Specialist Transfusion Practitioner

Communications and Relationships

• Maintain a close working relationship with the Consultant Haematologists on all sites and other members of the Trust Transfusion Committee.
• Work closely with other Trust Transfusion Team members.
• Communicate effectively with medical, nursing, laboratory, and support staff, patients, and carers.
• Provide specialist advice to medical, nursing, and laboratory staff, patients, and carers.
• Understand technical and medical terminology.
• Develop and maintain links with audit and educational staff within the Trust.
• Develop and maintain links with transfusion link nurses across the Trust.
• Communicate complex information when training to a wide range of staff at all levels on an individual and group basis.

Knowledge, Skills, Training and Experience

• Registered General Nurse or HCPC State Registered Biomedical Scientist.
• Educated to degree level or equivalent.
• Substantial post registration experience, with demonstrable advanced knowledge and training to postgraduate diploma level.
• Must participate in Continual Professional Development to maintain standards in accordance with the NMC Code of Professional Practice or Health and Care Professions Council.
• Attend appropriate training and education to achieve and maintain competencies in line with service developments and develop their expertise.
• Comply with all local and national standards of work practice e.g., United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).
• Maintain an awareness of new developments and technologies as appropriate.
• Knowledge of Trust Policies and Procedures.
• Maintain confidentiality of information relating to patients.
• Excellent time management, interpersonal, and organisational skills.
• Confident IT and keyboard skills, including the use of word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software.
• Effective presentation and communication skills with all levels of staff from different professional backgrounds.
• Previous teaching/audit experience.

Analytical Skills

• Undertakes incident investigation and assessment.
• Analyse information related to untoward incidents and produce recommendations for action.
• Assist ward staff in the assessment and interpretation of complex patient needs related to blood transfusion e.g., risk of TACO.

Planning & Organisational Skills

• Plan training and education events.
• Plan and deliver statutory and mandatory training to meet requirements for Trust compliance.
• Plan own diary/workload to make efficient use of time and resources and ensure defined targets are met.

Physical Skills

• Keyboard skills essential.
• Required to drive to all sites within the Trust as required.
• Required to use projection/multi-media equipment and e-learning resources.

Patient/Client care

• Communicate effectively with laboratory staff and other healthcare colleagues.
• Provide education and support relevant to the transfusion process to nursing, medical, and support staff, and patients and carers.
• In association with the Trust Transfusion Committee, plan, implement and evaluate clinical audit/clinical effectiveness projects in relation to blood and blood component use within the Trust and disseminate results to appropriate staff groups by report/presentation.
• Liaise with blood bank clinicians and managers to implement, monitor and evaluate the effect of interventions aimed at reducing losses and wastage of blood and blood components with consequent savings.
• Contribute to the development and dissemination of evidence-based local transfusion guidelines and policies with the aim of achieving level 2 compliance in the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts with specific regard to mandatory training of staff involved in the collection and administration of blood.
• Assist in the reporting of incidents to Serious Hazards of Transfusion reporting scheme and MHRA and dissemination of the Annual Report.
• Provide appropriate feedback following incidents.
• Assist in the counselling and retraining of staff involved in transfusion errors or near miss events.
• Deliver training of staff involved in the care of patients receiving blood components, to individualise patient care, in collaboration with the Consultant Haematologists based on best practice guidelines.
• Assist in clinical research trials in relation to blood transfusion and alternative therapies based upon good clinical research practice.
• Continually assess achievements and undertakings to gauge the impact of this post.
• Support the production of the annual MHRA compliance report.

Policy & Service Development

• Propose, comment on, and implement new or amended policies or procedures relating to Blood Transfusion, in line with new developments and national guidelines.
• Adhere to Trust policies with regard to Risk Assessments and Health & Safety, including compliance with COSHH regulations.
• Adhere to Trust Security and Confidentiality protocols.
• Attend all relevant meetings as necessary.

Financial & Physical Resources

• Responsible for the safe use of equipment by themselves and others.

Human Resources

• Responsible for providing effective training and the education of medical, nursing, and support staff in relation to the transfusion process.

Information Resources

• Complies with local and national policies for the safe, secure, and confidential processing, and storage of patient and other laboratory information.
• Uses the Laboratory Information System (LIMS) according to authorised protocols.
• Ensure that records are kept up to date and stored safely to ensure compliance with good work practices required for the standards of UKAS.
• Maintains records of training and assessments.

Research & Development

• Participate in regular audit meetings and implement recommended changes.
• Participate in research and development as required.
• Participate in clinical audits, trials, and external research projects related to Blood Transfusion as required.

Freedom to Act

• Be accountable for own professional actions as lead specialist.
• Guided by national and local policies.
• Implement and comment on Trust Policies and Standard Operating Procedures.
• Organise own workload to achieve the objectives of efficient and effective patient care.
• Comply with good work practices required for the standards of UKAS and MHRA including Health and Safety.