Deputy Lead Practice Nurse

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Practice Nurse to join the Barkantine Practice as a Deputy Lead Practice Nurse. This role offers a defined development pathway to the Lead Practice Nurse position, with opportunities to take on wider leadership responsibilities. You will be supported by an experienced Lead Practice Nurse and a highly supportive management team, enabling your ongoing professional development.

Main duties of the job

You will be working closely with the Lead Practice Nurse, you will be a senior member of the multidisciplinary team, supporting the effective delivery of high-quality nursing services to our patient population. Key responsibilities include:

• Delivering and supporting chronic disease management
• Assisting with the development, implementation and review of clinical policies and procedures
• Supporting service improvement and the delivery of preventative healthcare initiatives
• Contributing to the line management and supervision of the HCA team
• Deputising for the Lead Practice Nurse where required

About us

The Barkantine Practice is a vibrant practice with a patient population of 27,000 within a stone's throw of Canary Wharf in the London borough of Tower Hamlets. There are 3 GP principal partners, 10 salaried GPs, 1 GP registrar, 3 Clinical Pharmacists, 2 First Contact Physio, and 4 Advance Nurse Practitioners. Within the nursing team are 3 highly skilled practice nurses, one Nurse Associate and three very efficient Health Care Assistants. We are seeking a nurse with the ability to lead and motivate our nursing team. This position offers an ideal opportunity to a senior Practice Nurse or Nurse Practitioner looking for career progression.

Job responsibilities

Primary Responsibilities

The following are the core responsibilities of the post holder. There may be, on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks. This will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels:

• Support the Lead Nurse in the leadership of the Nursing and HCA team.
• Participate in the administrative and professional responsibilities of the practice including: Representing the Nurse team at Practice, Business and or external meetings, contribute to Nurse staff training and development, ensure Nurse team comply with CQC, NICE, NHSE, national and local guidelines, contribute to cost-effective achievement of QOF and enhanced services, promote innovative ideas, be a resource of information, mentorship and support to others, act as a mentor for new staff and students assisting with induction and training.
• Assess, plan, develop, implement, and evaluate treatment plans that promote health and well-being across the practice population and for specific patient groups.
• Proactively identify, diagnose, and manage treatment plans for patients at risk of developing and or having a long-term condition, including prescribing/deprescribing for that condition (medical and or social) in line with national and local guidance.
• For all areas of clinical practice understand the implications, needs of the patient and signpost appropriately.
• Contribute to practice targets both local and national, e.g. QOF.
• Provide adult and childhood immunisation service. Follow PSD/PGD guidelines, UK immunisation schedule.
• Plan and support leadership team with annual Flu campaign and mass population vaccination programmes.
• Administer prescribed therapies such as contraception injections/vitamin B12/GNHR/Aranesp/Denosumab and other patient-specific injections, recognising side effects and contraindications.
• Perform wound management using appropriate (aseptic/clean) technique. Have good understanding of the process of wound healing, knowledge of wound management, potential complications, local and national guidance.
• Be proficient at Doppler assessment, knowledge and understanding of the pathophysiology of venous, arterial, and diabetic foot ulcers.
• Recognise signs of wound infection, manage appropriately and interpret results from microbiology sampling.
• To oversee the provision of chronic disease clinics, delivering patient care as necessary, referring patients to secondary/specialist care as required.
• To maintain accurate clinical records in conjunction with extant legislation.
• To ensure clinical codes are used effectively by all members of the nursing team.
• To ensure the appropriate use of chronic disease registers.
• Review medication for therapeutic effectiveness.
• Work with the Lead Nurse and Practice Management team to improve the management of disease within the practice population.
• Implement clear management plans with patients including appropriate prescribing and referral.
• Work to support compliance and adherence to prescribed treatments by detecting and managing side effects and or adverse reactions.
• Emphasise the importance of prevention and self-care.
• Refer patients to other services or agencies as appropriate.
• Promoting communication between all involved in the patient care.
• To request pathology services and process pathology results as required.
• To implement vaccination programmes for adults and children.
• To support patients in the use of their prescribed medicines or over-the-counter medicines (within own scope of practice).
• To liaise with external services/agencies to ensure the patient is supported appropriately (vulnerable patients etc.).
• Take the lead in Infection Control, conduct audits, review policies and procedures, conduct training for all practice staff.
• To delegate clinical responsibilities appropriately (ensuring safe practice and the task is within the scope of practice of the individual).

Secondary Responsibilities

In addition to the primary responsibilities, the Deputy Lead Practice Nurse may be requested to:

• Develop and review audit protocols and processes for the practice, effectively utilising the audit cycle.
• Develop, review and implement nursing protocols in conjunction with the nurse lead partner and practice management.
• Support all members of the nursing team, providing guidance when necessary, conducting appraisals and training needs analyses as required.
• Participate in local initiatives to enhance service delivery and patient care.
• Support and participate in shared learning within the practice in order to improve patient care.
• Continually review clinical practices, responding to national policies and initiatives where appropriate.
• Participate in the review of significant and near-miss events applying a structured approach, i.e., root cause analysis (RCA).
• Lead the planning and implementation of changes within the nursing team, enhancing the provision of services to patients.
• Support the practice team with the reviewing and implementation of practice policies and protocols, ensuring conformance to extant legislation.

Person Specification

Experience

• Wound Care/removal of sutures and staples
• Smear taker
• ECGs
• Venepuncture
• Requesting pathology tests and processing the results, advising patients accordingly
• Understanding the requirement for PGDs and associated policy
• Understanding the importance of evidence-based practice
• Ability to record accurate clinical notes
• Chaperone procedure
• Women's health
• Immunisations (routine, childhood and travel)
• Effective time management
• Team Working
• Good Interpersonal Skills
• Problem Solving and Analytical Skills
• Ability to Follow clinical policy and procedure
• Board Knowledge of Clinical Governance
• Knowledge of public health issues in the local area
• Awareness of issues within the wider health arena
• Knowledge of health promotion strategies
• Experience of Audit and able to lead audit programmes
• Experience with clinical risk management

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse
• Post Graduate Diploma or Degree (Chronic Disease Management)
• Nurse prescriber
• Mentor or Teaching Qualification
• Family Planning Qualification

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.