Staff Nurse - Inpatient Services in Maidenhead

We are always looking for excellent people to bring their skills, values driven behaviours and commitment to ambition to deliver quality of life, to the end of life, for everyone to join our charity. As one team we raise money, support each other whether in clinical teams, or corporate services to ensure everything runs efficiently and smoothly and delivers the best outcome for our patients and their families. Being part of a great team in a complex organisation is demanding, but also really rewarding. If you want to be part of our Inpatient Services team then we'd love to work with you.

In this role, you will report to the Inpatient Services Manager, Ward Sisters and Senior Staff Nurses. You must be NMC registered and have eligibility to work within the UK.

Main duties of the job

Working collaboratively you will be an integral part of an amazing multi-disciplinary team, working with doctors, clinical and pastoral care teams, therapists, physios and great support teams. Together you'll ensure a high standard of provision of care for patients requiring palliative and end of life care. You'll be part of a team of registered nurses and carers, with consultant oversight, providing day to day leadership, management and continuous improvement of the delivery and services of the inpatient wards.

About us

Thames Hospice is an independent adult hospice with a beautiful 28 bed hospice at Bray Lake in Maidenhead with views of the lake and state of the art facilities. Would you like to be a part of this? You will need to be an experienced registered nurse not necessarily in a hospice or palliative care setting with the desire to care for this group of patients. You should possess good communication skills, excellent care values and a strong sense of team spirit.

Having reflected on what is important in this last year, we have created exciting opportunities offering a more flexible approach to working, to fit around your lifestyle and provide the all-important work-life balance. As part of this role we also offer shift enhancements as follows:

• Work on a Saturday: Time and one third 1.33
• Work on a Sunday or Bank Holiday: Time and two thirds 1.66
• Work after 8pm-8am: Time and one third 1.33

To support you within your role, we have an excellent learning and development program to help further develop your clinical skills. We know that supporting, developing and nurturing our colleagues leads to outstanding patient care and strong morale and team spirit amongst our incredible teams.

Job responsibilities

Main Tasks:

• To ensure that the IPS service delivers an excellent standard of care to patients and their families
• To lead a team of nurses for a shift (all) and dependent on experience on occasion lead the IPS for a shift in the absence of a more senior nurse
• To offer timely and individual care based on need, using referral criteria, regular patient review, assessment, re-assessment and discharge criteria as appropriate
• To provide direct delivery of care to patients
• To provide symptom control for patients including the administration of medicines in line with Thames Hospice Policy
• To communicate fully and effectively with patients, their families and professional colleagues to ensure a safe and needs led care pathway, with particular consideration given to discharge
• To work as a member of the multidisciplinary team to ensure a co-ordinated and defined management plan / plan of care for each patient. To include review and discharge as appropriate and attend MDT meetings as required
• To maintain accurate healthcare records, written and computer based, liaising with community colleagues and in line with Thames Hospice organisational policy and professional requirements
• To participate in training, of student nurses and external stakeholders as required.
• To monitor practice and competence for Bank RNs and HealthCare Assistants by regularly working with them as part of a shift (dependent on experience)
• To support and work with the IPS Team Sisters to develop and maintain effective partnership working with the multidisciplinary team
• To communicate, when required, with external care agencies, GPs and community teams to facilitate best working practice and service provision
• To participate in an annual audit of the service, to identify if improvements and / or changes have enabled an improved patient and care experience
• To report accidents, incidents and complaints in area of responsibility as per procedure, participating in investigations as required

A job description is not a rigid or inflexible document but acts to provide guidelines to the duties expected while in post. It will be reviewed as appropriate with the post holder. Thames Hospice is committed to being an equal opportunities organisation. It is committed to promoting equal opportunities and preventing discrimination. This policy applies to both its service delivery and to its own employment practices. You will be willing and able to demonstrate commitment to Thames Hospice Equal Opportunities Policy.

Person Specification

Experience

Specialist Knowledge and Experience:

• Knowledge and understanding of current developments in palliative care (Desirable)
• Have or be willing to work towards a credit bearing award in End of Life Care
• Awareness of national Care Quality Commission monitoring requirements
• Recent experience of undertaking nursing assessments and care planning for patients
• Demonstrable skills in written and spoken English that are adequate to enable effective communication about relevant topics with patients and colleagues
• Evidence of post registration nursing experience
• Recent experience of undertaking nursing assessments and care planning for patients including those with complex needs
• Evidence of sound clinical decision making independently and as part of the multidisciplinary team
• Experienced in maintaining effective relationships with colleagues
• Ability to quickly build a rapport and establish professional relationships with others, based on trust and understanding
• Ability to organise own workload and to prioritise care needs of a defined patient caseload
• Ability to organise a small team of nurses
• Experience of communicating effectively with all members of the multidisciplinary team, both verbally and in writing
• Experience of communicating effectively with patients, carers and families, both face to face and on the telephone
• Experience of using multi-professional records to fully and accurately document patient care and interactions
• Enthusiastic, committed and able to use initiative, ensuring delivery of objectives
• Commitment to ensuring the patient is central to all decisions about, and the provision of, care
• Able to remain calm and in control when under pressure

Special conditions:

• Appointment is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check, occupational health assessment and right to work in the UK checks.
• Immunisations for Hepatitis B and MMR (Ideally Tuberculosis and Chicken pox)
• Must be willing and able to work shifts including nights
• The post holder must maintain an active professional portfolio in order to be able to revalidate every 3 years in accordance with the current NMC guidelines
• Must attend all Thames Hospice Mandatory Training as required for role

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse (Adult or Mental Health)
• 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.

£39,500 a year (pro rata) plus shift enhancements.