Headache Specialist Practitioner

at  Ashford and St Peters Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

To work to effectively deliver an expert service within the field of headache, the specialist will manage a caseload of clients, meeting their needs through clinics and telephone consultations.
The specialist will ensure that patients and their families are fully informed and supported by providing clinical and social support and work to minimise the effect of headaches on patient’s lives by providing crisis intervention, stabilising condition and prevention of unnecessary accident and emergency attendances.

Internally the postholder will develop effective working relationships with:

• Lead Consultant for specialist area; Multi-Disciplinary Team, Service Manager, Neurosciences lead nurse and other neurology specialist practitioners.

Externally this includes

• Secondary and primary care teams; community nurses/teams; social workers; networking groups
• To participate in the provision of information and support to patients and their carers’, regarding their disease, treatments and services available
• To develop and provide training and support to health and social care professionals involved with people with headache.
• Evidence of consistent and sustained improvements in standards of practice and care in specialist area
• Increase patient’s understanding of their condition and their ability to self-manage
• Reduce A&E non-elective attendances and hospital admissions
• Reduce demands on consultant outpatient slots
• Reduce demands on consultants outside of clinics.
• Improve the management of headaches by health professionals
• Compliance with NICE Clinical Standards

Ashford and St. Peters Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust serves a population of more than 410,000 people living in North-West Surrey, parts of Hounslow and beyond.
Over 3,700 highly trained doctors, nurses, midwives, therapists, healthcare scientists and other support staff make up our workforce, providing a wide range of services across our two hospital sites, Ashford, Surrey and St Peter’s, Chertsey, Surrey.
We also run many specialist clinics in the community and local community hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
Our vision is to be one of the best healthcare Trusts in the country. There has never been a better time to join us in the NHS at ASPH. We are committed to providing continuous professional development and flexibility to shape our workforce around our patient care.
We are expanding our theatres at Ashford Hospital and moving towards this becoming our dedicated elective centre. We want to create a state-of-the-art centre for excellence for planned surgical procedures.
We can offer you the full range of NHS benefits/discounts and in addition:
Excellent pension scheme and annual leave entitlement
On-site Nurseries
On-site staff cafes
On-site parking
Support in career development
Salary Sacrifice schemes including wage stream, lease cars, Cycle to Work schemes and home electronics
Adverts may close early, so applicants are encouraged to submit an application as soon as possible.

Education and Research

• Provide comprehensive statistics to inform the audit process associated with the service.
• Contribute and take an active role in key clinical research projects for headache service
• Interpret headache research and ensure all practice has a nationally accepted evidence base.
• Responsible for maintaining and updating personal research knowledge through conference attendance, networking and reading.
• Develop, deliver and contribute to multidisciplinary specialist education and training programmes to promote a wider understanding of headache management in the primary and secondary healthcare setting.
• Promote and advise on health and lifestyle activities for patients, carers, healthcare professionals and the general public.
• Responsible for the educational material that is provided for all patients ensuring that this is an appropriate format and taking into consideration cognitive decline, ethnic group, presence of learning disability.
• Direct and support the provision of clinical practice for pre registration and post registration learners, to fulfil curriculum requirements and ensure that appropriate educational opportunities are provided.
• Ensure that the ongoing personal development, professional education, research needs are identified and met.
• Review and provide expert opinion on literature provided by voluntary agencies.
• Promote the service by disseminating information in relation to audit findings.
• To evaluate the impact of the role development and contribution to service delivery and patient satisfaction

Clinical or technical

• Case management – responsible for case management of adult patients with complex care needs. Provides comprehensive assessment using specialist experience and knowledge to discuss management options. Document advice given.
• Delivery of a safe, effective, practitioner led service for patients receiving specific treatment for headache, e.g. Greater Occipital Nerve block, Botulinum injection, DHE infusion.
• Works autonomously in providing clinical care using expert knowledge and highly developed clinical skills in assessing, implementing and monitoring both inpatients and outpatients to ensure that the quality of patient care is maintained at the highest standard.
• Utilising skills acquired through competence achievement, to establish a patient’s management plan that may include transfer of patients.
• Undertake clinical letters/summary dictation.
• Utilise expert knowledge of headache to act as a specialist resource service by promoting the service and increasing the awareness of the condition in hospital and primary care settings to enhance standards of care.
• Independently assess patient’s clinical condition, with the authority to alter or initiate treatment of the patient with headache ensuring a high degree of specific expertise and care which is in line with agreed guidelines.
• Provide counselling regarding contraception and migraine, pregnancy and the use of medication.
• Develop, review and lead the implementation of relevant protocols within boundaries of relevant code of conduct in order to optimise patient care and be aware of boundaries of responsibilities and limitations of clinical skills.

Leadership or managerial

• Act promptly in conjunction with Lead Nurse to resolve complaints effectively through investigating and responding at local level and escalate as appropriate.
• To work as an independent autonomous, practitioner, demonstrating ability to work effectively and flexibly in a changing environment, with a high degree of autonomy.
• Establish and maintain collaborative working relationships with the public, healthcare workers and other agencies.
• Maintain safe environment for patients, public and staff utilising quality assurance, risk management strategies and local and national policies, standards and guidelines.
• Participate in the management and evaluation of change to improve quality of care.
• Motivate self and others to achieve team and organisational goals.
• Represent the service at appropriate professional forums.
• Maintain accurate, timely and complete patient records ensuring safety and confidentiality of information at all times.
• Effectively communicate within the organisation at all times maintaining good interpersonal relationships.
• Manage written and verbal information in line with local and national policies.
• Participate in the Clinical Risk Management System, Datix, by investigating, reporting and taking appropriate action on clinical incidents.
• Contribute to strategic planning of future headache services
• Influence decisions regarding service delivery through participation in meetings.
• Act as a role model demonstrating high standards of holistic care.
• Ensure that grievances, disputes and complaints are resolved speedily and at the lowest possible level of the organisation.
• Act as professional lead and role model providing advice and support to all staff working in the field to promote best practice, including: medical students, nurses, and doctors in the out-patient and in-patient settings

Technology or system support

• Ensure accurate recording of own duty roster, including annual/study leave
• Maintain accurate, timely and complete patient records ensuring safety and confidentiality of information at all times
• Computer literate
• Conversant with Clinical Portal and HIS Systems- Laboratory and radiology- systems- access to clinical results.
• Internet and Intranet - access to local and national NHS sites, government sites, and nursing or medical databases to continually develop evidence-based practice
• Digital Dictaphone
• Laptop and projector
• Telecommunications

Service improvement

• Maintain, develop and implement professional policies, standards and practices across the Trust.
• Actively contribute to setting and monitoring standards in nursing practice and service provision.
• Take responsibility for Policy and Service development, as delegated by Senior Management or as required, in line with changing legal or professional requirements.

Education and Research

• Provide comprehensive statistics to inform the audit process associated with the service.
• Contribute and take an active role in key clinical research projects for headache service
• Interpret headache research and ensure all practice has a nationally accepted evidence base.
• Responsible for maintaining and updating personal research knowledge through conference attendance, networking and reading.
• Develop, deliver and contribute to multidisciplinary specialist education and training programmes to promote a wider understanding of headache management in the primary and secondary healthcare setting.
• Promote and advise on health and lifestyle activities for patients, carers, healthcare professionals and the general public.
• Responsible for the educational material that is provided for all patients ensuring that this is an appropriate format and taking into consideration cognitive decline, ethnic group, presence of learning disability.
• Direct and support the provision of clinical practice for pre registration and post registration learners, to fulfil curriculum requirements and ensure that appropriate educational opportunities are provided.
• Ensure that the ongoing personal development, professional education, research needs are identified and met.
• Review and provide expert opinion on literature provided by voluntary agencies.
• Promote the service by disseminating information in relation to audit findings.
• To evaluate the impact of the role development and contribution to service delivery and patient satisfaction.

Communications and Engagement

• Providing and receiving highly complex, highly sensitive or highly contentious information, where developed persuasive, motivational, negotiating, training, empathic or re-assurance skills are required. This may be because agreement or co-operation is required or because there are barriers to understanding.
• The post holder works at an advanced level using highly specialised knowledge gained through clinical experience, training and further education within the speciality of headache to develop and deliver evidence based practice and clinical care. The post holder must demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills with patients, relatives and health professionals often delivering highly complex and highly sensitive information e.g. discussion with newly diagnosed patients.
• Communicate with the patient, relatives and carers on the delivery of patient care.
• Management of patients through chronic illness and acute illness.
• Liaise with the multidisciplinary team on service needs and requirements.
• Other relevant lines of communication will encompass the following internal and external groups to ensure the gathering and dissemination of information as appropriate.

Internal & External Communication

• Liaise directly with other health professionals in both Primary and Secondary care.