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Job summary

Main area
Specialised Services (OPAT)
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 6
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Part time - 20 hours per week (To be discussed at interview, would need to include a Friday.)
Job ref
249-7257153
Employer
Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Great Western Hospital
Town
Swindon
Salary
£37,338 - £44,962 pro rata per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
03/07/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust logo

Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) Specialist Nurse

NHS AfC: Band 6

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is a unique organisation, serving as the sole integrated provider in the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire system. Our scope extends beyond boundaries as we oversee adult community services in Swindon and provide acute care from the Great Western Hospital. 

Our 5,500 staff have 1.2m patient contacts a year, with 13,000 operations carried out in our Theatres, around 4,000 babies born, and our emergency attendances are now well over 100,000 per year. Those numbers only tell part of our story about what an exciting time it is to join Great Western Hospitals.

We are cultivating a culture that fosters our ambitions, prioritising equality, diversion, inclusion, wellbeing, and leadership. We aim to create an environment where every member of our team can truly thrive.

The Trust is a Disability Confident Employer; all applicants who have a disability can opt to be considered under the guaranteed interview scheme, which means that, providing they meet the minimum essential criteria for the post, they will be offered an interview. We are also proudly accredited as a Veteran Aware organisation and have signed The Armed Forces Covenant.

If we receive a high volume of applications, we may close adverts prior to the published closing date. Therefore, we advise you to complete and submit your application as soon as possible.

Job overview

OPAT Specialist Nurse Band 6

This role is offered on a part time basis of 20 hours per week, this means that candidates interested in working part time are encouraged to apply and will receive a salary on a pro rata basis.

The post holder will be a member of the OPAT (Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy) Service specialist nurse team and work as an autonomous professional clinical practitioner with responsibility for providing specialist clinical services.

The post holder will work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams across the Trust to provide a timely and high quality service to patients who meet the criteria for safe and effective management of patients who are discharged on IV antimicrobials.

The Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (GWH) is an ambitious organisation, motivated to provide consistently high quality services to our patients. Our staff report that our organisation is a friendly and supportive one to work within and we currently hold some of the highest levels of staff engagement within the region.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be responsible for providing high standards of individualised patient centered care, demonstrating autonomous practice and clinical expert in the assessment of patients and their suitability of OPAT.  Act as a role model and a resource for medical. nursing and patients for advice on IV antimicrobials.  Working alongside all members of the multidisciplinary team, engaging in MDTS and attending ward rounds. The post holder will contribute to the continuous development of the service, keeping up to date with current research findings, as well as contributing to clinical governance, clinical audit and data collection. 

Working for our organisation

Our STAR values – Service, Teamwork, Ambition and Respect – are a golden thread running through everything we do. These values serve as a guiding principle, driving us towards our vision of delivering great joined up services to our local community. Whether at home, in the community, or within the hospital, our goal is to empower individuals to lead independent and healthier lives.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

1.      To support, by demonstrating exemplar nursing practice and the implementation of evidence-based care, the provision of a high standard of individualised patient care and experience, upholding the Trust Nursing Strategy which includes the 6Cs.

2.      Be a responsible autonomous specialist nurse and role model in the specialty of OPAT and a resource for medical, nursing personnel and patients requiring advice on the administration of IV Antimicrobials

3.      Responsible for ensuring own knowledge and compliance of appropriate NMC standards and Trust professional guidelines and that these are applied to practice, including NMC Revalidation.

4.    To liaise with other members of management and clinical staff both within the Trust and other healthcare providers to ensure good communication lines and seamless patient care

5.    Undertake and be involved in the coordination, management, development and smooth operation of the OPAT service within the Trust and to Trust staff.

6.      Exercise responsibility and accountability for the assessment of patients in order to select potential OPAT patients, demonstrating a senior level of autonomy as a practitioner and clinical expert.

7.      Assess, potentially highly complex patients, planning, implementing and reviewing care within the hospital environment, both in-patient and out-patient, community or other settings. Assess and refer patients for venous catheterisation as appropriate.

8.      Assesses, plans and implements specialist care packages through shared decision making with patient and carer.

9.      Provide and receive highly complex and/or highly sensitive patient/staff related information and ensure this is interpreted and shared, where required, in order to ensure seamless and effective care, in line with rules of information governance.

10.   Refers to other practitioners when health outcomes or risks and needs are beyond own competence and scope of practice.

Please see attached Job description/personal specification

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • First level registration registered with NMC
  • Demonstrate evidence of on-going continuous professional development
  • Intravenous medicine administration competency
  • PICC Care and management competency
  • Central Venous catheter competency
  • Cannulation and venepuncture competency
Desirable criteria
  • Teaching qualification
  • Advanced Communication Course
  • Clinical assessment course
  • Non-Medical Prescriber

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Relevant nursing experience  Competent and experienced in peripheral cannulation  Competent and experienced in the use of central venous access devices  Experience in the administration of diverse intravenous therapies  Sound knowledge of principles of aseptic technique  Experience of multi-disciplinary team working  Teaching experience  Evidence of involvement in Clinical Governance  Ability to communicate with a range of people on a range of matters.  Excellent interpersonal skills.  Excellent written, verbal and IT communication skills.  IT literate.  Ability to interpret and utilise information effectively.  Clinical audit
Desirable criteria
  • In-depth experience in nursing care of patients receiving IV medication/Antibiotics  Evidence of involvement in service users’ advocacy and complaints resolution.  Project management experience  Experience of audit/project work  Experience working at Band 6  Experience managing a caseload of patients

Knowledge & Skills

Essential criteria
  • Demonstrate initiative  Ability to work effectively under pressure and in high stress situations  Enthusiastic and hard working  Confident and assertive whilst maintaining inter personal sensitivity  Excellent communication skills both written and verbal/nonverbal  Effective teaching skills (individual and group)  Able to work within a small nurse led team  Able to liaise effectively and directly with senior medical colleagues  Keyboard Information technology skills - use of email/internet/access databases
Desirable criteria
  • Ability to lead on service reports.  Develops and implements policies.  Is involved in organisational policy development.  Supports service initiatives and development

Employer certification / accreditation badges

NHS Pastoral Care Quality AwardVeteran AwareApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyPositive about disabled peopleAge positiveDisability confident leaderInvestors in People: Goldhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/kickstart-scheme-employer-resources/kickstart-scheme-brand-guidelinesStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.Step into healthArmed Forces Covenant

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

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Marion Andrew
Job title
OPAT Clinical Lead
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
01793 605195
Additional information

Please note Fridays are my non working day. 

Mob: 07918 656 444

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