Practice Nurse

Job summary

This is a key clinical role focused on delivering high-quality, patient-centered primary care services within a busy general practice setting. The Practice Nurse will work both autonomously and as part of a multidisciplinary team to provide essential nursing duties, including routine immunisations, chronic disease management (such as asthma, diabetes, and COPD), wound care, and health promotion. The ideal candidate will be a registered adult nurse dedicated to high standards of patient care, continuous professional development, and collaborative team working.

Main duties of the job

About us

Crown Street Surgery is a large busy diverse practice in the center of Acton W3. We are a training practice for GP registrars, medical students, nurses and pharmacists. We have approx 10,000 patients registered with our practice, and there is a diverse mixture of ethnic minorities. We have 4 partners, 4 salaried doctors and trainees, and our clinical software is Systm One.

We pride ourselves on our fantastic balancing of fun and work.We work hard to support our patients on a daily basis and have a fantastic team. We plan a regular training session each month, and have a management team to support team members on a regular basis. We feel it is important to not only work hard but also have fun at work and we often arrange outings and fun half day activities

Job responsibilities

Job Title: Practice Nurse

Reports to: Lead Nurse & GP Partners

Job summary:The post holder will be either an experienced practice nurse, or a nurse wanting to work towards becoming a competent practice nurse following an extensive training programme. They will act within their professional boundaries to provide high quality, holistic care for their patients in a safe, multi-disciplinary environment. The role includes delivering nursing care including smears, childhood/adult/travel immunisations, wound care, venepuncture, ECGs, health education and specialist clinics around management of long term conditions. NMC requirements will be met and the individual will work within the NMC code and to agreed practice standards and protocols. The post holder will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team and provide support, training and development for HCAs. The post holder will understand the GMS contract, QoF, national and local enhanced services and their impact on patient care.

Main responsibilities & clinical skills

To deliver a high standard of patient care using specialist practice nursing skills. Implement and evaluate individual treatment plans for patients with a known long-term condition such as (but not exclusive to) mental health, learning disabilities, diabetes, CHD, asthma, COPD and hypertension under agreed protocols.

Undertake annual review and provide support to patients in understanding their long-term condition and ability to self manage using a care and support planning approach.

Identify and manage as appropriate, treatment plans for patients at risk of developing a long-term condition.

To review patient medications to enhance compliance

Prioritise health problems and intervene appropriately to assist the patient in complex, urgent or emergency situations, including initiation of effective health care.

Able to provide telephone advice as required for all nursing related activities including long term condition management.

Implement and participate in vaccination and immunisation programmes for both adult and children, in the surgery, offsite at a planned area (eg church hall) or at the patients home (for housebound).

Advise, support and where appropriate, administer vaccinations for travelling abroad.

Competent and up to date in anaphylaxis, CPR and AED. Support and manage health needs of women presenting for cervical cytology screening

Assess and care for patients presenting with wounds. Undertake procedures such as phlebotomy, ECGs, urinalysis, stich/staple removal and INR monitoring (if appropriate training completed)

To act as or support the Infection Prevention Control (IPC) lead and to work to the IPC Policy providing or supporting the implementation of audits, training, support and evidence of compliance to the practice manager

To provide or support the production of the IPC annual statement in conjunction with the practice manager

To help develop, implement and embed an effective care management programme for the frail and housebound patients registered at the practice as needed

To develop, implement and embed health promotion and wellbeing programmes

To request pathology services and process pathology results as required To maintain accurate clinical records in conjunction with extant legislation

To ensure read(SNOMED) codes are used effectively by all members of the nursing team

To be part of the team discussion and upskilling where needed for long term conditions or enhanced services requirements where the need arises

To ensure compliance with the practice chaperone policy

To liaise with external services/agencies to ensure the patient is supported appropriately (vulnerable patients etc.)

To delegate clinical responsibilities appropriately (ensuring safe practice and the task is within the scope of practice of the individual)

Deliver opportunistic health promotion during consultations.

Contribute to maintaining disease registers and managing patient cohorts

Communication

Communicate effectively with patients and carers, recognising the need for alternative methods of communication to overcome different levels of understanding, cultural background and preferred ways of communication.

Liaise and maintain good working relationships with all members of the practice team.

Maintain communication and liaise with other disciplines across primary, secondary and tertiary care services as necessary

Contribute to and work effectively within both the multi-disciplinary team within the practice and across the wider health system

Delivering a quality service

Recognise and work within own competence and professional code of conduct as regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records for patient consultations, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures.

Prioritise, organise and manage own case/workload in a manner that maintains and promotes quality.

Assess effectiveness of care through self and peer review. Support and participate in shared learning across the practice.

Participate in the management, review and learning opportunities from patient complaints, clinical incidents and near-miss events in accordance with practice policy.

Develop and review audit protocols and process for the practice, effectively utilising the audit cycle

Develop, review and implement nursing protocols in conjunction with the partners and the rest of the nursing team.

Continually review clinical practices, responding to national policies and initiatives where appropriate

Understand and apply legal policy that supports the identification of vulnerable and abused children and adults. Be aware of statuary child/vulnerable adult health procedures and local guidance.

Work within policies relating to domestic violence, vulnerable adults, substance abuse and addictive behaviour and refer as appropriate. Use resources appropriately and effectively

Team working

Understand own role and scope within the practice and identify how to develop over time.

Work as an effective and responsible team member, supporting others across the practice.

Delegate clearly and appropriately, adopting the principles of safe practice and assessment of those undertaking delegated duties.

Accept delegation from other nurses, prioritise their workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are embedded in own practice.

Work effectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting on delivery of care. Participate in team activities that create opportunities to improve patient care.

Management of risk

Monitor work areas and practice to ensure they are safe and free from hazards and conform to health, safety and security legislation, practice policies, procedures and guidelines.

Ensure safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs is undertaken including following guidelines regarding cold chain.

Undertake mandatory and statutory training as required by the practice.

Apply infection control measures within the practice according to Infection Control Policy and national guidelines.

Work in accordance with the practices confidentiality policy and Staff Handbook.

Utilising information

Use technology as an aid to management and planning, implementation and monitoring, presenting and communication of information.

Review and process data using accurate national codes and templates in order to ensure easy and accurate retrieval of data for patient care as well as monitoring and audit purposes.

Learning and development

Assess own learning needs and undertake additional learning as required.

Support the learning and development of the healthcare assistants working within the practice as required, providing guidance when necessary, conducting appraisals and training needs analyses as required

Supporting other junior members of the clinical team including medical students, nursing students and postgraduate nurse and medical trainees, where needed partake in appraisals

Support all members of the nursing team,

Make effective use of learning opportunities within and outside the practice, evaluating their effectiveness and feeding back relevant information.

Support and disseminate learning and information gained to other team members in order to share good practice.

Provide education to patients, carers and their families and to colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning.

Equality and diversity

Act as a good role model in good practice relating to equality and diversity.

Identify patterns of discrimination, take action to overcome this and promote diversity and quality of opportunity.

Enable others to promote equality and diversity in a non-discriminatory

culture.

Monitor and evaluate adherence to local chaperoning policies.

Accept the rights of individuals to choose their care providers, participate in care and provide care.

This document is not intended to cover all duties required within the role and is to be used as a guideline for the general duties required for the professional and efficient operation of the Practice. As the Practice moves forward certain duties could change and/or be replaced.

Person specification

General and Professional requirements

Essential

• Good standard of appearance as befits a role dealing with members of the public, patients and colleagues.
• Ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines
• Able to cope with unexpected situations, clinical emergencies and provide solutions to problems
• Ability to put people at ease in stressful situations
• Willingness to look for new ideas, improvement and embrace change
• High levels of integrity and loyalty
• Commitment to ongoing professional development
• Flexible, reliable and enthusiastic
• Able to work extra hours when required

Desirable

• Experience and interest in education within a primary care setting
• Experience of teaching or mentoring
• Able to travel between sites using own car

Experience

Essential

• Good communication skills both written and verbal
• Evidence of IT literacy and keyboard skills
• Knowledge of needs of patients with long term conditions including Asthma, COPD, Diabetes, Hypertension, Cardiovascular Disease
• Wound care/removal of sutures and staples
• ECGs
• Venepuncture
• New patient medicals
• Requesting pathology tests
• Understanding the importance of evidence-based practice
• Understand the requirement for PGDs and associated policy
• Immunisations (routine, childhood and travel)
• Travel medicine
• Knowledge of health promotion strategies
• Evidence of team working skills and ability to build working relationships with colleagues and patients
• Evidence of ability to work autonomously appropriately
• Aware of accountability of own role and others role in a nurse led service
• Ability to respect patient and
• practice confidentiality

Desirable

• Experience of working in a busy clinical environment covering a range of nursing duties
• Awareness of local and national health policy
• Awareness of GMS contract and national/local enhanced services
• Awareness of clinical governance issues in primary care

Qualifications

Essential

• Good level of general education
• Recognised nursing qualification
• NMC Adult Nurse Registration

Desirable

• Additional post registration qualifications
• Holding, working towards, or willing to undertake additional qualification in asthma, diabetes, COPD, family planning
• Previous experience as a practice nurse