Senior District Nurse

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South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust is one of the top performing organisations within the NHS. Our staff think this is a great place to work and we hope you will agree. We have recently been rated as 'Outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following our most recent inspection.

We provide services across Warwickshire and beyond ranging from Hospitals in Warwick, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Royal Leamington Spa and Shipston-on Stour to Community Services across the whole county. This includes our Community Teams in North Warwickshire.

We are a progressive, expanding organisation with great ambition around improving quality, integrating pathways and delivering high levels of productivity. Over 6000 people work for the Trust and many of them have been here a long time. People find they don't need to go elsewhere to find a fulfilling career in healthcare.

The first thing you will notice about us is how we take our values seriously. We believe that our values underpin everything we do. If you are interested in a role with us you need to make sure our values match your own.

Our values can be summed up in one sentence. We are 'Trusted to provide inclusive, safe, effective and compassionate care'. Throughout the recruitment process you will be asked to think about how you demonstrate these values and how they impact on your work. It doesn't matter what role you do, whether it is patient facing or not, we are all working in the same way with our values at the core.

Probationary Period

All new staff to the Trust will be subject to a standard 6 month probationary period, the details of which will duly follow in your contract of employment.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust is committed to creating and sustaining a positive and inclusive working environment for all our employees. Our aim is to ensure that employees are equally valued and respected and that our organisation is representative of all members of society. We define diversity as valuing everyone as an individual - we value our employees, job applicants, students, patients and visitors as people. This is reflected within our values of being Inclusive, Safe, Effective, Compassionate and Trusted.

Agile and Flexible Working

All our staff will have a work base. However the Trust operates as an Agile Working Team therefore staff may be working from home on a regular basis as required by the service. However, occasionally travel around Warwickshire and into your base will be required so access to your own transport would be helpful.

The Trust also welcome staff to work flexibly and we would welcome the conversation at interview regarding flexible working.

Staff Benefits

The Trust offer a wide range of additional benefits to staff. Anyone who joins us on a substantive basis can assess things such as the Lease Car Scheme, Electronics Scheme, Discounted Leisure and Travel, Cycle to work scheme amongst many others available.

Car Parking

The Trust have recently completed the construction of a multi-storey car park at our Warwick Hospital site which has allowed us to reduce waiting times for car parking passes.

To keep up to date on our latest recruitment activity follow us on twitter @swftrecruit or look us up on Facebook (Recruitment - South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust).

Job overview

Are you a District Nurse with the Specialist Practice Qualification (SPQ) looking for the opportunity to develop your career in an organisation rated outstanding by the CQC?

Do you want to be part of an innovative team that is remodelling its adult community nursing services to ensure we are driven and focused on achieving clinical excellence in line with the national community direction?

We have an exciting and interesting opportunity for ambitious and enthusiastic Senior District Nursing Practitioners to join our Out of Hospital Division.

We are looking for a District Nurse who holds the District Nurse SPQ, along with the Non-Medical Prescribing qualification to clinically lead our Warwick and Kenilworth Place Based Team collaboratively working within and across professional and organisational boundaries.

The successful candidate will:

Demonstrate a comprehensive specialist knowledge base and promote excellence in nursing practice within a dynamic healthcare environment.

Hold clinical responsibility for the diagnosing, prescribing, planning and evaluation of care, always ensuring provision of high standards of care to patients and their families within the community.

Act as an autonomous expert practitioner and role model to the whole team, work alongside the Professional Lead and be responsible for the clinical development and delivery of a safe, effective, well-led, quality driven service.

Hold a UK driving licence and have use of a car.

Main duties of the job

The post holder is required to be a Registered Nurse with substantial community experience of managing patients with complex needs and holding advanced clinical assessment skills. The post requires the completion of the DNSPQ and independent prescriber qualification.

The Senior District Nurse is responsible for the assessment and management of the complex health needs of an identified population and for the development, implementation and evaluation of programmes of care. The post holder will be a registered nurse and hold the DNSPQ qualification. They will be providing clinical leadership for all patients within the community nursing caseload through proactive management. They will focus on ways to achieve and demonstrate overall improvements in health care. They will work collaboratively with all members of the multidisciplinary team to establish a whole systems approach to the management of patients accessing healthcare in the area.

The Senior District Nurse will support their peers and be an effective team member. Whilst working on their own initiative, they will be responsible for ensuring that all members of the nursing team are providing the highest standard of evidenced based clinical care. They will clinically supervise and be responsible for the development and competencies of all staff within their team. To include performance development reviews, clinical supervision and recruitment and selection.

Working for our organisation

Come and join a Trust rated Outstanding by the CQC. South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust have been rated as outstanding following our latest inspection by the CQC and we are recruiting new staff to come and help us improve even further.

We provide services across Warwickshire and beyond ranging from Hospitals in Warwick, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Royal Leamington Spa and Shipston-on Stour to Community Services across the county. We are a progressive, expanding organisation with great ambition around improving quality, integrating pathways and delivering high levels of productivity.

Our values can be summed up in one sentence. We are 'Trusted to provide safe, effective and compassionate care'. Throughout the recruitment process you will be asked to think about how you demonstrate these values and how they impact on your work. It doesn't matter what role you do, whether it is patient facing or not, we are all working in the same way with our values at the core.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical Practice

The post holder will be aligned to a Place Based Team and be clinically responsible for the diagnosing, prescribing, planning and evaluation of care, ensuring provision of high standards of care to patients and their families within the community. They will work as part of an Integrated Team, working within and across professional and organisational boundaries.

The post holder will be a practitioner who can demonstrate a broad range of competencies and is able to adapt to a wide variety of clinical circumstances. They will be part of a community team where their proven ability to make high level clinical decisions will aid patient outcomes.

Providing highly developed clinical leadership for all patients on the Community Nursing caseload through advanced level autonomous practice including taking managed risks, for example where the patient is kept at home, rather than hospital or hospice admittance as would previously been the practice.

Provide highly specialist clinical leadership for patients on the caseload and work collaboratively with all professionals, carers and relatives to gain a deep understanding of all aspects of the patient's physical, emotional and social situation. This includes physical examination and detailed history taking, diagnosis, prescribing, planning and evaluation of care.

Provide highly specialist clinical leadership for the development and maintenance of personalised care plans for patients on the community nursing caseload, based on the full assessment of medical, nursing and care needs. This includes preventative measures and anticipation of future needs.

Order investigations and tests and interpret and act on results, using clinical guidelines and policies to support clinical decision-making.

Maintain competence in prescribing according to level of prescribing qualification i.e. Independent Prescriber and participate in regular continuing professional development in relation to the role.

Prescribe medication in accordance with the local Non-medical Prescribing Policy, and local and national prescribing guidance. It is expected that all prescribers will prescribe within the limits of their individual competence.

Liaise with other agencies, including the voluntary sector, to mobilise resources to meet patient needs and to support them at home securing additional support as required.

Act as a resource for the PBT and community teams, providing teaching and education to them as required.

To promote new research, innovation and evidence to support quality improvements and evidence based practice within the team.

Clinically lead by example showing a high level of motivation and a positive attitude.

Carry out regular reviews of the caseload with the Caseload Holder to maintain oversite and identify patients who are not progressing towards expected health outcomes.

Support teams, individual clinicians and patients with recommendations regarding individualised treatment plans.

Provide care interventions and higher level assessments for patients with highly complex conditions to ensure that patients achieve their optimum level of wellness.

Autonomous Clinical Practice

To take a comprehensive history, perform a systematic physical examination and establish baseline data to inform the development of a comprehensive care plan.

Utilise highly specialist assessment, planning, treatment and evaluation skills appropriate to Routine Pathway.

Analyse signs and symptoms, laboratory tests, investigations and other measures of function in formulating a diagnosis.

Use highly complex analytical and problem solving skills in unpredictable situations.

Provide evidence-based treatment plans based on sound clinical decision making, including the unique presentation of illness and response to treatment of patients on the community nursing caseload.

Collaborate with the multi-disciplinary team to plan and implement treatment for acute illness/injury/chronic illness as required, using skills in nurse prescribing and medicines management.

Negotiate, collaborate and support individuals and families to make sometimes difficult decisions about plans of care by empowering them to decide on the most appropriate course of action.

Ensure a robust process is in place to review care and treatment plans.

Take a leading role in auditing and monitoring all components of care delivery.

Review and develop clinical competency as required to support clinical practice, participating in ongoing personal development of self and of others.

Ensure all clinical records are kept in line with SWUF and NMC guidelines.

Communication

Establish the dynamic process of understanding, reflecting, active listening and checking understanding, thus developing a therapeutic relationship with patients and their carers.

Enable and support patients as active partners in the care planning process for present and future needs.

Dissemination of information throughout the multidisciplinary team, taking into account the patient's right of confidentiality.

Education

Utilise communication skills and knowledge to promote patients and families abilities to make informed decisions and participate in care planning.

Participate in the development of the teams' knowledge for Routine Care Pathways.

Work alongside team managers to support staff in clinical examinations and assessments unfamiliar to them.

Continue to develop own expert practice.

Critically evaluate research and educate the team to ensure that this theory is integrated into practice.

Role model and support staff to ensure that they are clinically competent to undertake new complex skills which are maintained to ensure that patients receive the highest possible standards of care in the most appropriate environment as close to home as possible, preferably in their own home if that is their express wish.

Delivering educational sessions regarding benefits of supervision, quality improvement and Learning from Experience sessions.

Leadership

Contribute to the development of clinical policies, procedures and guidelines ensuring they are implemented and monitored.

Participate in the clinical appraisal process, providing feedback on performance.

Participate and lead on the embedding of regular clinical and safeguarding supervision for all appropriate staff.

Contribute to the recruitment and selection process.

Act with colleagues to identify clinical development needs within the service.

Act as an advocate at all times for both patients and the service.

Be a role model for other clinical members of the team, taking an active role in ensuring staff are safe in clinical practice, work with team managers to risk assess areas of practice, reporting to senior staff with education/training plans to aid the mitigation of risk as required.

Embed activities within the community team to achieve organisational quality priorities.

Deliver clinical supervision and undertake supervision for own practice.

Professional

Work within the NMC Code of Conduct.

Remain updated and ensure that clinical practice is evidence based.

Have a personal development plan and professional portfolio.

Access regular clinical supervision.

Freedom to Act

The post is a clinically autonomous one and the post holder is expected to manage their caseload and the care of their patients independently recognising the limits of their knowledge and experience and seeking help and support appropriately.

Undertake and lead on quality improvement initiatives.

Working Conditions

Based within SWUFT District Nurse Place Based Team within Routine Care Pathway working mainly in patient's place of residence.

Carrying light cases and other equipment.

Computer based work and data inputting.

Car driving.

Expected to deal with difficult situations on a regular basis.

Working in patients own home.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Registered Nurse
• PGDip District Nursing
• Independent non-medical prescribing qualification (V300)
• Coaching Skills

Desirable criteria

• Additional Leadership CPD - e.g. Mary Seacole Programme, LEO Programme

Experience

Essential criteria

• Participated in Quality improvement initiatives
• Significant post registration experience as a senior nurse in a community nursing team
• Experience of leadership and leading change or project implementation
• Experience of undertaking comprehensive health needs assessment and developing complex care plans

Skills

Essential criteria

• Caseload Management
• Highly developed clinical expertise and knowledge in all aspects of community nursing care
• Highly specialist assessment, planning, treatment and evaluation skills appropriate to clinical area
• Proficient across a wide range of clinical and IT systems

Personal Qualities

Essential criteria

• Displays trust values at all times
• Excellent written and oral communication skills including ability to deal with challenging and sensitive situations
• Proven ability to work on own and in partnership with other care providers
• Self Motivated and Self Disciplined
• Ability to deal with emotionally challenging clinical situations
• Commitment to client centred, non-discriminatory practice
• Proven sensitivity to the needs of patient, relatives carers and other care providers

Other

Essential criteria

• Must be a car driver and able to drive in varied weather conditions
• Must be a non-smoker during working hours
• Must be willing to undertake Criminal records Bureau Disclosure to Enhanced / Standard level
• Must be legally entitled to work in this country

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Sometimes we get a lot of applications for our roles. On those occasions we might close the job early. If you don't want to miss out we recommend submitting your application as early as possible.

The Trust use an Applicant Management System called TRAC which helps us manage the recruitment process. All communications regarding your application will come via TRAC (even if you applied via NHS Jobs).

Please check your TRAC account regularly and ensure your email is set up to accept messages so they don't go into your junk/spam folder.

We aim to shortlist all vacancies within 2 days of the vacancy closing, we will get back to all candidates ASAP.

Please ensure all sections of the application form are completed fully. Please particularly ensure that you provide full details of all referees including business email address, telephone contact details and postal address.

South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust is an equal opportunities employer who is committed to Equality and Diversity and does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the grounds of any protected characteristic as defined by the Equality Act 2010.

All South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust sites are smoke free. We feel it's a great way to help our patients, visitors and staff stay healthy.

The Trust is part of a 'Foundation Group' through a strategic alliance with Wye Valley NHS Trust, George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. This partnership is great for the sustainability of all four organisations and allows us to share learning and maximise opportunities to ensure the delivery of high quality health and care services for our local populations.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

• Job Description (PDF, 280.4KB)
• Person Specification (PDF, 544.5KB)