Dental Triage Nurse

Local Care Direct is a non‑profit Social Enterprise operating across 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, to provide various primary and urgent health care services across West Yorkshire.

We have various Part‑Time vacancies for Dental Triage Nurses working in our Contact Centres responding to dental patients by providing clinical assessment & advice over the phone.

The Dental Service provides a 24 / 7 service to patients aged over 5 experiencing urgent dental issues providing advice & support over the phone.

Hourly Rate: £15.68 per hour in hours & £16.68 per hour out of hours.

(In Hours = Monday to Friday 08.00 to 18.00 & Out of Hours = Monday to Friday 18.00 to 08.00 and all day Saturday Sunday)

Location: Unit 2, Bradley, Huddersfield, HD2 1GQ and / or Lexicon House, Wilmington Grove, Leeds, LS7 2BQ (Please note if successful for Lexicon working from Bradley may be required during the training period)

Shifts Available (minimum shift requirement of 16 hours per week): Please see attached shift patterns

Main duties of the job

Dental Triage Nurses are based in the contact centre and are required to respond to dental patient calls transferred from NHS 111 in a professional and timely manner, in line with all relevant protocols / procedures and key performance indicators for the service.

They will provide evidence based clinical assessment, prioritisation and advice over the telephone working within clinical capabilities and competencies and in line with the NHS Pathways Dental Module.

They will identify those patients appropriate to be booked into urgent dental care appointments and prioritise need, taking into account patient circumstances / preferences as appropriate.

They will ensure that patients who are not appropriate to be booked into an urgent dental care appointment are provided with relevant information regarding self‑care and/or finding a regular dentist.

Benefits of working for Local Care Direct

• Employee Assistance Programme
• Modern working environment with a positive atmosphere
• NHS Pensions
• NHS Discounts (Blue light card)
• 25 days (pro rata) annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing by one day for each completed year of service, up to a maximum of 30 days
• Hybrid Working
• Various hours available in a 24 / 7 environment
• Health & Wellbeing group to support staff
• Supportive and Friendly teams
• Annual Awards focused on raising money to support a local charity

Skills/Knowledge

• Effective communication skills: verbal, written and non‑verbal.
• Good assessment & decision‑making skills.
• Self‑motivated team worker. Understanding of primary and secondary dental care services.
• Able to manage time and workload in order to meet performance standards.
• Aware of impact of change on self, the team and the service.
• Up‑to‑date knowledge of health agenda (local and national). Understanding of how to deal with difficult or vulnerable patients. Previous experience in relation to the NHS111 dental patient pathway.

Qualifications

• Dental Nurse or other Dental Professional currently registered with the General Dental Council, with at least 2 years post‑registration experience.
• Additional qualifications relevant to primary dental care.

Personal

• Professional.
• Self‑motivated.
• Team player.
• Calm & empathetic.
• Decisive.
• Flexible

Experience

• Experience of working in a primary or secondary dental care setting. Evidence of continuing personal/ professional development.
• Experience of telephone triage.
• Experience of using NHS Pathways and DOS.
• Experience of working in an urgent dental care or Community Dental Service setting.

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.