Community Adult Haemoglobinopathies Nurse

Job summary

The Community Adult Haemoglobinopathies Nurse will support the delivery and development of a specialist community service for adults with sickle cell disease, thalassaemia and related conditions across North Central London.

The post holder will provide expert nursing care, coordinate care pathways, and act as a key worker for patients across community, primary, secondary and social care settings.

They will lead nurse-led clinics, support transition into adult services, promote self-management, deliver health education and improve treatment adherence.

The role will focus on reducing health inequalities, preventing avoidable hospital admissions through early intervention, and supporting patients to manage the clinical, psychological and social impact of their condition.

The post holder will work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams to ensure high-quality, person-centred care and improved patient outcomes.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide specialist nursing care and support to adults living with sickle cell disease, thalassaemia and other haemoglobinopathies, acting as a key worker, advocate and clinical resource for patients, carers and healthcare professionals. They will undertake holistic assessments, develop and review individualised care plans, and coordinate care for patients with complex physical, psychological and social needs.

The role includes leading nurse-led clinics, promoting self-management, treatment adherence, vaccination uptake and prophylactic medication. The post holder will deliver targeted interventions for patients with frequent hospital attendances, helping to improve outcomes, reduce complications and quality of life.

Working with primary, secondary, community and social care services, the post holder will coordinate patient pathways, facilitate timely discharges, support transition into adult services and reduce avoidable admissions. They will provide education, health promotion, psychosocial support and signposting, empowering patients and carers to manage their condition effectively.

The post holder will contribute to multidisciplinary team working, maintain accurate clinical documentation, participate in service development and quality improvement initiatives, and support staff and patient education. They will promote evidence-based practice and deliver safe, effective person-centred haemoglobinopathy care that meets local population needs.

About us

Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.

Job responsibilities

1. Duties and Responsibilities

1.1. Clinical

• 1.1.1. Empower patients and carers by providing health education enabling informed decisions about their care.
• 1.1.2. Enhancing compliance with preventative actions such as vaccinations and prophylactic medications
• 1.1.3. Provide guidance on self-management to prevent exacerbation of patients condition to reduce incidences of acute episodes requiring admission to secondary care.

1.1.4.Address social and lifestyle factors which impact on condition management and overall quality of life, directing to appropriate local support services and external agencies.

1.1.5. Act as a patient advocate through the application of ethical, legal, and professional knowledge and skills, considering the multicultural needs of the patient by identifying demographic factors that influence health care needs of this patient group.

1.1.6. Provide targeted support to high-intensity users of secondary care including directing patients into existing NCL programmes for frequent ED attenders.

1.1.7. Pre-contact with patients to reduce DNA rates to hospital.

1.1.8. Enable implementation of individual care plans for patients in all settings

1.1.9. Advise on appropriate drug management at home, including dosages and information on non-pharmacological management techniques. Follow up on a regular basis to monitor effectiveness of the regimen and compliance.

1.1.10. Where relevant, utilise advance prescribing skills within the guidance from NMC and Trust

1.1.11. Provide in-reach service to secondary care.

1.1.12. Implementation of a patient outreach health education group programme, and organisation of patient led education sessions.

1.1.13. Promote good clinical practice in line with evidence-based guidelines and policies.

1.1.14. Offer timely and appropriate community nursing interventions where appropriate seeking senior support when required.

1.1.15. Understand when a patients care is beyond own clinical limitation and to liaise with other senior members of the team, or other professionals for advice.

1.1.16. Initiate and contribute towards a multi-professional approach for the management of patients referred to the community service.

1.1.17. Work closely with haematologists, ward sisters and nurses to initiate timely early discharge planning and facilitate community services for early discharges.

1.1.18. Provide individualised advice, education and support to patients, and their relatives/carers to manage their treatments effectively in preparation for early discharge.

Person specification

Education and qualifications

Essential

• First level Registered Adult Nurse (with the NMC)
• Relevant educational/ training qualification/certificate/experience

Desirable

• Qualified non-medical prescriber

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Post registration nursing experience
• Knowledge of sickle cell disease and thalassaemia
• Experience of caseload management
• Evidence of multidisciplinary and multiagency working
• Experience of safeguarding adults Knowledge and appreciation of equality and diversity issues

Other

Essential

• Ability to travel independently to all sites across NCL
• A flexible approach to service delivery with ability to work evenings and weekends on occasions where required

Skills and abilities

Essential

• Able to manage competing demands and priorities in a changing, complex environment and is personally resilient
• Demonstrate an ability to integrate nursing knowledge and skills with the clinical aspects of the job
• Phlebotomy skills/CVC line care
• Competent IT skills including Microsoft Office apps (Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint)

Personal qualities

Essential

• Approachable and open
• Ability to work under own initiative with good organisational skills
• Self-motivated and autonomous but work collaboratively within a multi-disciplinary and cross site team
• Demonstrate a commitment to team working