Vacancy: Practice Nurse

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Job Title: Practice Nurse
Line Manager: Lead Nurse
Accountable to: Practice Manager - Administratively / GP Lead – Clinically
Hours per week: 24 to 30 hours
Pay: Negotiable according to experience

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Job Summary

To be responsible for the delivery of practice nursing services, working as part of the practice multidisciplinary team, delivering care within their scope of practice to the entitled patient population. 

Primary Responsibilities

The following are the core responsibilities of the practice nurse. There may be on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels:

1. Provide routine nursing care to patients as required in accordance with clinical based evidence
2. Provide wound care (ulcer /Doppler etc.) to patients
3. Provide immunisations (child and adult)
4. Request pathology services as necessary and Process results as required
5. Provide chronic disease clinics, delivering patient care as necessary
6. Support the GPs in delivering coil and implant clinics with a view to training towards delivering this service (coil fits and implants)
7. Maintain accurate clinical records and ensure read codes and templates are used effectively 
8. Support the team in dealing with clinical emergencies
9. Recognise, assess and refer patients presenting with mental health needs
10. Implement vaccination programmes for adults and children
11. Liaise with external bodies to ensure patients are supported appropriately (vulnerable patients etc.)
12. Support the clinical team with all safeguarding matters, in accordance with local and national policies
13. Understand practice and local policies for substance abuse and addictive behaviour, referring patients appropriately

Secondary Responsibilities

In addition to the primary responsibilities, the practice nurse may be requested to:

1. Monitor and ensure the safe storage, rotation and disposal of medicaments
2. Support junior members of the nursing team, providing guidance when necessary
3. Participate in local initiatives to enhance service delivery and patient care
4. Support and participate in shared learning within the practice
5. Continually review clinical practices, responding to national policies and initiatives where appropriate
6. Participate in the review of significant and near-miss events applying a structured approach 
7. Chaperone patients where necessary

Generic Responsibilities

All staff have a duty to conform to the following:

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

A good attitude and positive action towards ED&I creates and environment where all individuals are able to achieve their full potential. Creating such an environment is important for three reasons: it improves operational effectiveness, it is morally the right thing to do, and it is required by law.

Patients and their families have the right to be treated fairly and be routinely involved in decisions about their treatment and care. They can expect to be treated with dignity and respect and will not be discriminated against on any grounds including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Patients have a responsibility to treat other patients and our staff with dignity and respect.

Staff have the right to be treated fairly in recruitment and career progression. Staff can expect to work in an environment where diversity is valued and equality of opportunity is promoted. Staff will not be discriminated against on any grounds including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Staff have a responsibility to ensure that you treat our patients and their colleagues with dignity and respect.

Safety, Health, Environment and Fire 

This practice is committed to supporting and promoting opportunities to for staff to maintain their health, well-being and safety. You have a duty to take reasonable care of health and safety at work for you, your team and others, and to cooperate with employers to ensure compliance with health and safety requirements. All personnel are to comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Environmental Protection Act 1990, Environment Act 1995, Fire Precautions (workplace) Regulations 1999 and other statutory legislation.  

Confidentiality

This practice is committed to maintaining an outstanding confidential service. Patients entrust and permit us to collect and retain sensitive information relating to their health and other matters, pertaining to their care. They do so in confidence and have a right to expect all staff will respect their privacy and maintain confidentiality at all times. It is essential that if, the legal requirements are to be met and the trust of our patients is to be retained that all staff protect patient information and provide a confidential service. 

Quality & Continuous Improvement 

To preserve and improve the quality of our output, all personnel are required to think not only of what they do, but how they achieve it. By continually re-examining our processes, we will be able to develop and improve the overall effectiveness of the way we work. The responsibility for this rests with everyone working within the practice to look for opportunities to improve quality and share good practice.

This practice continually strives to improve work processes which deliver health care with improved results across all areas of our service provision. We promote a culture of continuous improvement, where everyone counts and staff are permitted to make suggestions and contributions to improve our service delivery and enhance patient care.  

Learning and Development

The effective use of training and development is fundamental in ensuring that all staff are equipped with the appropriate skills, knowledge, attitude and competences to perform their role.  All staff will be required to partake and complete mandatory training as directed by the training coordinator, as well as participating in the practice training programme.  Staff will also be permitted (subject to approval) to undertake external training courses which will enhance their knowledge and skills, progress their career and ultimately, enable them to improve processes and service delivery.  

Collaborative Working

All staff are to recognise the significance of collaborative working. Teamwork is essential in multidisciplinary environments. Effective communication is essential and all staff must ensure they communicate in a manner which enables the sharing of information in an appropriate manner.

Service Delivery

Staff must adhere to the information contained with practice policies and regional directives, ensuring protocols are adhered to at all times. Staff will be given detailed information during the induction process regarding policy and procedure.    

Security

The security of the practice is the responsibility of all personnel. Staff must ensure they remain vigilant at all times and report any suspicious activity immediately to their line manager. Under no circumstances are staff to share the codes for the door locks to anyone and are to ensure that restricted areas remain effectively secured.

This page may be amended following consultation with the post holder, to facilitate the development of the role, the practice and the individual. All personnel should be prepared to accept additional, or surrender existing duties, to enable the efficient running of the practice.