HCS Team Lead in Basildon

We are looking for an exceptional Team Lead to join one of our specialist Teams. As professionals in the field of specialist palliative and end-of-life care, our aim is to work collaboratively for patients and their families/carers facing death and bereavement. The role of Locality Team Leader is instrumental in ensuring that St. Luke’s Hospice delivers high quality care to meet the demand from the community it serves.

The extensive multidisciplinary team (MDT) that you will lead will coordinate and deliver holistic, personalised care to patients who are requiring palliative care in line with the national palliative care standards, such as the Ambitions Framework for Palliative and End-of-Life Care and the Gold Standards Framework. The team will also provide essential care and support to carers and family members.

Our Team Leaders have an accountable and autonomous role within the team. Supported by the Clinical Leadership Team, it plays a key role in leading and supporting staff to develop and maintain their clinical competency; ensuring teams deliver the right care at the right time to individuals with a palliative care need in the community. Each Team Leader has responsibility for a key area, e.g. Frailty and Care Home / one Response and has designated key responsibilities.

The Team Leader will provide operational and clinical leadership to influence the development and delivery of local community palliative‑care services over a 7‑day week. Shift work will be required to cover the 24‑hour period and will include weekend and bank holiday working.

In this role you will:

• Act as an autonomous, registered practitioner who is legally and professionally accountable for their own unsupervised actions guided by the professional code of conduct and Hospice policies.
• Act in accordance with the NMC Code of Professional Conduct and to be conversant with the Scope of Professional Practice and other NMC standards.
• Be responsible for the day‑to‑day operations of the locality team within the Hospice Community services.
• Provide patients and families/carers with information and education thus ensuring they have meaningful choices that promote dignity, independence and quality of life.
• Effectively communicate with patients and their relatives/carers about aspects of palliative and end‑of‑life‑care, treatment and services available.
• Assess and develop plans of care to meet the complex holistic needs of palliative care patients, recognising own limitations and seeking advice when necessary.
• Establish and monitor good working relationships with other health care, social care and voluntary sector professionals, both within the hospice and with external organisations.
• Empower team to attend meetings, including multi‑disciplinary team (MDT) and Gold Standard Framework (GSF), as required and to ensure patients are on the palliative‑care register locally.
• Take a clinical lead within Hospice Community Services working at a specialist level and ensuring standards are maintained throughout the team.
• Provide and monitor high standards of nursing care for patients who are palliative according to their assessed plan of care/need.
• Ensure patient assessment and reviews are carried out to meet the above needs in any setting – home, hospital, care home and Hospice.
• Work closely with all members of Hospice Community Services to ensure referrals are triaged appropriately and discharges are supported effectively, and unwanted and inappropriate admissions to acute care are avoided.
• Initiate referrals to other health, social and voluntary care providers.
• Undertake care reviews as required.
• Identify and provide support to relatives/carers of a patient, maintaining confidentiality and working to Caldicott guidelines at all times.
• Ensure that both verbal and written communication is provided to a high standard, and that documentation and electronic records are completed accurately.
• Contribute to covering the 24‑hour Hospice Community Services for continuity of care, ensuring safety and appropriate response to assessed need.
• Participate in the Senior Nurse On‑Call Rota.
• Practice, if qualified, as a non‑medical prescriber, within scope of practice.

The successful candidate will:

• Be a Registered Nurse Qualification (minimum 5 years post basic experience) with a degree in relevant health care or equivalent.
• Have demonstrable experience in palliative care nursing and evidence of community working and involvement.
• Have excellent IT, organisation and communication skills.
• Be a car driver with vehicle available for work purposes.

Salary: £39,834.22 to £50,581.51 per year (depending on experience)

Contract: Permanent

Hours: 37.5 hours per week over 5 days. The service operates 7 days per week and working days will be as per the department rota including weekends.

Location: Basildon Hospice with community outreach

Right to Work: St. Luke's Hospice is unable to sponsor work permits or visas. All candidates must have the right to work in the UK.

Belonging, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: At St Luke's Hospice, we are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We know through experience that the different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create a stronger and more creative work environment that delivers better outcomes for the people who access our services. We particularly welcome applications from disabled, LGBT+ and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates as these groups are currently under‑represented in our teams. We have policies and procedures in place to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process, including the consideration of access requirements for people who have a disability.