Senior Virtual Ward Triage Practitioner Norwich

Are you an experienced Registered Nurse or Paramedic looking to develop your leadership, clinical decision-making and urgent care skills? We have an exciting 9-month secondment opportunity within the Unscheduled Care Coordination Hub and Virtual Ward Hub team (VWUCCH) for a Senior Urgent Care Triage Practitioner (Band 6). This pivotal role involves leading and supporting the triage function, assessing referrals, coordinating patient care, and contributing to admission avoidance, early discharge pathways, Urgent Community Response (UCR) services and the Community Virtual Ward. Working as part of a multidisciplinary team, you will use your advanced assessment and communication skills to ensure patients receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.

This is an excellent opportunity for a motivated clinician with triage experience and a passion for integrated community care to broaden their expertise, support service development and gain valuable leadership experience within a dynamic and innovative service. The VWUCCH operates 7 days a week between 8am and 8pm, with flexible working patterns to meet service needs.

Main duties of the job:

• You'll be working closely with members of our ambulance service, acute trusts, social care, and community care in an innovative integrated team; working across organisation boundaries, enabling a system-wide response that improves patients' care, experience and outcome.
• Engage with the functions of the Virtual Ward Hub, unscheduled care coordination Hub and UCR teams within the 5 Norfolk and Waveney localities.
• Engage with SystmOne Optimisation.
• Engage with referral to discharge standard processes.
• Be aware of the demand and capacity model which will reflect workload needs at any given time.
• Engage with systems that provide remote monitoring of patients.
• Support activity within UCCH, UCR Hub (triage) and Community Virtual Ward.

About us:

To lead the triage team and contribute to the co-ordination within the virtual ward, in the effective and timely triage of incoming referrals assessing the patient's needs, determining the priority of care and processing the referrals accordingly. To deputise in the absence of the Clinical lead Managers. To contribute in a clinical capacity to the delivery of high standards of health care to patients within their own homes, care homes, the travelling community and in clinics, by assessing, planning, implementing, and evaluating packages of care. This is predominantly a non-patient facing role but with regular opportunities to maintain clinical competencies.

Job responsibilities:

• Triage patients referred to Virtual ward as part of the multidisciplinary team.
• Assess and prescribe care pathways for patients in a crisis situation with long term conditions, the frail & elderly, palliative and end of life care and/or rehabilitation needs, to achieve quality of life and independence where possible.
• Work within the integrated team to support early discharge from hospital.
• Work within the integrated team to prevent unnecessary admission to hospital.
• Work with all health care professionals, and statutory/non-statutory agencies to provide a seamless, integrated service to our service users.
• Support activity within UCR Hub (triage) and UCCH.

Qualifications:

Essential:

• Current NMC registration or Current HCPC registration.
• Adult Nursing BSc or Paramedic Sciences BSc.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.

Desirable:

• Experience in Advanced Consultation skills.
• Assessor/mentorship preparation; ENB 998 or equivalent.

Experience:

Essential:

• Evidence of working at band 5 level within the community or acute setting.
• Knowledge of additional specialist areas through in-house training & short courses.
• Triage experience.

Desirable:

• Admission Avoidance experience.
• Knowledge of remote monitoring and available technology.

Skills, Abilities and Knowledge:

Essential:

• Good communicator.
• Highly motivated.
• Able to provide high standards of care.
• Tact & diplomacy.
• Empathy & sensitivity.
• Ability to use own initiative.
• Good concentration for patient care and inputting data/patient records.
• A team player.
• Work flexibly to accommodate patient/service needs.
• Ability to manage stressful situations.

Desirable:

• Interest in learning new skills for remote clinical monitoring.

Communication:

Essential:

• Good communication skills.
• Good observational & reporting skills.
• Good interpersonal skills.

Personal and People Development:

Essential:

• Professional appearance.
• Be able to kneel, bend & stoop, and work in cramped environments.
• Manoeuvre limbs of around 5-6 kg.
• Manoeuvre patients using handling aids.
• Be reliable.

Personal Attributes / Behaviours (linked to the Trust's Behaviour Framework):

Essential:

• Able to identify with the Trust's commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults.

Other:

Essential:

• The post holder will need to be passed fit to perform full duties of the post through occupational health with any reasonable aids and adaptations if necessary.
• Must hold full and valid driving licence and have access to a vehicle.
• Able to communicate effectively in written and verbal English Language.
• This is a 7 day a week service and some weekend working will be expected. Hours of service delivery, 8am-8pm.
• 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.
• Applicants must have current UK professional registration.