Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical Skills

·       Working autonomously within the parameters of the role leading and supporting junior staff and wider care team to implement the delivery of quality nursing care, contributing to the physical, psychological, social, recreational and spiritual care in a recovery-focused way through therapeutic engagement and activities, and taking steps to address any issues that arise.

·       Leading on and undertaking activities to ensure that the fundamentals of care are met - nutrition, hydration, hygiene, comfort, emotional and social support:

·         Supporting and supervising junior staff nurses to develop the management of care needs 

·       Coordinating with staff nurses and the wider care team in providing hands-on care to service users and evaluating processes of care delivered. 

·       Escorting service users, as required, in line with relevant policies.

·       Advocating for service users’ needs and rights within local policy. Encouraging and empowering service users to have an optimum level of responsibility for their individual programme of care.

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Communication, Risk and Governance

·       Contributing to an effective communication process with appropriate and accurate information to patients, carers, family, friends and colleagues.

Engaging and listening carefully and actively and responding using appropriate language and accessible communication methods and skills. Developing communication skills to enable and support difficult conversations, acknowledging religious and cultural differences and professional boundaries.

·       Demonstrating effective clinical communication and documentation to internal and external stakeholders ensuring effective verbal and written handover of relevant and objective information. Demonstrating ability to determine key information, ability to recognise and describe effectively symptoms of mental illness, distress or of a deteriorating patient, and ability to escalate issues of concerns effectively and in a timely manner.

·       Contributing towards the on-going quality of service and care by managing the patient caseload, organising care including delegating tasks and duties appropriately to staff with relevant competency, identifying and mitigating any risk issues in relation to the service users’ health and social care. 

·       Maintaining timely and accurate service user written/electronic records in line with local policy. Use care plans, pathway documents and electronic medical records system appropriately and in a timely manner.

·       Reporting, without delay, any safety or security concerns to maintain the safety of service users, carers, staff and others in line with local policy.

·       Understanding and contributing to the local risk assessment policy, including being aware of the need to follow all safeguarding procedures; being aware of the necessity to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults at all times when working with service users. Supporting junior staff to respond appropriately if there are any significant factors, or incidents relating to the safeguarding service user.

·       Maintaining confidential information in accordance with local policies.

·       To implement, embed and operationalise the new UAE Mental Health Law.

Professional and Clinical Leadership

·       Protecting service users, self and others by maintaining a clean and healthy environment in accordance with health and safety and infection control policies.

Ensuring safe working practices and working environment including monitoring and maintaining cleanliness of the service area and report, without delay, all hazards - real and potential. Leading audit and compliance activities and reports.

·       Working in ways that support shared responsibility within the team: demonstrating support, respect and courtesy towards colleagues; working in a professional manner, respecting the boundaries of the relationship with service users/patients, carers and staff.

·       Leading, attending and participating in team meetings and contributing ideas to multi-professional team discussions.

·       Participating in supervision, including annual review of performance as part of the appraisal system. Providing and coordinating and overseeing the supervision of other nursing staff.

·       Demonstrating and promoting a clear leadership role to others and acting as role model to others at all times.

·       Lead on clinical or governance reviews of the team’s activity and the monitoring of performance and collating and disseminating the information to the appropriate individual. Contributing to relevant audit practice development on research activity that may be taking place in the work area.

·       Contributing in training and development programmes of staff and supporting the clinical placements of student nurses.

Management

·       Staff within the CAG are appropriately led and supported to deliver to their full potential, and deliver the outcomes for which they are responsible.

·       Patient care is delivered to the highest standards, and there is continual oversight and monitoring of process and outcomes.

·       Making recommendations about resources required to ensure the care is of a high standard.

·       Ensuring the team is safely staffed, prioritising and deploying resources within parameters and escalating concerns to management where appropriate in accordance with relevant policies and procedures.

·       Supporting the Ward Manager/CAG Service Manager to investigate incidents and complaints: compile reports and disseminate this information to senior management.

·       Recognising nursing practice that needs improvement and to work in partnership with the Ward Manager/CAG Service Manager to ensure appropriate action is taken to address it.

·       Ensure mandatory and statutory training are up to date for all staff.

·       Facilitating the induction of new staff and students.

·       All nurses within the service are competent as measured against expected continuing professional development standards and requirements for appraisal and supervision.

·       Nurses within the service are aware of their professional Code, and any serious contraventions of the Code are dealt with swiftly.

·       Expert nursing advice is accessible, and professional standards are consistently maintained without unacceptable variation.

·       The post-holder maintains a full knowledge of new and emerging development in nursing policy, practice and education and leads on their introduction into clinical services.

·       The post-holder will act as a credible clinical leader to CAG staff, visibly role modelling excellent nursing care and demonstrating professional boundaries with service users and carers.

·       The post-holder actively contributes to the delivery of the agreed contract, this may include assuming agreed responsibilities at a hospital-wide level that contribute to the success of the contract.

·       The post holder ensures a license to practice is obtained and also to retain the license. Support through the initial process would be provided along with advice about retention of the license

·       To act with integrity and honesty and to uphold the reputation of Maudsley Health, MACANI and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust