GP Practice Nurse - Streatham

The Greyswood Practice are seeking aqualified Practice Nurse to join our friendly team.

Who are we? A friendly and stable neighbourhood practice serving a population of over 10,000 patients in South West London. You will be working alongside an established nursing team which includes a full time lead nurse, a further part time practice nurse and a full time HCA to provide superb patient care. The Greyswood Practice is consistently wellrated by our patients and our CQC good rating has recently been renewed.

What are we looking for? Our main priority is finding the right nurse for our team. We would ideally like someone 3 days per week but for the right candidate we will consider various possible working arrangements. Salary is also negotiable. We value experience but this is less important than the right attitude and a willingness to get stuck in, be part of a team and provide the best possible care for our patients.

What can we offer? We are a well-led 5 partner practice. We value our staff and prioritise their wellbeing and development. In our annual staff survey, our team consistently score the practice highly for Job Satisfaction and Health and Wellbeing. We are looking to build a cohesive nursing team with a broad skill base so would support you in training and developing your role.

We offer 6 weeks annual leave plus an additional day off on your birthday! We also offer paid study leave and protected time for meetings.

Main duties of the job

Our practice nurses cover a wide range of skills and procedures. Smear taking, wound care and immunisations are essential. Other skills such as diabetic checks, asthma reviews and dopplers are also part of our offer to our patients but for candidates who are not already trained in these areas, we would support you to develop.

You should be able to work unsupervised but supportive colleagues are only a door knock away.

Our nursing appointments are 15 minutes with double appointments given for the most challenging work/ patients.

Regular admin/ catch up slots are also built into our sessions.

We use EMIS at our practice but can provide training in this for candidates who are used to other systems.

About us

We are a happy, hardworking team who always strive to do the best for our patients. As a result, we regularly receive excellent feedback from our patients.

Communication is good within the practice with a huddle taking place each morning involving clinicians and managers to discuss the most pressing issues or challenging patients. We also have regular meetings of the nursing and HCA team together with the Operations Manager, Patient Services Manager and Primary Care-Coordinator to ensure a cohesive team and a consistent approach.

We welcome approaches from candidates for an informal chat or a visit to the practice prior to application.

Job responsibilities

Primary Responsibilities

The following are the core responsibilities of the practice nurse. This list is not exhaustive and requirements may change dependent upon factors such as workload, staffing levels, business needs and changing NHS priorities. You will be expected to lead on some areas of nursing practice within the team.

• a. Develop, implement and embed health promotion and well-being programmes
• b. Implement and evaluate individual treatment plans for chronic disease patients
• c. Identify, manage and support patients at risk of developing long-term conditions, preventing adverse effects on the patients health
• d. Provide routine nursing care to patients as required in accordance with clinical based evidence, NICE and the NSF
• e. Provide wound care (ulcer / Doppler etc.) to patients
• f. Provide vaccination services to adults and babies
• g. Request pathology services as necessary
• h. Process pathology results as required
• i. Provide chronic disease clinics, delivering patient care as necessary, referring patients to secondary / specialist care as required
• j. Maintain accurate clinical records in conjunction with extant legislation
• k. Ensure read codes are used effectively
• l. Maintain chronic disease registers
• m. Develop, implement and embed well woman clinics
• n. Develop, implement and embed well man clinics
• o. Chaperone patients where necessary
• p. Assist GPs with procedures when required
• q. Prioritise health issues and intervene appropriately
• s. Recognise, assess and refer patients presenting with mental health needs
• t. Contribute to the creation, maintenance and implementation of infection control policies in line with national guidance
• u. Support patients in the use of their prescribed medicines or over the counter medicines (within own scope of practice)
• v. Liaise with external services / agencies to ensure the patient is supported appropriately (vulnerable patients etc.)
• w. Delegate clinical responsibilities appropriately (ensuring safe practice and the task is within the scope of practice of the individual)
• x. Support the clinical team with all safeguarding matters, in accordance with local and national policies
• y. Understand practice and local policies for substance abuse and addictive behaviour, referring patients appropriately
• z. Deliver opportunistic health promotion where appropriate

Secondary Responsibilities

In addition to the primary responsibilities, the practice nurse may be requested to:

• a. Contribute to clinical audits, effectively utilising the audit cycle
• b. Monitor and ensure the safe storage, rotation and disposal of medications
• c. Support junior members of the nursing team, providing guidance when necessary
• d. Participate in local initiatives to enhance servicedelivery and patient care
• e. Support and participate in shared learning within the practice
• f. Continually review clinical practices, responding to national policies and initiatives where appropriate
• g. Participate in the review of significant and near-miss events applying a structured approach i.e. root cause analysis (RCA)

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse
• Post graduate diploma or degree (Primary Care)

Experience

• Experience of working in a primary care environment and/ or
• experience of chronic disease management
• Experience of working as a practice nurse or community nurse

Personal Qualities

• Flexible, adaptable and collaborative team player who is able to pivot in response to the needs of a small organisation.
• Prioritises high quality, compassionate healthcare.
• Sensitive and empathetic to needs of patient.
• Able to communicate effectively with patients and colleagues.
• Resilient in response to challenges and able to work under pressure.
• Able to work independently whilst also being receptive to feedback from colleagues.
• Problem solver with the ability to process information accurately and effectively, interpreting data as required
• High levels of integrity and a commitment to discretion and confidentiality.
• Commitment to ongoing professional development
• Punctual and organised

Clinical Knowledge and Skills

• The following skills will be required in the role but training can be provided where required:
• Wound Care / Removal of sutures & staples
• ECGs
• Venepuncture
• New patient medicals
• Chaperone procedure
• Requesting pathology tests and processing the results, advising patients accordingly
• Diabetes
• Asthma
• CHD
• Immunisations (routine, childhood and travel)
• Understands the importance of evidence based practice
• Broad knowledge of clinical governance
• Ability to record accurate clinical notes
• Ability to work within own scope of practice and understanding when to refer to GPs
• Knowledge of health promotion strategies
• Understands the requirement for PGDs and associated policy
• Knowledge of public health issues in the local area
• Awareness of issues within the wider health arena

Skills

• Excellent communication skills (written and oral)
• Strong IT skills – competent in the use of Office and Outlook
• Effective time management (Planning & Organising)
• Ability to work as a team member and autonomously
• Good interpersonal skills
• Problem solving & analytical skills
• Ability to follow clinical policy and procedure
• Able to use EMIS

Other Requirements

• Flexibility to work outside of core office hours
• Occupational Health Clearance
• NMC registration

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.