Practice Nurse

Westbank Practice; Devon and Torbay; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

The Westbank Practice in Devon is seeking an enthusiastic Practice Nurse to join our friendly team. The role includes chronic disease management, travel health, immunisations, wound care and cervical screening, with opportunities to lead on public health initiatives.

You will work autonomously within a supportive multidisciplinary team, contributing to high-quality patient care and governance.

Qualifications

• Experience of working in a primary care environment.
• Experience of working as a practice nurse or community nurse.
• Experience of chronic disease management.
• Registered Nurse with current UK professional registration.

Responsibilities

• Support IPC lead and work to IPC Policy.
• Consult with patients and families to undertake assessments of patient need.
• Support long-term condition management including quality improvement initiatives.
• Develop and embed a care management programme for frail and housebound patients.
• Support public health and screening programmes including immunisations and cervical screening.

Skills

Chronic disease management

Travel health

Wound care

Immunisations

Cervical screening

Autonomous working

Education

NMC registered nurse

Tools

EMIS/Systmone/Vision

Job description

Job summary

The Westbank Practice is seeking an enthusiastic, innovative, and experienced Practice Nurse to join our friendly and supportive team.

Hours: Approximately 20 - 25 hours per week

Salary: Competitive, dependent on experience

If you are motivated, patient-focused, and enjoy working as part of a collaborative team, we would love to hear from you.

Informal visits are warmly welcomed.

Main duties of the job

• Chronic disease management (an interest in diabetes is desirable but not essential)
• Travel health
• Childhood immunisations
• Wound care
• Contraception
• Cervical screening
• General treatment room duties

About us

We are a busy, growing GP practice caring for approximately 9,000 patients across our Exminster and Starcross surgeries. As a teaching practice, we support GP Registrars, F2 doctors, and Medical Students on rotation.

Our multidisciplinary clinical team includes:

• 5 GP Partners
• 2 Salaried GPs
• 2 Paramedics
• 3 Practice Nurses
• 2 Healthcare Assistants

Beautifully located on the outskirts of Exeter, we are looking for a dynamic nurse who can work autonomously and contribute positively to our expanding patient population.

Job responsibilities

• Support the Infection Prevention Control (IPC) lead and work to the IPC Policy
• Consult with patients and their families to undertake assessments of patient need
• Support in the long-term condition management within the organisation, including being involved with quality improvement and assurance initiatives
• Develop, implement and embed an effective care management programme for the frail and housebound patients registered with the organisation
• Support public health and screening programmes, including immunisations, vaccinations, and cervical screening and also provide opportunistic health promotion advice
• Embed population health management approaches within general practice, targeting health inequalities and improving access
• As required, provide routine nursing care to patients in accordance with clinical based evidence, NICE and the NSF
• Support new-to-practice nurses and other healthcare professionals within the organisation
• Teach and advise patients and their families on how to manage their condition
• Participate in clinical audits and research projects and implements changes as required, including supporting with the development, and updating of practice protocols/guidelines and procedures locally
• Work within national and local protocols where these exist
• Recognise the boundaries of their practice and know when and to whom patients should be referred
• Support in the delivery of enhanced services and other service requirements
• Be aware of duties and responsibilities regarding current legislation and adhere to practice policies and procedures on Safeguarding Adults and Safeguarding Children
• Participate in the management of patient complaints when requested to do so and participate in the identification of any necessary learning brought about through incidents and near-miss events
• Undertake all mandatory training and induction programmes
• Contribute to and embrace the spectrum of clinical governance
• Support the practice team with the reviewing and implementation of practice policies and protocols, ensuring conformance to extant legislation
• Attend a formal appraisal with their manager at least every 12 months. Once a performance/training objective has been set, progress will be reviewed on a regular basis so that new objectives can be agreed
• Lead on public health campaigns (e.g., flu clinics)
• Provide travel advice services
• Provide wound care (ulcer/Doppler, etc.) to patients
• Maintain accurate clinical records in conjunction with extant legislation ensuring that SNOMED CT codes are used effectively
• Contribute to practice targets (QOF, etc.), complying with relevant guidance
• Maintain chronic disease registers and implement an effective call/recall system
• Maintain a clean, tidy, effective working area at all times
• Chaperone patients where necessary
• Support the team in dealing with clinical emergencies
• Liaise with external services/agencies to ensure the patient is supported appropriately (vulnerable patients, etc.)

There may be, on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks, this will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels

Wider Responsibilities

• Develop, review and implement nursing protocols in conjunction with the partners
• Participate in local initiatives to enhance service delivery and patient care
• Support and participate in shared learning in order to improve patient care
• Coordinate the nursing team rota, ensuring sufficient staff are available to meet patient needs
• Support with the planning and implementation of changes within the nursing team, enhancing the provision of services to patients
• Support in the coordination of the nursing team rota

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

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

Desirable

• Experience of infection prevention and control measures

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Nurse
• Has evidence of working at the relevant level of practice as described in the Primary Care and General Practice Nursing Career and Core Capabilities Framework

Desirable

• Post graduate diploma or degree (Primary Care)

Clinical Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Wound care/removal of sutures and staples
• ECGs
• Venepuncture
• New patient medicals
• Chaperone procedure
• Requesting pathology tests and processing the results, advising patients accordingly
• Travel medicine
• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Asthma
• CHD
• Immunisations (routine, childhood and travel)
• Womens health (cervical cytology, contraception, etc.)
• Understanding 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 understand when to refer to GPs
• Understanding of infection prevention and control measures
• Knowledge of health promotion strategies
• Understand the requirement for PGDs and associated policy
• Excellent communication skills (written and oral)
• Strong IT skills
• Clear, polite telephone manner
• Competent in the use of Office and Outlook
• EMIS/Systmone/Vision user skills
• Effective time management (planning and organising)
• Ability to work as a team member and autonomously
• Good interpersonal skills
• Problem solving and analytical skills
• Ability to follow clinical policy and procedure

Desirable

• Spirometry
• 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

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. Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).