Hospice Clinical Nurse Specialist - Advanced Palliative Care in Birmingham

Clinical Nurse Specialist - Hospice Band 7

Main duties and responsibilities

Expert Clinical Practice

• Give encouragement, support, empathy, time, reassurance and advice to patients, families and carers to enable them to explore and express feelings and issues of concern promoting informed choice.
• Demonstrate advanced practice in holistic assessment, development and evaluation of individual specialist nursing care programmes involving patients, families, and carers as appropriate.
• Facilitate the management and support of palliative care patients to ensure the pathway is seamless and of a high quality.
• To promote autonomy and advocacy to ensure the delivery of appropriate care.
• Working as an autonomous CNS, demonstrating a high level of empathic and interpersonal communication skills for patients and carers needing palliative care.
• Demonstrate advanced knowledge as an expert practitioner in palliative care by use of innovative practice and skills.
• Maintain accurate records using a system of nursing documentation and appropriate information systems which reflect on advanced assessment and practice.
• Act as a role model demonstrating high standards of holistic care, promoting clinical excellence and clinical leadership.
• Identify and apply innovative care and practice to ensure best clinical outcomes to benefit the patients, families, carers and organisational needs.
• Analyse complex situations and develop action plans to improve the quality of patient care.
• Ability to use a range of strategies to improve and lead patient care and management.
• Contribute to effective multidisciplinary team working and discussion.
• Attendance multidisciplinary team meetings.
• Provide initial support to bereaved families, friends and carers and referring to the Hospice bereavement service as appropriate.
• Assess out of hours calls received, interpreting the information given and responding appropriately, offering advice and support as appropriate.
• Liaison with GP and DN teams to advise and implement appropriate treatment regimens for the treatment of symptoms.
• Recognise the emotional commitment involved in providing a service out of normal working hours.
• Ability to function as an independent nurse prescriber safely prescribing anticipatory medications and other medicines as required.

Education, Research and Audit

• Recognise the importance of knowledge and learning to maintain standards in palliative care.
• Utilise advanced knowledge of specialist palliative care to ensure all opportunities are taken to advise, educate and share information.
• Deliver formal and informal education initiatives to colleagues, patients, and carers to achieve effective clinical outcomes.
• Contribute to clinical design and education strategy development together with the Hospices education department to ensure effective training programmes are available.
• Supervise the development of healthcare professionals on placement.
• Support practice development through the facilitation of complex case discussion/reflection with District Nurses and other health care professionals as appropriate.
• Participate in meetings, conferences and education sessions to promote the services provided by the Hospice.
• Encourage individual practitioners and teams to participate in the education strategy to develop palliative care knowledge and competence in their own practice.
• Utilise up to date research/evidence to deliver patient care and disseminate knowledge to all members of the multidisciplinary team.
• Participate in research studies as agreed by the Hospice.
• Initiate, monitor and regularly audit aspects of service to continuously improve care.
• Identify and act upon opportunities for sharing practice development initiatives and examples of good practice.
• Role model effective clinical practice.

Management and Leadership

• To act as a role model, adhering to the values of the hospice kindness, togetherness, positivity, openness, respect and innovation.
• Guide the CNS team in efficient assessment of referral and allocation of first assessment visits.
• Recommend and implement initiatives to improve effectiveness of Hospice services.
• Contribute to the development and review of Hospice-wide policies and procedures.
• Investigate, record and report accidents/untoward incidents and complaints through the required governance processes.
• Support the development and effectiveness of Gold Standard Framework meetings through appropriate attendance and participation.
• Support the use of reflective skills and facilitation skills to evaluate and improve current practice.
• To receive clinical supervision and provide clinical support to others.
• Manage time effectively and respond creatively to situations within the resources available to support in caseload management across site.
• Effective management of change by understanding group development needs in order to maintain good working relationships across organisational and professional boundaries to enhance and improve team working.
• To maintain optimum multidisciplinary team working and effective communication between healthcare teams, patients and families.
• Contribute to strategy and business planning in order to define and implement service developments and objectives.
• Participate in the induction of new staff.
• Work within the Hospices policies, procedures and guidelines.
• Contribute to the formation of relevant policies and procedures.

Clinical Effectiveness

• Ensure practice is research based by implementing evidence, research, policy and standards that are relevant to specialist palliative care.
• Promote an environment where enquiry is valued as a means to improve patient care.
• Identify areas of palliative care practice or service provision which could be developed through audit or research and actively participate in audit and other reviews to improve clinical care.
• Demonstrate continual evaluation of practice, make agreed changes and work within the multidisciplinary team to enhance service provision.
• Monitor quality initiatives in line with local and national guidelines by assessing, monitoring and reviewing own and others practice ensuring safe delivery of care, reduce risks and effectively use resources.
• Participate in the development and implementation of the Hospices Clinical Strategy.
• Contribute to a questioning and open culture in practice to enable a higher standard of care allowing patients, families, and carers to participate in this process.
• Participate in/contribute to relevant research projects.
• Evaluate research which is appropriate and relevant to specialist palliative care provision.
• Demonstrate a proactive approach to the development of policies, protocols, and clinical guidelines in order to develop and adapt the role to the healthcare needs of patients, families and carers.
• Assess and monitor risks in own and others practice ensuring safe delivery of care, which is evidence-based and adheres to good practice guidance.
• Complete all mandatory training according to Hospice guidelines.
• Participate in the Hospice appraisal system setting realistic objectives in order to main a personal professional profile and demonstrate a high level of specialist practice.
• Flexibility to work in other areas/sites of the Hospice.