Dermatology Support Practitioner

St. Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; St Helens; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 25,000; Full time

Job summary

Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust is seeking a Health Care Assistant to join our dermatology team. You will work under the supervision of a registered nurse to assist in delivering high quality patient care across clinics and procedures.

You will support dermatology nurses and specialists, perform screening tests, minor surgery assistance, phlebotomy, dressing applications, and help with paediatric and offsite clinics. Training and progression within AfC framework may apply.

Qualifications

• NVQ Level 3 in Health and Social Care, or equivalent experience.
• Previous experience of working as a Health Care Assistant.
• Experience in direct patient care.
• Knowledge of child protection procedures and who to contact with concerns.
• Demonstrable experience working in specialised dermatology clinics and a basic knowledge of: Eczema, Psoriasis, Skin cancer, Phototherapy, Patch testing.

Responsibilities

• Assist in phototherapy/hand and foot PUVA clinics.
• Monitor the urticaria recovery area, observing patient vitals and alerting staff as needed.
• Assist in patch test clinics, remove patch tests, mark tests prior to removal and prepare results readings.
• Support dermatology clinics and dermatology sessions offsite; assist surgeons in minor ops and dressings.
• Carry out screening investigations such as swabs, pregnancy tests, blood pressures, urinalysis, weight, INR coagucheck, nail clippings and fungal scrapings; phlebotomy.
• Apply leg ulcer dressings (non‑compression) and assist in paediatric clinics with topical treatments.
• Work autonomously where appropriate (e.g., removal of sutures) and provide health promotion support.

Skills

IT skills

Positive attitude

Effective communication

Team player

Flexibility

Autonomy

Education

NVQ Level 3 in Health and Social Care

Job description

Job overview

To work within a multi-disciplinary team and under the supervision of a registered nurse assist in delivering a high quality of specialist dermatology care, to a broad spectrum of patients. The post holder will undertake tasks and duties delegated by the clinical team or Dermatology Nurse Specialists, working both supervised and unsupervised/autonomously where appropriate.

The successful candidate will join the team of existing band 3 support practitioners working closely with our staff nurses, and nurse specialists, carrying out enhanced roles once deemed competent, and supporting consultants in the smooth running of their dermatology clinics.

The JD & PS are currently under AfC review and are subject to change.

Main duties of the job

To assist nurse specialists, staff and medical team with;

General clinics

• Minor surgery assistance
• Supporting the skin cancer service
• Carrying out screening investigations including phlebotomy
• Preparation of biologic clinics
• Application of topical creams and bandages
• To support the minor ops clerk to book appointments when needed.

Working for our organisation

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

Our services:

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To assist nurse specialists in phototherapy/hand and foot PUVA
• To ensure and be responsible for the smooth running of the urticaria recovery area, monitoring patient's observations (blood pressure, sats etc) for signs of anaphylaxis alongside the nurse specialist urticarial clinic, and to alert trained nurses/doctors/MET team if appropriate
• To assist Consultant in patch test clinics, removing patch tests, correctly marking patch tests prior to removal and preparing the patient for their results readings
• To assist nurse specialists in minor surgery at St Helens and Newton Hospital, in particular for ad hoc urgent skin cancer patients/ patients on 2WW skin cancer pathways/ skin cancer "see and treat clinics", and provide support for Dermatology Clinics held offsite. Competent in Aseptic Non-Touch technique, scrub in to assist surgeons in minor ops and applying basic dressings, educates patients in post-operative care
• To support the Skin cancer Nurse specialist in providing ongoing emotional support to patients diagnosed with skin cancer, to monitor the skin cancer helpline and deal with basic patient needs independently within realms of competence and refer on to specialist nurse specialist when appropriate. Support the skin cancer nurse specialist with documentation and recording of telephone consultations for both coding and patients' clinical notes in line with Trust Policies and Procedures.
• To carry out screening investigations such as taking swabs, pregnancy testing, blood pressures, urinalysis, weight, INR coagucheck, nail clippings and fungal scrapings, phlebotomy
• Assist in application of leg ulcer dressings (non-compression)
• To assist in paediatric clinics, able to safely apply prescribed topical treatments and specialised dermatological bandaging.
• To be competent in removal of sutures and basic post op wound dressings, to work alone and unsupervised and the ability to work autonomously where appropriate e.g., removal of suture clinic.
• To support Skin cancer specialist nurse with health promotion /well-being events
• Assists in research and databases e.g., assisting Skin cancer nurse input data onto Somerset database, BADBIR.
• To undertake reviews of patients returning to clinic for specified follow up care and manage appropriately using guidelines and protocols.
• To provide education, health promotion support and encouragement to patients to self-manage their conditions appropriate to own knowledge/experience.
• Housekeeping and maintenance of Dermatology admin packs for Nurse Specialists eg Phototherapy packs, minor op paperwork, patient information leaflets, patch test leaflets and documents, BADBIR packs
• Recognise the workload of colleagues and provide support as necessary.

Person specification

Our Values

• We are Kind
• We are Open
• We are Inclusive

Essential criteria

• NVQ Level 3 in Health and Social Care, or equivalent experience

Experience

Essential criteria

• Previous experience of working as a Health Care Assistant
• Previous experience in the provision of direct patient care
• Commitment to the promotion of health
• Knowledge of child protection procedures and who to contact with concerns
• Demonstrable experience working in specialised dermatology clinics and a basic knowledge of: Eczema, Psoriasis, Skin cancer, Phototherapy, Patch testing

Desirable criteria

• Previous experience of history taking / conducting consultations ie : when assessing wounds etc.
• Venepuncture experience

Skills

Essential criteria

• IT skills
• Positive attitude, supportive, non-judgemental motivated
• Effective communication skills
• Team player
• Flexible, adaptable and reliable, ability to work off site in dermatology clinics e.g. Newton Hospital
• Good interpersonal skills
• Ability to use own initiative
• Understanding of using resources efficiently, good house keeping
• The ability to work alone and unsupervised and the ability to work autonomously where appropriate

Thank you for considering an application to work for Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust. MWL is an exciting and forward-thinking NHS Trust who are one of the best places to work for in England.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity, and respect for all individuals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and value the unique skills, perspective and experience you bring. We are grounded in the belief that diversity enhances our collective strength, fostering innovation and excellence within our workforce. We welcome all applications irrespective of people's race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we commit to offering an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.