Practice Support Lead in Shaftesbury

We are looking for an experienced and motivated Practice Support Lead to join the Oxleas South West Prisons regional practice support team. Based across HMP Guys Marsh, HMP Portland and HMP The Verne, this Band 7 role will provide specialist clinical practice, workforce development and infection prevention and control support to prison healthcare teams.

Working closely with the Practice Development Nurse, Senior Infection Prevention and Control Nurse and local Health Protection Team, you will help staff maintain high standards of safe, effective and person-centred care. This is an excellent opportunity for a senior registered practitioner with a passion for developing others, improving clinical practice and supporting quality improvement within a secure healthcare environment.

Important Sponsorship Information for this post: We are currently unable to offer a certificate of sponsorship for this post.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will support the induction, development and competency assessment of clinical staff across the Dorset prisons. You will provide specialist clinical advice, deliver education and training, support emergency simulation exercises and offer restorative clinical supervision as a Professional Nurse Advocate.

You will also support patient safety investigations, quality improvement projects and action plans arising from incidents and audits. A key part of the role will be promoting effective infection prevention and control practice, completing audits, advising teams during outbreaks and coordinating the FFP3 resilience programme across South West prison services.

The role requires regular travel between sites and the ability to work independently, manage competing priorities and build effective relationships with healthcare teams, prison colleagues, universities and external partners.

Working for our organisation

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children’s centres, schools and people’s homes.
We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

• We Listen
• We Care

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

You will work alongside healthcare teams to identify learning and development needs, support newly appointed staff and assess clinical competencies. You will create positive learning environments, support students on placement and help colleagues develop through supervision, wellbeing support and career conversations.

The role will provide specialist infection prevention and control advice to staff across different disciplines, monitor compliance with relevant standards and support services to implement improvements. You will liaise with the local Health Protection Team during outbreaks, maintain effective communication with infection prevention and control champions and contribute to regional reporting and governance arrangements.

You will participate in clinical audits, patient safety initiatives, service development and research activity where appropriate. The post holder must maintain professional registration and clinical competence, work in accordance with Trust and prison security procedures, and promote safeguarding, continuous learning and the Oxleas values of We’re Kind, We’re Fair, We Listen and We Care.

Applicants must hold current professional registration and a relevant Level 6 qualification, with substantial experience as a senior practitioner at Band 6 or above. You should have experience of supporting staff development, clinical supervision, emergency response, multidisciplinary working, practice development and infection prevention and control. A full driving licence and access to transport are required due to travel across the Dorset prison estate.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE READ :

All applicants must be willing to undertake National Security Vetting in order to work in a Prison Setting. This will be completed as part of the pre-employment checks through Oxleas and the prison vetting team.

You will need to provide:

Proof of right to work documentation

Proof of ID, needs to include 1 photographic ID

Proof of address documentation

Non-UK passport holders will need to have correct documentation (right to work in the UK) and a Home office Share code.

Address History:

5 years address history will be needed.

Applicants that are not UK Passport holders who provide less than 5 years UK address history will need to provide a Police Certificate which must be in English from where they resided previously.

Applicants who are UK Passport holders who have lived abroad for a period of more than six months during the last three years will need to provide a certificate of good conduct or an overseas police check in English from the countries resided in or visited.

In order to assist you in obtaining a Police Certificate, guidance can be sought from:https ://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants

If the country you have resided in is not listed here, you can obtain the necessary information by contacting the relevant Embassy or High Commission for that Country. Their contact details can be found on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website ( http://www.fco.gov.uk/en ).

Qualifications

• Infection prevention and control qualification, or willingness to undertake this
• Professional Nurse Advocate qualification, or willingness to complete the required training

Experience and knowledge

• Substantial experience as a senior practitioner at Band 6 or above in a relevant clinical setting
• Experience of clinical supervision, staff development, practice development and supporting junior colleagues
• Experience of emergency response, multidisciplinary working, infection prevention and control, clinical audit and report writing
• Understanding of safeguarding and healthcare delivery within a secure or prison environment

Skills and personal requirements

• Excellent communication, leadership, teaching and organisational skills
• Full driving licence and access to transport to travel between prison sites

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that welcomes and supports individuals of all abilities. Remember, if you meet the minimum criteria for this role and you have a disability, you can be guaranteed an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme - Please ensure you select this on your application form. We would encourage you to be open about your needs so we can work with you to design a comfortable and accessible interview experience. Any information you provide regarding a disability or a need for adjustments will be treated in confidence and will only be shared with colleagues who are supporting this request.

If you require any adjustments to participate fully in the interview process, please let us know by adding the relevant details when scheduling your preferred interview date and time. Please feel free to contact the appointing manager to discuss your needs.

We encourage applicants to contact the hiring manager before their interview, if they have any questions about the role or the process. This is a great way to get clarity and prepare effectively for the interview.

If you have declared you are part of the armed forces community, you may be asked to provide evidence during the recruitment process. If you misrepresent this information, your offer may be withdrawn. For Armed Forces specific support, see our webpage: https://oxleas.nhs.uk/armed-forces-community/

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

If you choose to use AI or other tools to assist in writing your application, it's essential to personalise this information, particularly your supporting information section. While AI can help streamline the writing process, these tools cannot fully grasp the context or requirements of the job you’re applying for. There is also a risk that it can generate false or misleading information. AI-generated job applications can often be generic, impersonal and may not accurately reflect your qualifications, knowledge, skills, and experiences. It is crucial that you personalise your supporting statement by articulating these in your unique voice. Relying solely on AI to write your application or supporting information section is not advocated by Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust and could negatively impact your chances of success in the application process.

We monitor applications for any behaviour that could create an unfair advantage, and we check all references carefully. You are likely to be tested on your experience at interview, so be honest and make sure all the information in your application is correct.Please note that the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is prohibited during the interview process.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

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