Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Be a point of contact for patients/carers for defined episodes/pathways of care and provide clinical care, specialist nursing advice and psychosocial support.

Assess health and psychosocial needs of individual patients, and provide care to meet these needs, in partnership with patients/carers and colleagues.
 
Accept referrals to agreed criteria, and work in partnership with other professionals to deliver co-ordinated programmes of care effectively and referring patients to other practitioners as required.  

Deliver expert nursing care to patients in agreed practice settings, working as part of nursing/MD teams. To support the team in the delivery of care to hepatology patients by participating in assessment for treatment, monitoring and management of their liver condition. 

Escalating when appropriate and deemed necessary within professional judgment.

Communicate with patients in ways that empower them to make informed choices about their own health and health care needs. 

Act as advocate for individual patients and the client group.

Provide appropriate education to patients and their families to promote health and encourage self-care. 

Develop patient information documentation to support verbal information and care delivery/care management plans.

Maintain adequate patient documentation to NMC requirements for all patients seen and advice given in any practice setting and contribute to clinical activity/data collection as required.

Communications 

Use communication skills to impart information to patients and carers and provide them with advice and emotional support in hospital/at home as appropriate. 

Communicate as a member of the MDT to ensure the continuity of care management in both the inpatient and outpatient setting.

Responsibility for Patient Care 

Assesses, develops and implements specialist nursing care programmes for patients requiring nutritional support.

Be aware of and respond to the physical, psychological and emotional needs of patients and carers.

Provides advice to patients and relatives.

Adheres to all the principals of safe nursing practice.

Promote a patient focused multidisciplinary approach to care in collaboration with carers.

Ensure that prescribed treatments are carried out, and that multidisciplinary team members are informed of changes in the patient’s condition.

Work with other practitioners in supporting patients’ information needs, promoting their wishes and beliefs, and addressing their concerns.

Planning and organising

Be involved in developing standards of care, practice guidelines and where appropriate Integrated Care Pathways for the patient/client group.

Contribute to the development and delivery of nurse-led initiatives for the benefit of hepatology patients, in conjunction with medical and nursing/AHP colleagues.

Contribute appropriately to clinical governance activities that relate to own area of practice and patient/client group.

Support clinical and management teams in the delivery of Trust and Division objectives.

Responsibilities for Physical and / or Financial Resources

Assist in the support of budgetary control for the Hepatology services. 

Ensure safe and efficient use of equipment, resources and consumables at all times.

Order items relevant to practice via template ordering system.

Support the Business Group AQ and CQUIN objectives.

Responsibility for Policy and Service Development and Implementation

Demonstrate an awareness of limits of own practice and knowledge and when to seek appropriate support / advice.
Ensure that lessons are learnt from issues arising from risk, reports, complaints and that they are promptly and positively addressed and escalated.

Contribute to the development and implementation of policies, procedures and guidelines related to own service needs.

Contribute to and implement policy / SOP development to contribute to service improvement.

Responsibilities for Human Resources and Leadership

Actively participate in team meetings and local team brief.

Work collaboratively and in partnership with other health care professionals, offering appropriate leadership and advice to colleagues.

Responsibilities for Teaching and Training

Provide advice, information & support to those making direct contact with the service.

Participate in the development & implementation of local public education campaigns in collaboration with other members of the health care team across the health community.

Participate in formal & informal teaching and act as a resource/role model for other staff and students. Liaise with internal and external education providers to develop and provide educational programs.

Responsibilities for data and information resources

Ensure all data/information is stored and transmitted in a format, which adheres to all aspects of the Caldicott guidelines.

Undertaking to use appropriate patient systems across the Trust including CRIS / PACS / Advantis and Evolve, in addition to localised departmental computerised systems.  

Input and monitor databases relevant to speciality and role.

Complete risk assessments where appropriate.

Research, Development and Audit

Participate on an ongoing basis in data collection and quality assurance, service feedback and audit.

Maintain awareness of relevant research, evaluations and audit, and act on this information in collaboration with colleagues to continually develop the service.

Physical Skills and Effort

There is a frequent requirement for sitting or standing in a restricted position for a substantial proportion of the working time.

Assisting in ensuring that the Health and Safety and COSHH policies are implemented and that staff have appropriate instruction in safe methods of working.

The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment and promote safeguarding by implementing the Trust’s policies and procedures, acting promptly on concerns, communicating effectively and sharing information appropriately.

If successful this vacancy will require an enhanced DBS check at a cost of £54.50. This cost will be deducted from your first Trust salary.

In addition to this it will be a condition of your employment that you will join the DBS update service and pay the annual subscription fee of £16.