Staff Nurse Day Treatment Unit - Band 5

This is a rare opportunity for an experienced Band 5 to work in the Day Treatment Unit (DTU). The Day Treatment Unit is a nurse-led department and consists of a small but very efficient and friendly team. All staff are dedicated and conscientious and welcoming, they work efficiently and calmly under pressure to enable a smooth administration and completion of treatments. Working in Day Treatment Unit will fully utilise all your nursing experience and knowledge while enabling you to have a healthy work life balance, no night shifts and presently no weekends. The experience you gain here will be valuable throughout your career as some treatments you would not otherwise have the opportunity to experience elsewhere in the hospital. Our aim is to provide a service which enables patients to have their treatment in a safe and stress free environment and avoid patients having to attend the acute sector or being admitted to the wards to receive treatment. The successful candidate will also participate in auditing as deemed relevant and participate in service development. The staff also represent the service at local departmental meetings and provide information and knowledge to colleagues and patients.

Main duties of the job:

• The role consists primarily of administering infusions, injections and transfusions across a broad range of patient groups from all disciplines in the hospital, specific training will be provided in relation to each treatment which should build on an already existing knowledge of IV administration.
• Cannulation and phlebotomy is an essential requirement for this role and the willingness to teach other more junior staff is expected.
• Mentoring junior nurses and supervising unqualified staff is also expected and DTU is very open to providing a learning environment for all staff both in the department and from around the hospital.
• DTU accepts referrals from all teams in the hospital and GP’s and work very closely with various specialist services such as haematology, oncology, IBD, and the Vascular access CNS which will enable the successful applicant to gain a deeper understanding of these areas too.
• Management of PICC lines and Port-a cath will be expected after successful completion of a training program.
• The Therapeutic Venesection service for the hospital is managed by the DTU team so the successful applicant will also be given training and education regarding this procedure too.
• The successful applicant will be expected to perform venesections after successful completion of the training program.

Working for our organisation Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides hospital services to a growing population of around 700,000 people living across Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas across two busy hospital sites in Bedford and Luton. Both hospital sites offer key services such as A&E, Obstetrics-led Maternity and Paediatrics. You will be joining a friendly, high performing Trust committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff. As one of the largest NHS Trusts in our region you will have access to a programme of high quality training and development to help you grow your career. We have state-of-the-art facilities placing us at the heart of cutting edge health care. The Trust continues to be committed to delivering the best patient care using the best clinical knowledge and technology available.

Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date when sufficient number of applications have been received. Please ensure that you make your application as soon as possible. All new staff will be subject to a probationary period covering their first six months in post. Travel between hospital sites may be required. Please review all documents attached to this advert to ensure you familiarise yourself with all requirements of the job.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities:

The Job Description and Person Specification are attached to this job, please review for the full details and responsibilities. Ensure the privacy, dignity and confidentiality of patients, relatives and colleagues is respected at all times and is in keeping with Trust policy and National governmental guidelines. To deputise for the Ward Manager DTU and liaise with members of the multi-disciplinary team to ensure care is delivered to the patient which is both effective and efficient. Communicate proactively with all staff in relation to the clinical care and management of patients and ensure accurate nursing records are maintained by all staff involved in care. To ensure a safe discharge process and ensure written and verbal advice is available to patients and significant others, as required. Always work within the NMC guidelines and adhere to local and National Government Healthcare policies in order to maintain professional and clinical standards of patient care.

Person specification:

• Current Nursing experience in integrated Medicine
• Current registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
• Ability to supervise and develop junior staff
• Experienced in cannulation and phlebotomy
• Experienced in IV drug administration
• Experienced in administering Blood products
• Willing to undertake Venesection training if required
• Willing to learn / refresh training as required

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.