Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Main Duties and Responsibilities 

To ensure at all times patients are treated with care and compassion.

To support the senior nurse in organisation and coordination of the overall care to meet clients’ care needs, which may be complex involving other professionals and agencies in an integrated and co-ordinated way.

To accept responsibility for those patients whose care has been delegated to them by the Community Nursing Sister or senior nurse and ensure continuity of the nursing care by on-going assessment.

Escalate Risk as appropriate

To deputise for the Community Nursing Sister in their absence as required

Assess and prioritise unscheduled requests for nursing intervention and allocate to the appropriately skilled clinician as appropriate

To refer patients to other services / agencies as appropriate

To organise own work as delegated by the senior nurse.

Delegate work to junior staff and learners as required

To assist in the planning and co-ordination off duty, covering annual leave, sickness and study leave under supervision of a senior clinician.

To assist in the assessment and implementation of care interventions to meet identified health needs of individuals, families and communities. Maintain associated records.

To provide mentorship to pre- and post-registration nursing students. 

Communication

To assist in the delivery of some highly complex and sensitive information in an appropriate form and manner for the patient/ carer/ relatives.

To understand and support the principles agreed in the transfer of patient information between the primary and secondary sector and deal with it in a sensitive fashion.

 To anticipate barriers to communication and use interpreters or tools as required.

To use persuasive skills of negotiation and problem solving to facilitate positive outcomes.

To provide education to patients, students and colleagues as required. 

To produce accurate and complete records consistent with legislation, policy and procedure.

To attend and participate in relevant meetings and training events.

To build and develop relationships between health professionals involved in the patient pathway.

Provide understanding and support to patients coping with acute and/or long-term conditions, including promotion of self-care.

Budgetary Responsibility 

Assist in the Maintenance of adequate stock control of resources required to undertake nursing care.

To assist in the training and education on use of equipment to others. To ensure that records and equipment are maintained and stored according to. East of England Community Health and Care – Luton policies guidelines and protocols. 

People Management

To provide day-to-day supervision of the junior nursing staff within the Integrated Community Nursing Team.

To assist in the co-ordination of team off-duty to meet the needs of the service.

To mentor and supervise students and other learners

To assist in the induction of new staff members

Maintaining own professional development and requirement to take part in appraisal and KSF proces

Research & Development Activity 

To undertake R&D activity as requested.

Clinical and Practice Governance

Observe and maintain strict confidentiality with regards to any patient/family/staff/records and information in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act.

Any data that is taken/shared as part of a phone call or transported, faxed or transferred electronically must be undertaken with regard to the Trust Information Governance and Information Security policies.  

The post holder must adhere to the Trust risk assessment and risk management processes

The post holder must adhere to infection control policies and procedures

It is a condition of your employment that you are currently registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council and it is your responsibility to maintain your professional registration.

Undertake mandatory training and any other training relevant to the role as required by East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust.

The post holder must participate in clinical and safeguarding audits as required

Provide patients and their families /carers with information on standards they should expect from the team 

Participate in Clinical & Safeguarding supervision on a regular basis

The post holder is required to participate in relevant emergency preparedness process for their team.

The post holder is expected to work within a variety of environments, e.g. patients home, residential homes, and nursing homes and will have direct exposure to smell, bodily fluids.