Nurse Practitioner - SACT team, Band 7

at  Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Based in Oncology in Cheltenham General Hospital, the Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT) nurse practitioner team is looking for a permanent member of staff to join them.
We are looking for Someone with a keen interest in oncology, with knowledge of cancer and cancer treatments and experience looking after patients with a cancer diagnosis to join our busy team.
The successful candidate will hold non medical prescribing and physical assessment and diagnostics qualifications and be experience in assessing and prescribing SACT or will join as a Band 6 development post until required training completed.
This is a full time position of 37.5hours
The successful candidate will work along side both nurse practitioners, pharmacists and medical colleagues to provide assessment of fitness for SACT.
This role will include daily contact with patients and their relatives for assessment and management of side effects of treatment both face to face clinics and on the telephone. Alongside, mid cycle reviews, assessment for signs of disease progression. Working as an autonomous practitioner within the Trust making critical clinical decisions independently when diagnosing, monitoring and managing oncology patients.
The individual will develop high levels of clinical assessment skills and advanced communication skills. They will work closely with the outpatient chemotherapy team to provide support SACT administration with review of concerns, side effects and reactions and contribute to the education of junior staff.
Within the speciality of oncology and personal competence to prescribe medications including chemotherapy/immunotherapy as an independent prescriber
Request investigations and interpret and act on results e.g bloods, CT scans, MRI scans, Xray, US
We are a team of 7 nurse practitioners who work across a variety of tumour sites and consultant teams. We work together to cover a number of nurse led clinics and also support consultant clinics through out the week. We also support the wider oncology department providing teaching and support via a bleep for chemotherapy toxicity questions/problems
We are a busy team but work hard to ensure best practice. We lead and support change projects focused on improving patient care and experience and work within the wider oncology team to implement best practice.
This job requires practitioners to work with an Enhanced level of Practice, this is experienced practitioners who work in a role which requires in-depth role specific cancer knowledge and skills or training following registration, for example cancer treatment administration/side effect management/site or pathway specific to undertake complex work managing a discrete aspect of patient care related to their sphere of practice.

PRACTITIONERS AT THIS LEVEL:

• Require a critical understanding of detailed theoretical and practical knowledge, which can be generalist with a special interest and/or specialist knowledge and have management and leadership responsibilities
• May have specialist knowledge, skills and capabilities related to sphere of practice
• Consult with patients, their family and the multi-professional team to undertake assessment of patient need and devise and evaluate complex care plans
• Evaluate and analyse clinical problems using their clinical knowledge, seeking out and applying relevant evidence, enhanced techniques, interventions and equipment to make clinical decisions
• Deliver enhanced clinical care in the context of continual change, challenging environments, different models of care delivery, innovation and rapidly evolving technologies using analysis and their underpinning knowledge to manage complex interventions
• Teach and advise patients and their families on how to manage their condition or support the multidisciplinary team to do so
• Participate in clinical audits and research projects and implement changes as required, including 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
• May delegate work to other members of the multidisciplinary team and take accountability for their delegated activity
• Demonstrate initiative and are creative in finding solutions to problems
• Have some responsibility for team performance and service development and they consistently undertake self-development

Please refer the Job description for details