirements and to ensure own mandatory training certificates are current, in liaison with the Line Manager.