Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist

Job Overview
CNWL are pleased to announce a vacancy within: Hillingdon's Palliative care service. We are looking for an innovative, enthusiastic and dynamic nurse to join our team whose aim is to:

• Improve the coordination and continuity of care and support for patients and their families/carers.
• Enable supportive and proactive nursing care for people in the community who are palliative and at the end of life.

We are looking for an expert nurse with first-class clinical skills, who has the ability to effectively triage clinical calls, possesses leadership ability, is a strong team player, and enjoys working in an ever-changing and innovative environment.

You should have a creative, imaginative, and flexible approach to service delivery and quality improvement and have excellent interpersonal skills with postgraduate experience of working in the community, hospital, or hospice environment with associated palliative care experience. Flexible working hours are available.

This is a Monday to Friday service working 8am to 4pm. Car user essential.

Main duties of the job

• Improve the coordination and continuity of care and support for patients and their families/carers.
• Triaging telephone calls into the service from Patients, carers, relatives, and Clinicians.
• Triaging referrals into the service.
• Enable supportive and proactive nursing care for people in the community who are palliative or at the end of life, providing high-quality end-of-life care.
• Work closely within a multi-disciplinary team ensuring excellent communications are upheld.
• Hospital admission avoidance.
• Uphold ACP wishes of patients and support them to achieve their desired preferred place of care/death.

Working for our organisation
Hillingdon Community Palliative care team are a small team of CNS's and admin that strive to provide the best possible care to Palliative/end-of-life patients in their own homes in the community.

Working for Hillingdon community Palliative care team, we pride ourselves on great teamwork and rising to the challenges of day-to-day working in such a diverse community.

The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working in our healthcare settings.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

• To be professionally and legally accountable for all work undertaken. To work within the Provider operational guidelines of the Trusts, and NMC Code of Conduct at all times.
• To ensure that the patient and their informal carers have an understanding of treatment protocols and give informed consent to examination and treatment interventions recommended.
• To undertake specialist-nursing triage and assessment of clients with palliative care needs through subjective questioning, objective examination, and study of appropriate written material (e.g. clinical records) available. This will include acting as the first point of contact for palliative care across Hillingdon in both Primary and Secondary care settings and acting as an expert nurse in palliative care for patients and their families with palliative care needs.
• To independently receive, assess, and make referrals from a variety of sources where no other nursing professional is currently involved. To establish priority, determine needs, initiate and monitor treatment plans, and direct and support clinicians in this process.
• To work independently within a general Multi-Disciplinary Team to advise where needed on a palliative approach to patients.
• To work autonomously in isolated community care settings that vary in relation to local socio-economic and multi-cultural factors.
• To use comprehensive knowledge of other multidisciplinary roles and external agencies to ensure best referral management and achieve best patient outcomes.
• To contribute to the development and implementation of uni-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary clinical policies, guidelines, protocols, and care pathways.
• To participate in multi-disciplinary assessments and cross-agency assessments as required.
• To ensure dignity for the patients and their families at all times.
• To ensure clinical records are recorded and maintained on the team.
• To provide specialist contributions to health promotion and health education initiatives within the service.
• Attend and actively participate in relevant departmental and nursing team meetings.
• To contribute to maintaining effective communication lines within the service and with other relevant services.
• To attend, actively participate in, and lead multi-disciplinary meetings and case reviews as required.
• To participate in educational programmes and internal/external training initiatives designed to improve palliative skills in a range of professionals.
• To act when required as a mentor for nursing students undergoing CPD courses.
• To act as an educational resource for other nursing staff in their management of patients and families with palliative care needs.
• To evaluate all education and training initiatives undertaken and assist administration in keeping up-to-date statistics on personal performance.
• To utilise opportunities to develop skills and knowledge further, keep up-to-date with current practice in this field, and attend accredited courses.
• To train and share with others the specialist knowledge gained through appropriate study or accredited/recognised specialist professional courses.
• To comply with all mandatory training.
• To establish and maintain effective lines of communication within the team, with service users, and with other health agencies.
• To communicate sensitive information in a form that is understandable to patients and their informal carers and promotes patient partnership with care.
• To communicate sensitive information in a manner that is recommended by national and local guidance.
• To effectively use a variety of verbal and non-verbal communication skills/tools to ensure that patients and their informal carers understand individual therapeutic education and advice provided.
• To provide copies of all correspondence to patients according to the Trust's policies.
• To advise and negotiate complex information exchange, information, interrelationship issues arising with staff/patients and their carers/local agencies. Inform the Line Manager promptly of any complaints or concerns expressed about the service.
• To make effective presentations using a range of multimedia resources to internal and external staff groups for public relations and training/education purposes.
• To contribute to the research activities of the Palliative Care Team as required.
• To support research activity and studies underway e.g. by recruiting participants as required.
• To keep abreast of relevant clinical issues and research in the field of palliative care.
• To ensure that clinical practice is in line with national and local nursing guidelines and demonstrate clinical effectiveness with patient care.
• Contribute and support the Clinical Governance strategy of the Palliative Care Centre and the Trust as required.
• Synthesize data and evidence from published research where applicable to the role, service, and current practice.

Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria

• RGN [NMC Registered]
• Relevant post-basic qualifications
• Recognised teaching qualification
• Achieved or working towards first degree

Desirable criteria

• Non-medical prescriber and physical assessment qualification

Skills/Knowledge
Essential criteria

• Contemporary and relevant clinical knowledge and expertise
• Ability to work individually and as a team member
• Basic computer literacy
• Ability to negotiate with a variety of clinical professionals, patients, and their families
• Ability to prioritise workload and manage time effectively
• Ability to solve problems and take action to address issues
• Experience of working with integrated care pathways
• Ability to supervise and develop people
• Experience of delivering evidence-based practice
• Excellent verbal and written communication
• Experience of working with integrated care pathways

Experience
Essential criteria

• Substantial post-registration experience
• Extensive experience in appropriate specialty
• Experience of case/ward management
• Experience of teaching clinical staff and patients and families
• Experience of caring for patients in their own home

Desirable criteria

• Demonstrate ability to initiate, evaluate, and sustain change management

Audit and Research
Essential criteria

• Previous experience of audit, standard setting, and quality issues
• Ability to incorporate research into practice and to motivate others to do so.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of user involvement in service planning and delivery

Professional Requirements
Essential criteria

• Take responsibility for and demonstrate evidence of own professional development
• Maintenance of professional registration
• Demonstrate commitment to the development of palliative and EOLC
• Understanding of equal opportunities