Respiratory Specialist Practitioner

The Methodist Church in Britain; Yeovil; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 38,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

NHS pension scheme

Generous annual leave

Career development focus

Blue Light Card discounts

Mileage allowance for NHS business

Enhanced unsocial hours payments

Training and competency package

Job summary

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an registered nurse for a nine-month secondment with the Hospital @ Home Respiratory Team in the county. The role combines acute and community nursing to support early discharge and keep unstable patients out of hospital via a virtual ward.

It offers autonomous practice, day shifts 8am–8pm, and a weekend every four weeks. Responsibilities include managing complex respiratory care in the community, leading care plans, and working with multi-professional

Qualifications

• Registered Nursing degree
• Registered with the Nursing Council
• Experience in managing respiratory patients in community and acute settings
• Leadership and management experience with respiratory patients

Responsibilities

• Assess patient need and devise complex community care plans
• Work autonomously with patients, families, carers and the multi-professional team
• Manage unstable respiratory patients in the community to prevent hospital admission
• Support early discharge from acute beds
• Deliver enhanced respiratory care and manage a discrete aspect of patient care
• Carry out venepuncture, IV administration, PICC line management and cannulation
• Be a core member of the respiratory service and acute teams at Yeovil District and Musgrove Park Hospitals
• Visit patients across west or east side of the county

Job description

This nine-month secondment places a registered nurse in the Hospital @ Home Respiratory Team at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, covering either the west or the east of the county. The role centres on managing patients with acute and chronic respiratory conditions in the community, supporting early discharge and keeping unstable patients out of hospital through a virtual ward. It blends acute and community nursing, with autonomous practice, day shifts from 8am to 8pm and one weekend in four. Applicants need a nursing degree and a car for home visits.

What the job involves

• Assess patient need and devise and evaluate complex care plans in the community
• Work autonomously with patients, their families, carers and the multi-professional team
• Manage patients with unstable respiratory disease in the community to prevent hospital admission
• Support early or supported discharge of patients from acute medical beds
• Deliver enhanced respiratory care, managing a discrete aspect of patient care at specialist practitioner level
• Carry out venepuncture, IV administration, PICC line management and cannulation
• Work as a core member of the respiratory service and acute respiratory teams at Yeovil District and Musgrove Park Hospitals
• Visit patients across the assigned side of the county: west (Taunton and Bridgwater) or east (Yeovil and West Mendip)

What’s required

Qualifications

• Registered Nursing degree

Registration & licences

• Registered with the Nursing Council

Experience

• Managing respiratory patients in community and acute settings
• Working as part of a multi-professional team
• Enhanced understanding of respiratory conditions
• Proven leadership and management experience with respiratory patients

Skills & knowledge

• Enhanced clinical decision-making and reasoning shown through analysis and interpretation
• Good standard of literacy and English language skills
• Ability to take overall responsibility and accountability
• Strong prioritisation with competing demands
• Ability to cope with potentially distressing situations, such as delivering unwelcome news
• Keyboard skills and written communication, including documentation, email and reports

Checks & eligibility

• Car driver with own vehicle for travel within and beyond trust boundaries

Other

• Physically able to do the work, including concentrating for long periods and working through frequent interruptions
• Willingness to use technology to improve standards of care
• Self-motivated and able to work on own initiative

Nice to have

• Relevant postgraduate study
• Teaching qualification or equivalent experience
• Non-medical prescribing
• Evidence of educational support to others
• Experience in a leadership role
• Research or audit participation, and understanding of the process
• Experience of developing guidelines, protocols and care pathways
• Understanding of the NHS framework, government policy and current local and national issues

What’s offered

• Flexible working options
• NHS pension scheme
• Generous annual leave allowance
• Strong focus on career development
• Blue Light Card discounts and NHS-specific perks
• Generous mileage allowance for NHS business, covering mileage and depreciation
• Enhanced payments for additional unsocial hours
• Comprehensive training and competency package