Lead Nurse

NHS; Bexhill-on-Sea; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider seeks a Lead Practice Nurse responsible for managing the nursing team and ensuring effective delivery of nursing services. The role encompasses clinical responsibilities, including chronic disease management, health promotion, and medication prescriptions, while collaborating within a multidisciplinary team to enhance patient care.

Qualifications

• Experience in a primary care environment.
• Experience leading a nursing team.
• Experience with chronic disease management.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement health promotion programs.
• Manage and support patients at risk of long-term conditions.
• Prescribe medication in accordance with guidelines.

Skills

Wound Care

Diabetes Management

Asthma Management

Communication Skills

Time Management

Education

Registered Nurse

Post Graduate Diploma or Degree in Chronic Disease Management

Nurse Prescriber

Job description

Tobe responsible for the management of the practice nursing team, consisting ofnurses and HCAs. Working as part of the practice multidisciplinary team, thepost holder will ensure nursing services are delivered effectively to theentitled patient population. The lead practice nurse will be responsible for anumber of clinical areas such as infection prevention and control, supporting and leading the nursing team on QOF, LCS and local initiatives; as well assupporting the practice management team in the implementation of quality improvement initiatives and new services to enhance patient care and service delivery.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be responsible for the delivery of practice nursing services, working as part of the practice's multidisciplinary team who provide care within their scope of practice to the registered patient population, supporting all members of the nursing team and providing guidance when necessary.

About us

You will join a clinical team consisting of GPs, 4 Practice Nurses, 3 HCAs, 1 Phlebotomist, 1 Paramedic and 1 Clinical Pharmacist.

We are a well established, two site training practice, with our main site in Sidley and the satelite site at Albert Road, in Bexhill town centre.

Job responsibilities

Thefollowing are the core responsibilities of the lead practice nurse. There may be on occasion, a requirement tocarry out other tasks; this will be dependent upon factors such as workloadand staffing levels:

a.Develop,implement and embed health promotion and well-being programmes

b.Implementand evaluate individual treatment plans for chronic disease patients, whichpromote health and well being

c.Identify,manage and support patients as risk of developing long-term conditions,preventing adverse effects on the patient’s health

d.Provideroutine nursing care to patients as required in accordance with clinicalbased evidence, NICE and the NSF

e.Diagnoseand manage acute and chronic conditions

f.Prescribemedication for patients in accordance with PGDs and own scope of practice

g.Reviewpatient medications to enhance compliance

h.Provideguidance to patients in the use of prescribed and over-the-countermedications on side effects and dosages

i.Overseethe provision of wound care services to patients

j.Coordinatethe provision of travel medicine services

k.Requestpathology services as necessary

l.Processpathology results as required

m.Overseethe provision of chronic disease clinics, delivering patient care asnecessary, referring patients to secondary / specialist care as required

n.Maintainaccurate clinical records in conjunction with extant legislation

o.Ensureread codes are used effectively by all members of the nursing team

p.Ensurethe appropriate maintenance and use of chronic disease registers

q.Develop,implement, embed and participate in well woman clinics

r.Develop,implement, embed and participate in well man clinics

s.Chaperonepatients where necessary

t.AssistGPs with minor surgery when required

u.Prioritisehealth issues and intervene appropriately

v.Supportthe team in dealing with clinical emergencies

w.Recognise,assess and refer patients presenting with mental health needs

x.Implementvaccination programmes for adults and children

y.Supportpatients in the use of their prescribed medicines or over the countermedicines (within own scope of practice)

z.Liaisewith external services / agencies to ensure the patient is supportedappropriately (vulnerable patients etc.)

aa.Delegateclinical responsibilities appropriately (ensuring safe practice and the taskis within the scope of practice of the individual)

bb.Supportthe clinical team with all safeguarding matters, in accordance with local andnational policies

cc.Understandpractice and local policies for substance abuse and addictive behaviour,referring patients appropriately

dd.Deliveropportunistic health promotion where appropriate

Secondary Responsibilities

In additionto the primary responsibilities, the lead practice nurse may be requested to:

a.Developand review audit protocols and process for the practice, effectivelyutilising the audit cycle

b.Develop,review and implement nursing protocols in conjunction with the partners

c.Supportall members of the nursing team, providing guidance when necessary,conducting appraisals and training needs analyses as required

d.Participatein local initiatives to enhance service delivery and patient care

e.Supportand participate in shared learning within the practice

f.Continuallyreview clinical practices, responding to national policies and initiativeswhere appropriate

g. Participate in the review of significantand near-miss events applying a structured approach i.e. root cause analysis(RCA)

h. Coordinate the nursing team rota,ensuring sufficient staff are available to meet patient needs

i.Leadthe planning and implementation of changes within the nursing team, enhancingthe provision of services to patients

j.Supportthe practice team with the reviewing and implementation of practice policiesand protocols, ensuring conformance to extant legislation

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse
• Post graduate diploma or degree (Chronic Disease Management)
• Nurse Prescriber

Experience

• Experience of working in a primary care environment
• Experience of chronic disease management
• Experience of working autonomously
• Experience of leading a nursing team in a primary care environment
• Experience of working as a practice nurse or community nurse

Clinical Knowledge & Skills

• Wound Care / Removal of sutures & staples
• ECGs
• Venepuncture
• New patient medicals
• Chaperone procedure
• Requesting pathology tests and processing the results, advising patients accordingly
• Diabetes
• Asthma
• CHD
• Immunisations (routine, childhood and travel)
• Understands the importance of evidence based practice
• Broad knowledge of clinical governance
• Ability to record accurate clinical notes
• Ability to work within own scope of practice and understanding when to refer to GPs
• Knowledge of health promotion strategies
• Understands the requirement for PGDs and associated policy
• Excellent communication skills (written and oral)
• Clear, polite telephone manner
• Competent in the use of Office and Outlook
• Effective time management (Planning & Organising)
• Ability to work as a team member and autonomously
• Good interpersonal skills
• Problem solving & analytical skills
• Ability to follow clinical policy and procedure
• Knowledge of public health issues in the local area
• Awareness of issues within the wider health arena
• Experience with audit and able to lead audit programmes
• Experience with clinical risk management

Personal Qualities

• Polite and confident
• Flexible and cooperative
• Motivated, forward thinker
• Problem solver with the ability to process information accurately and effectively, interpreting data as required
• High levels of integrity and loyalty
• Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations
• Ability to work under pressure / in stressful situations
• Effectively able to communicate and understand the needs of the patient
• Commitment to ongoing professional development
• Punctual and committed to supporting the team effort

Other requirements

• Flexibility to work outside of core office hours
• Occupational Health Clearance
• Meet the requirements and produce evidence for nurse revalidation.
• Evidence of continuing professional development (CPD) commensurate with the role of a lead practice nurse

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.