Practice Nurse in St Helens

Working in accordance with the NMC Code of Conduct, the post-holder will provide assessment, treatment, screening, health education services and advice to patients. The post-holder will work with reference to practice agreed protocols and guidelines, providing nursing treatments to patients both independently and in participation with nurse colleagues and general practitioners. The post-holder will have the required level of training and competence and will work within patient group directions where these are available. A nurse with prescribing qualifications will use them appropriately.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Management of chronic disease
• Identifying significant abnormalities
• Diagnosis, monitoring and development of individual management plans; agreeing these as appropriate with the patient and other health professionals
• Therapeutic monitoring
• Checking compliance with and adherence to appropriate treatments using a holistic patient-centred approach
• Recognising abnormalities
• Identifying the impact of treatment and implementing or recommending changes as appropriate.
• Wound Care and management
• Assessing routine wounds including trauma
• Assessing to support good wound management in complex situations (e.g. use of Doppler technique)
• Patient health checks
• Identifying significant abnormalities
• Obtaining appropriate information using a lifestyle questioning approach and identifying appropriate health promotion issues
• Working with patients to develop a management plan where health problems or potential health problems are identified
• Risk assessment
• Recognising issues and gathering sufficient information to refer (e.g. drugs; domestic violence; child protection; vulnerable adults; senior patients; social problems)
• Health screening
• Recognising issues and gathering sufficient information to refer (e.g. women's and men's health, sexual health, older people)
• Undertaking monitoring tasks (e.g. smears) and providing advice as appropriate
• Providing in-depth monitoring and advice as appropriate to the level of the post-holder's specialty and working with the patient in deciding on management plans.
• Travel health
• Administering injections and providing guidance in accordance with guidelines
• Identifying problems
• Provision of specialist and evidence-based support to the team.
• Immunisation (adult and child)
• Administering appropriate immunisation autonomously
• Working with patients with more complex immunisation issues.
• First contact
• Working independently or alongside the general practitioner and making decisions/recommendations as appropriate.
• Minor operations
• Assisting the general practitioner and/or undertaking some simple procedures
• Ear care
• Providing routine ear care
• Dealing with more complex problems and prescribing if appropriate.
• Mental health
• Communicating with key workers
• Administering appropriate prescribed therapies and monitoring for side effects.

PRACTICE STANDARD JOB DESCRIPTION

Confidentiality: In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately. In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential. Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.

Health & safety: The post-holder will implement and lead on a full range of promotion and management of their own and others health and safety and infection control as defined in the practice health & safety policy, the practice health & safety manual, and the practice infection control policy and published procedures. This will include (but will not be limited to): Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines. Awareness of national standards of infection control and cleanliness; regulatory/contractual/professional requirements; and good practice guidelines. Responsible for the correct and safe management of the specimens process, including collection, labelling, handling, use of correct and clean containers, storage and transport arrangements. Management and maintenance of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the practice, including provision, ordering, availability and ongoing correct usage by staff. Responsible for hand hygiene across the practice. Ownership of infection control and clinically based patient care protocols, and implementation of those protocols across the practice. Active observation of current working practices across the practice in relation to infection control, cleanliness and related activities, ensuring that procedures are followed and weaknesses/training needs are identified, escalating issues as appropriate. Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks across clinical and patient process. Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills, and initiate and manage the training of others across the full range of infection control and patient processes. Monitoring practice facilities and equipment in relation to infection control, ensuring that provision of hand-cleansing facilities, wipes etc. are sufficient to ensure a good clinical working environment. Lack of facilities to be escalated as appropriate. Safe management of sharps procedures including training, use, storage and disposal. Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy, clean and sterile way, safe and free from hazards. Initiation of remedial/corrective action where needed or escalation to responsible management. Actively identifying, reporting and correcting health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised. Keeping own work areas and general/patient areas generally clean, sterile, identifying issues and hazards/risks in relation to other work areas within the business, and assuming responsibility in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness across the business in consultation (where appropriate) with other sector managers. Undertaking periodic infection control training (minimum twice annually). Routine management of own team/team areas, and maintenance of work space standards. Waste management including collection, handling, segregation, container management, storage and collection. Spillage control procedures, management and training. Decontamination control procedures, management and training, and equipment maintenance. Maintenance of sterile environments.

Equality and diversity: The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include: Acting in a way that recognises the importance of people's rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies and current legislation. Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues. Behaving in a manner that is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgemental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.

Personal/professional development: In addition to maintaining continued education through attendance at any courses and/or study days necessary to ensure that NMC professional development requirements for PREP are met, the post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, such training to include: Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development. Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.

Quality: The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will: Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk. Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision. Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the team's performance. Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients' needs. Effectively manage own time, workload and resources.

Communication: The post-holder should recognise the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to: Communicate effectively with other team members. Communicate effectively with patients and carers. Recognise people's needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly.

Contribution to the implementation of services: The post-holder will: Apply practice policies, standards and guidance. Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work. Participate in audit where appropriate.