Drug & Alcohol Liaison Nurse

at  Whittington Hospital NHS Trust

Clinical Ensure that Audit C (Alcohol screening assessment) is undertaken on all patients who attend the hospital. Accountable for the direct delivery of care to patients who are present with drug & alcohol misuse, withdrawal and alcohol related diseases. Carry out assessments; optimize treatments within agreed protocols and liaising with consultants and others as appropriate. Work independently, being guided by principles and broad occupational policies Develop packages of care for patients with alcohol related admissions and those with alcohol withdrawal.
To liaise with all wards/units to provide support to patients with alcohol withdrawal and related diseases. Deliver the service in the emergency department as well as liaising with the wards as required. Work closely with the inpatient pharmacist, and gastroenterology consultants for inpatient titration of medications and patient/carer education to promote compliance following protocols, patient group directives and the integrated care pathway Optimise the involvement of patients in the planning, and delivery of the service (through support groups, patient satisfaction questionnaires, and by being receptive to feedback from patients and their carers regarding the service). Be a key source of specialised knowledge regarding drug & alcohol misuse including drug & alcohol dependency for the multi-disciplinary team Ensure seamless transition of care from secondary to primary care scenarios, by using effective communication skills Demonstrate professional leadership by assisting in the development of policies and procedures within the trust that relate to all aspects of alcohol misuse, related disease and care.
Implement agreed protocols and ensure evidence-based care is delivered by reviewing, updating, and devising collaborative policies. Provide a complete discharge package for patients including referral to other agencies and providing educational literature. Can concentrate on a frequent basis, re-prioritising work plans in response to changing patients demands. Post holder will carry a bleep or phone to be accessible as a specialist resource for medical and nursing staff, and for staff in primary care To be accessible for patients phoning in concerned about their condition and giving appropriate advice and recommendations which could involve changes to medications.
Develop and implement a plan of care in partnership with the patient and other health and social care colleagues as appropriate. Management To work in partnership with key stakeholders to participate in the development of standards, evidence-based guidelines and integrated care pathway and clinic audit, to ensure continuous quality improvement. Improve communication across primary and secondary care with respect to the ongoing care for patients discharged from the trust. Support the senior staff working in health improvement, in identifying ongoing clinical needs and ensuring that information influences the clinical and service development of the team and its work.
In conjunction with health improvement manager to manage the day to day running of the alcohol specialist nursing service, planning the working week to ensure that the service is deliverable, but also ensuring that there is sufficient flexibility to meet the needs of patients. Demonstrate a broad range of planning and organisational skills Take an active role in developing your skills and working towards achieving appraisal objectives. To work in partnership with service users, wider nursing teams and managers in the multi-agency/multi-disciplinary personnel, to inform service development and review and evaluation processes. Ensure that mandatory training is undertaken (fire, manual handling, infusion devices, basic and advanced life support).
Education Take an active role in teaching and training staff regarding alcohol awareness/screening as well as related disease and care. Identify the specific educational needs of patients and carers and facilitate these needs by ensuring that patients have the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to be positively involved in their care. Undertake a teaching role, at all levels and in all guises, To attend disease course/study days. Actively promote health promotion and health education activities.
Ensure that Audit C is embedded into the patient assessment process Assist in auditing, monitoring, and producing service reports. Maintain a database of all activity and assist with provide reports to the Audit & Research CCG and public health as well as the hospital. Regularly use software packages (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, careflow) to produce reports, data analysis and audit. Ensure that a positive profile of the Trust is presented to external agencies, raising the profile of the Trust regarding disease care provision.
Act as a role model and mentor to ward nurses as required

Please refer the Job description for details