Practice Nurse in London

To be responsible for the delivery of practice nursing services, working as part of the practice multidisciplinary team, delivering care within their scope of practice to the entitled patient population. The practice nurse will be responsible for a number of clinical areas such as health promotion, chronic disease management, health prevention, well women and well man clinics, as well as supporting the management team in the reviewing of clinical policy and procedure.

Main duties of the job

• Identify, manage, and support patients at risk of developing long-term conditions, preventing adverse effects on the patients' health.
• Provide routine nursing care to patients as required in accordance with clinical based evidence, NICE and the NSF.
• Provide vaccination and travel medicine services.
• Provide wound care (ulcer /Doppler etc.) to patients.
• Request pathology services as necessary.
• Process pathology results as required.
• Provide chronic disease clinics, delivering patient care as necessary, referring patients to secondary / specialist care as required.
• Maintain accurate clinical records in conjunction with extant legislation.
• Ensure read codes are used effectively.
• Maintain chronic disease registers.
• Develop, implement, and embed well woman clinics.
• Develop, implement, and embed well man clinics.
• Implement vaccination programmes for adults and children.
• Prioritise health issues and intervene appropriately.
• Recognise, assess, and refer patients presenting with mental health needs.
• Support patients in the use of their prescribed medicines or over the counter medicines (within own scope of practice).
• Support the clinical team with all safeguarding matters, in accordance with local and national policies.
• Deliver opportunistic health promotion where appropriate.
• Maintain baby immunisation results logs.
• Maintain smears results logs.
• Manage emergency drug kit.

Job responsibilities

• Diagnosing and treating patients presenting with minor illness.
• Triage and treat patients wishing to see a health care professional, making any necessary referrals to other members of the primary health care team.
• Ensure clinical practice is safe and effective and remains within boundaries of competence, and to acknowledge limitations.
• Advise patients on general health care and minor ailments, with referral to other members of the primary and secondary health care team as necessary.
• Prescribe and review medication for therapeutic effectiveness, appropriate to patient needs and in accordance with evidence-based practice and national and practice protocols, and within scope of practice.
• Work with patients in order to support compliance with, and adherence to, prescribed treatments.
• Provide information and advice on prescribed or over-the-counter medication, medication regimes, side-effects and interactions.
• Support patients to adopt health promotion strategies that promote healthy lifestyles, and apply principles of self-care.
• Utilise and demonstrate sensitive communication styles, to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment.
• Recognise and work within own competence and professional code of conduct as regulated by the NMC.
• Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient consultation, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures.
• Prioritise, organise and manage own workload in a manner that maintains and promotes quality.
• Deliver care according to NSF, NICE guidelines and evidence-based care.
• Providing assessment, screening treatment services and health education advice:
• Chronic Disease Management.
• Dietary advice.
• Urinalysis.
• Health screening.
• Ear syringing.
• Dressings.
• ECG.
• Contraception.
• Routine immunisations and vaccinations.
• Removal of sutures / clips.
• Baby immunisations.
• Assisting with the fitting of IUCD / IUS.
• First registration checks / health surveillance / general health advice.
• Assisting with minor procedures in the treatment room.
• Organise and coordinate the provision of nursing services for the practice to include the delegation of duties to other members of the practice nurse team as appropriate.
• Provide general and specific health screenings to the practice patients (within agreed protocols) with referral to other members of the primary and secondary health care team as necessary.
• Pathological specimens and investigatory procedures.
• Undertake the collection of pathological specimens including intravenous blood samples, swabs etc.
• Perform investigatory procedures requested by the GPs.

Administration and professional responsibilities

• Participate in the administrative and professional responsibilities of the practice team.
• Ensure accurate and legible notes of all consultations and treatments are recorded in the patients' notes.
• Ensure the clinical computer system is kept up to date, with accurate details recorded and amended.
• Ensure appropriate items of service claims are made accurately, reporting any problems to the practice administrator.
• Ensure accurate completion of all necessary documentation associated with patient health care and registration with the practice.
• Ensure collection and maintenance of statistical information required for regular and ad hoc reports and audit.
• Attend and participate in practice meetings as required.
• Restocking and maintenance of clinical areas and consulting rooms.
• Supplies and equipment.
• Maintenance of equipment and stock relating to patient care.

Training and personal development

• Training requirements will be monitored by yearly appraisal and will be in accordance with practice requirements.
• Personal development will be encouraged and supported by the practice.
• It is the individual's responsibility to remain up to date with recent developments.
• Participate in the education and training of students of all disciplines and the introduction of all members of the practice staff where appropriate.
• Maintain continued education by attendance at courses and study days as deemed useful or necessary for professional development, ensuring Revalidation requirements are met.
• If it is necessary to expand the role to include additional responsibilities, full training will be given.
• Develop and maintain a Personal Learning Plan.

Meetings

It will be necessary to attend and contribute to various practice meetings as requested. The only reason for not attending will be annual, study or sick leave.

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 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 and regulatory / contractual / professional requirements, and good practice guidelines.
• Responsible for 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, and safe way, free from hazards. Initiation of remedial / corrective action where needed or escalation to responsible management.
• Actively identifying, reporting, and correction of 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.

Demonstrate due regard for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

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 recognizes 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-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.

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.

Person Specification

• Recognised Nursing qualification.
• Current NMC registration.
• Ability to provide quality patient care, responsive to needs.
• Ability to work independently and to make informed decisions.
• Specialist courses appropriate to primary care, eg: CHD, diabetes, family planning, asthma and COPD care & infection control management.