2x Clinical Nurse Specialist - Community Specialist Team, Band 7

at  Greenwich Bexley Community Hospice

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 the Teams 24 hour telephone on call service from home, providing specialist advice to professionals in the hospital or community and to patients and carers/families on the caseload. (NB When working in the community only) 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 community nursing/other records, and Urgent Care Plans). Fully use the Hospice electronic patient record 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 Urgent Care Plan Access other electronic records as appropriate. Quality 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 fora 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. Support people who are bereaved and identify those who are at risk in bereavement or as they are anticipating loss. Identify when onward referral to appropriate professionals is required. 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. 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 in sharing learning within the Hospice and on external courses delivered by the Hospice Education and Learning Partnership with St Christophers Hospice (HELP). 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

Please refer the Job description for details