Specialist Palliative Urgent Response - Triage Facilitator Band 7 in Birmingham

Join Our SPUR Service as a Clinical Specialist Triage & Facilitator Nurse. At Birmingham Hospice, our patients are at the heart of everything we do. Our 24/7 Specialist Palliative Urgent Response (SPUR) service is now fully operational, providing rapid, compassionate palliative care support across Birmingham and Solihull. This service ensures that patients and families receive expert help when they need it most - day or night. We are looking for a Clinical Specialist Triage & Facilitator Nurse to help us continue delivering exceptional, person‑centred care.

Main duties of the job

As part of our SPUR service, you will be the first point of clinical contact for urgent palliative care needs. Working between 8:00 pm and 8:00 am, you will:

• Provide expert telephone triage and clinical decision‑making, assess, diagnose, and deliver care directly within patients' homes.
• Offer sensitive, holistic support to patients and families.
• Coordinate with multidisciplinary teams to ensure timely, safe responses.
• Manage safeguarding issues and support medical emergencies where needed.
• Work autonomously as a clinical leader in a fast‑paced and meaningful service.

Your compassion, judgement, and clinical expertise will directly shape each patient's experience at a critical moment in their care journey.

What We Are Looking For:

• NMC registration.
• Independent prescribing qualification (V300) or equivalent specialist training.
• European Certificate in Essential Palliative Care (or working towards).
• Strong clinical confidence, autonomy and critical thinking skills.

What We Offer

• A chance to be part of a pioneering, compassionate 24/7 service.
• A warm, mission‑driven team committed to making every moment matter.
• Generous benefits package.
• NHS hospice service recognition for continuous service (including pension & leave).

About Us

Birmingham Hospice provides expert palliative and end‑of‑life care for people and their families living with life‑limiting illnesses. We believe that all people in Birmingham should have access to the best specialist care and support - when, where and how they need it. Our vision is a future where everyone with a life‑limiting illness will live and die with dignity and in comfort. Our mission is to enable more people from all communities to access the care of their choice at the end of life.

Job Responsibilities

The Specialist Palliative Response Service (SPRS) will be delivered between the hours of 20:00 and 08:00. During these hours the Triage/Facilitator Nurse will respond to urgent palliative response calls from patients, their families/loved ones and professionals within the Birmingham and Solihull area, and provide specialist palliative and end‑of‑life support and advice either through delegation to satellite teams as the triaging nurse or in person as the clinical specialist. Visits will aim to take place within a 2‑hour timeframe.

The role will require you to:

• Act as an autonomous practitioner working independently and in conjunction with other health professionals.
• Assess, diagnose and treat the conditions of patients within their own homes and initiate referrals as appropriate.
• Independently prescribe appropriate medication, evaluate or refer to other specialists if necessary.
• Work collaboratively with the hospice, community, primary care and acute teams to meet the needs of patients and support the delivery of policy and procedures and provide clinical leadership.
• Provide expert professional advice to patients, carers and colleagues and ensure the maintenance of clinical excellence.
• Co‑ordinate all available staffing resources, working with the heads of service to deliver priorities.
• Provide education and training to other staff and students.

Key Responsibilities

• Prioritise and triage patients presenting with a range of conditions including palliative, end‑of‑life and acute conditions, making any necessary referrals in an appropriate manner.
• Implement and evaluate personalised care planning, individual specialised treatment plans, MASC, RESPECT and advanced care planning for patients.
• Provide specialist palliative care and support to patients and their families/loved ones in the place they call home as required in accordance with clinical evidence, NICE and the NSF.
• Be sensitive to patients and their families/loved ones changing physical, psychological and spiritual needs.
• Process and interpret pathology and other diagnostic results as required.
• Maintain accurate clinical records in conjunction with current legislation.
• Support the team in dealing with clinical emergencies.
• Support patients in the use of their prescribed medicines or over‑the‑counter medicines (within own scope of practice), reviewing as required.
• Engage with external services/agencies and the patient's usual community teams to ensure the patient continues to be supported appropriately.
• Delegate clinical responsibilities appropriately (ensuring safe practice and the task is within the scope of practice of the individual).
• Support the team with all safeguarding matters in accordance with local and national policies.
• Support and participate in shared learning within the system.
• Continually review clinical practices, responding to national policies and initiatives where appropriate.
• Participate in the review of significant and near‑miss events applying a structured approach (PSIRF learning).

Management, Supervisory, teaching, training

• Effectively lead and manage staff within the team, through off‑day planning, annual appraisals and monthly 1:1s.
• Support the team through the management of change in line with any service developments.
• Manage and work in line with current policies and procedures.
• Ensure that all staff within the team have an annual appraisal, identifying all training and professional development requirements.
• Manage poor performance and initiate any appropriate investigation, seeking advice where appropriate.
• Manage all staff absence in line with Hospice policy, including directing other staff who hold absence management responsibilities.
• Fully participate in the review, management and learning from patient complaints and incidents, regarding the nursing service.
• Ensure the clinical team maintain high quality standards for the environment, medical equipment and infection control issues in line with CQC standards and NICE guidance and follow local policies and procedures.
• Assess effectiveness of care delivery for the nursing team through peer review, benchmarking and formal evaluation.
• Lead and support the nursing team with effective planning of team resources ensuring the appropriate skill mix is allocated to meet service needs.

Confidentiality

All employees are required to uphold the confidentiality of all information records in whatever format, encountered in the course of employment and after it. All employees are bound by the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulations when, in the course of their employment, they deal with information records relating to individuals.

Equality and Diversity

The hospice is committed to promoting an environment that values diversity. All staff are responsible for ensuring that they treat individuals equally and fairly and do not discriminate on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

Health and safety

All employees have a responsibility under the terms of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to protect and promote their own health and that of others in the workplace. All employees must comply with all hospice health and safety procedures infection control.

Safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults

The hospice is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All employees and volunteers are expected to behave in such a way that supports this commitment during a pandemic or major incident.

Person Specification

Personal Skills and Attributes

• Ability to deal with complex/challenging situations
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Effective leadership skills
• Willingness to work flexibly to meet the needs of the service
• Car owner/driver with full current UK driving licence

Qualifications

• Relevant HCP qualification with current NMC/HCPC registration (e.g. RGN/HCPC)
• Healthcare related degree or working towards
• Evidence of continuous professional development
• Advanced Health Assessment
• Advanced communication skills training/course, or willingness to undertake

Experience

• Significant relevant post‑registration experience of working in palliative and end‑of‑life care
• Experience of working within a community team
• Experience of forging excellent relationships across professional boundaries
• Sound knowledge and application of up‑to‑date evidence‑based practice and trends
• Knowledge of principles of research, audit and quality improvement methodology
• Experience and ability to use relevant IT packages, e‑mail and electronic patient records
• Clinical skills including (but not limited to) oral and subcutaneous drug administration, syringe driver management and verification of death
• Teaching skills

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.