Clinical Nurse Specialist (Queen Elizabeth Hospital) - Maternity Cover inLondon inLondon PUBLISHED
FRI 13 DEC 2024
Community Hospice r1V07cAe
Candidates should possess excellent communication skills, demonstrate self-initiative, and work collaboratively to ensure high-quality service. The position entails working in a seven-day service model, requiring flexibility for weekend and bank holiday shifts. Key responsibilities also include participating in clinical supervision, guiding colleagues, and advocating for patient autonomy, all while upholding the principles of dignity, equality, and continuous improvement within palliative care settings.
Our Hospital service is based at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, bringing palliative care skills and care into the acute hospital, helping and supporting patients and families. We work alongside the patients clinical team, advising on symptom control and psychosocial needs and helping to plan goals of care. We aspire to lend continuity in their care between home and hospital, then home again, by working with hospital staff, Hospice teams and other community-based services.
If you are a Registered Nurse with prior palliative care experience and knowledge, have excellent communication skills and are keen to develop your knowledge and skills in this specialist area, please consider joining the Hospital Palliative Care Team as a Clinical Nurse Specialist. You must be able to work on your own initiative, as well as integrating successfully into the team.
Our Hospital Team provides a seven day service so you will need to be able to work some weekends and bank holidays on a rota basis.
The Hospice is committed to the development and education of all its staff, so there are excellent opportunities for professional development. We have educational links with local higher education institutions and we also offer clinical supervision.
The Clinical Nurse Specialist delivers evidence-based palliative and end of life care to patients with any diagnosis and to their carers/families. He/she will establish and develop relationships with those involved in delivering health and social care to patients at the end of life and their families/carers in all settings
They will:
Provide information and specialist advice on all facets of palliative care (symptom management, practical spiritual and emotional support), to patients and their families/carers and other professionals involved in their care.Actively disseminate best practice through example, education and training, professional development and learning, participation in nursing research and audit, publication and conference presentations.
Work closely with multiprofessional colleagues in a cohesive palliative care team.
Contribute to the seven day a week visiting service. (When working in community setting).
In the Hospital, is part of the 7 day service to cover weekends and Bank Holidays 09 00h-17 00h
About us
Clinical Practice & Leadership
To provide a high standard of holistic and individualised patient care to patients with palliative and end of life care needs in these ways:
- Act as a role model for others to emulate, exhibiting high standards of professional behaviour and competence and providing leadership, support, advice and education to colleagues caring for people at the end of life in all settings.
- Make expert assessments of patients and carers, identifying their psychological, physical, social, practical and spiritual needs in accordance with Hospice philosophy and demonstrating and applying an in depth knowledge of the options for achieving control of symptoms to develop a plan of care to meet their needs
- Be a reflective practitioner, applying evidence based practice and critical thinking to all practices and processes of care.
- Understand the boundaries of own expertise/role and work with others to achieve best possible outcomes for the patient and their families/carers. Avoid role clash, respect and complement other professionals and informal carers capabilities.
- In consultation with colleagues in the multiprofessional team and those professionals who are involved in the patients care, review patients independently, initiating changes as required.
- Work collaboratively with other professionals involved in the patients care in any setting, providing a co-ordinated, high quality service.
- Prioritise own workload day to day in the light of the demand on the whole service.
- Provide guidance, support, advice and information to patients and their family / carers throughout their illness. Know when to refer on to other professionals for additional guidance, support, advice and information.
- Promote patient autonomy, providing information, empowering others. Be an advocate allowing the individual to make informed choices about their own care.
- Participate in developing guidelines and protocols to deliver a quality comprehensive, evidence-based and patient-focused service for patients and families
- Ensure that all necessary documentation is fully completed on the Hospices electronic patient record, and any other patient records, (eg Hospital or DN records, Coordinate My Care urgent Care plans).
- Fully use the Hospice EPR to make referrals to other Hospice services, communicate with colleagues about patient care, enable accurate reporting, demonstrate accountability for professional practice and fully understand the patients palliative care journey.
- Participate in clinical supervision.
- Represent the Hospice at external fora when requested.
Communication
- Foster positive working relations with all members of hospital, hospice, social care and primary healthcare teams.
- Participate in multidisciplinary and family meetings about patient care.
- Practise excellent communication skills with patients, family and colleagues
- Help patients formulate an individual care plan using Coordinate My Care. Access other electronic records as appropriate.
- Contribute positively to the development of Greenwich and Bexley Community Hospice as an anti discriminatory organisation, actively promoting equality and diversity
- Monitor standards of care and report issues using Hospice clinical governance structures.
- At all times work to ensure that patient dignity is respected, before and after death.
- Participate in Hospice, and other local forums for discussion of research and audit.
- Contribute to the design and management of practice based audit.
Grief & Loss
- Support colleagues in managing work related stressors.
- Provide support for distressed patients, bereaved relatives, students and staff.
- Recognise own limitations
- Support and educate colleagues in issues surrounding tissue and organ donation.
Education & Training
- Identify and help to meet the information needs of the patient and their family/carers
- Identify own and others learning needs, seeking advice when needed from colleagues/Nurse Consultant/Lead for Advancing Practice.
- Engage in appropriate learning opportunities to support and enhance performance in role; fulfil regular mandatory training requirements
- Participate in teaching and sharing palliative care knowledge/skills learning. Achieve this through practice, modelling, teaching, and mentorship, ensuring that colleagues are supported to develop their skills in end of life care and to enhance their professional development.
- Act as preceptor to novices taking up roles within the field of specialist palliative care, and as a mentor to nurses undertaking further studies in palliative care or educational visits/placements with the Team.
- Participate sharing learning within the Hospice and on external courses delivered by GBCH. Education.
Research and Audit
- Participate in audit of services on a regular basis so that patient care is continuously reviewed and improved.
- Use up-to-date research / evidence to deliver patient care, disseminating this knowledge to all members of the multi-professional team.
- Identify areas of practice that would benefit from audit or research and initiate such enquiry, sharing findings outside the Team through presentations, publication and teaching.
- Be aware of current clinical/research trials being conducted within own specialist area and be able to inform patients about these.
Additional Information
The post holder will work within the NMCs Code of Conduct.
Be familiar with and adhere to all Hospice, Trust and relevant Oxleas (community) and Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust (hospital) policies and procedures.
Actively promote the Hospice and its services.
The post holder must at all times respect confidentiality and in particular the confidentiality of all personal data stored, in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act
The post holder must be aware of and adhere to individual responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and to take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their acts or omissions. Identify and report, as necessary, any untoward accident, incident or potentially hazardous environment.
The post holder may be required to work in and from any Hospice or associated Company premises.
This job description is intended as an outline of the general areas of activity and will be amended from time to time in the light of the changing needs of the organisation. It will then be reviewed in association with the jobholder(s)
This post observes personal duty of care in relationship to equipment and resources, and is not required to be a budget holder.
This job description is an outline of the duties of the post and is not meant to be a detailed summary. Other duties may be required according to the needs of the Hospice.
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