Highly Specialist Nurse in Wigan

People at the Heart. One Team. Your Career at WWL.

Job Overview

The Community Neuro and Stroke Team is a well established team, delivering highly specialist care to individuals following neurological injury, diagnosis and stroke.

The team comprises highly experienced Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech & Language Therapists, Nurses, Dietitians, Neuro Psychologists and a forward‑thinking consultant in Neuro rehab, who are all keen to share their knowledge and experience to enhance the care for people in the Wigan borough.

We are seeking a Highly Specialist Nurse with a keen interest in Stroke who would like to develop their knowledge and skills in neurological recovery.

You will work closely alongside and be supported by other specialist staff in the team.

The role will involve management of a complex patient caseload and significant contribution to service development.

This vacancy may close early if a sufficient number of quality applications are received.

Main Duties of the Job

• To act as a highly specialist nurse for the community Stroke and Neuro team (Stroke Pathway) delivering a high quality and efficient rehabilitation service to neuro patients of all complexity.
• To be a source of expertise and undertake a significant clinical caseload to a high professional standard using specialist knowledge from theoretical and practical experience.
• To further use this highly specialist skill level to monitor and improve standards of care and practise by efficient use of resources and utilising clinical audit within neurosciences.
• Proactively and positively contribute to the achievement of patient care through individual and interdisciplinary team effort.

To monitor and improve standards in the delivery of evidence‑based and client‑centred care within the community neuro and stroke team.

• To provide leadership as a senior nurse in the field of neurology, assessing and treating a caseload of complex neuro and stroke patients in a variety of settings including patients’ own homes and a wide variety of community settings including residential and nursing homes.
• To take the lead in teaching, training and supervision of clinicians within their IDT work.
• Working for our Organisation

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is proud to provide high‑quality acute hospital and community services to the people of the Wigan Borough and surrounding areas.

At WWL, our staff are central to everything we do — we believe that happy staff make for happy patients, and this ethos underpins our culture and our success.

• We have a strong, recognised track record in staff engagement and in living our values:
• People at the Heart
• Listen and Involve
• Kind and Respectful
• ONE Team

We are committed to placing patients at the heart of every decision and delivering safe, effective care that protects dignity and enhances experience.

We seek to recruit people who share our values, our passion for high‑quality care, and our belief in working together as One Team.

At WWL, we recognise the strength that comes from a rich and diverse workforce.

We welcome applications from all sections of society and are dedicated to creating an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.

• Detailed Job Description and Main Responsibilities
• To be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of your work including the management of patients in your care, working to agreed national and professional standards.
• To be recognised as a highly specialised practitioner in the field of neurology.

To undertake the comprehensive specialist assessment of neurological patients, including those with complex presentations, chronic long‑term conditions and rehabilitation needs.

Use highly advanced analytical skills, clinical reasoning and the use of specialist assessment tools underpinned by theoretical knowledge and relevant practical experience.

• Maintain own clinical caseload to ensure continuing professional registration at a specialist level and support the Interdisciplinary team working across the service.
• To be responsible for ensuring all who refer to the service are aware of eligibility criteria.

Maintain the profile of the team across Greater Manchester at neurological rehabilitation events/meetings.

• To effectively undertake nursing assessments of complex and highly complex patients, identify their problems and needs and ensure the patients’ medical, cognitive, psychological, social, spiritual, cultural and environmental factors are considered.
• Ensure patient transfer into and out of the service is smooth and effective, with full communication of all related information to patients, carers, families, other professionals and services as necessary, across all Health, Social Services and voluntary agencies.
• To utilise examination and assessment findings using highly specialist clinical nursing skills to develop and implement a management plan, appropriate to individual patient using evidence‑based practice and highly specialised knowledge.
• To participate in joint interdisciplinary goals in negotiation with the patient, and/or carer wherever possible considering risk, safety, patient choice, independence, and palliative care choice.
• To ensure that secondary prevention is considered, risk factors screened for and patients offered intervention at every opportunity and with regular follow‑up.
• To take responsibility for devising plan of care for other interdisciplinary team members to carry out and ensure they are carried out appropriately.
• Act as a role model in the promotion of interdisciplinary team working, and challenge non‑interdisciplinary team working practice, so that an interdisciplinary team working culture is maintained.
• Keep up to date with relevant clinical developments within field of Stroke in both the national and local forum.

Ensure clinical developments are implemented and evaluated in line with best practice.

• Ensure the team works closely to all local and national guidelines and any relevant new publications.

Be a fully active participant in the development, implementation & review of local Guidelines.

• To provide highly specialised advice to others regarding the management and care of patients with a neurological condition (others include: relatives/ carers, health care workers in the community, liaison within the Integrated care services, and carers and professionals in the statutory and voluntary sectors)
• Practise and promote safe moving, handling, and positioning skills specific to neuro care.
• To provide clinical support for peers and junior staff and participate in the Learning development framework training.
• To be able to relate assessment results to the presenting disease / pathology / impairment.
• To promote health and well‑being and raise awareness of physical impairments via health promotion initiatives.
• To ensure informed consent can be gained and all opportunities for gaining consent within the interdisciplinary team are explored to ensure patients and relatives are fully aware of the aims and objectives of intervention.
• To produce, disseminate and update reports/guidelines/training regarding individual care plans to carers/patients and other professionals.
• To contribute to the triage of new patients, prioritisation and overview assessment of new patients referred to the service.
• Planning and Organisational Duties
• Ensure regular review of the caseload within a patient centred interdisciplinary goal setting model, and make decisions regarding team capacity in consideration of patient complexity and identified risk.
• Communications and Key Working Relationships
• To demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills, taking an active role in meetings and developments as appropriate across acute and community to support effective in‑reach pathways.
• To employ excellent communication skills to enable patients, some of whom may have highly challenging communication impairments, to engage in their treatment, including the use of communication aids.
• To work autonomously as part of the interdisciplinary team to organise and attend patient related meetings e. g. case conferences, patient reviews, discharge planning meetings, goal setting discussions and review meetings by discussing own and others input around patients’ needs ensuring a well‑coordinated care plan.
• To ensure a productive professional relationship is established with patients, carers and families, agreeing decision‑making, which is relevant to the patient’s management, considering any communication impairment, psychological and emotional state and differing cultural attitudes and expectations.
• To work with a link worker, signing interpreter or language interpreter as necessary to aid assessment and treatment of the patient and communication with the carer(s).
• To demonstrate skills in motivating patients and/or carers to engage in the therapeutic process.
• To continue to develop negotiation skills in the management of conflict across a range of situations.
• To deal with initial complaints sensitively, avoiding escalation where possible.
• To form productive relationships with relatives/carers and patients who may be under stress and/or may have challenging communication difficulties and/or who have other psychological/social/developmental barriers to developing relationships.
• To take an advocacy or facilitators role in helping patients and carers to express their needs, concerns and opinions to other professionals.

Ensuring incidents are managed appropriately highlighting any risks to service manager.

• To generate initiatives to ensure that the Integrated community neuro and Stroke team contributes to the public and patient involvement process.
• Work with other stakeholders across GM to improve the delivery of the Stroke pathway.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse with active NMC registration
• Evidence of CPD in the form of a detailed portfolio
• Leadership training.
• Relevant post‑registration training / qualification in Stroke or Neurological rehabilitation

Experience

• Evidence of wide clinical, theoretical knowledge base and specialist assessment in management of stroke patients.
• Experience of working in a team and independently within a clinical area.
• Experience of service development and leadership skills.
• Experience of staff development and supervision of others.
• Experience of liaison with other professionals and partnership working.
• Experience in community rehabilitation.
• Experience of Inter‑disciplinary working.
• Research and Development experience.
• Audit experience of own and others practice.
• Case‑management responsibilities.

Skills

• Ability to manage highly complex caseload.
• Excellent communication skills, verbal and written, and ability to communicate effectively with people of all ages and abilities.
• The ability to understand and respect different points of view working with people from a variety of cultures.
• Must demonstrate excellent verbal and non‑verbal communication with the ability to motivate people and empathise with the challenges of long‑term condition management.
• Proven organisational skills including time management, effective delegation, prioritisation and task completion.
• Experience in providing clinical leadership and problem solving.
• Knowledge
• Specialist knowledge in relevant clinical skills and approaches to patient management.
• Specialist knowledge of Stroke / neurological conditions and related medications.
• Knowledge of other chronic diseases and their management.
• Ability to demonstrate a sound understanding of clinical governance and risk.
• Knowledge of research / audit.
• Experience of teaching, supervision and appraisal skills.
• Awareness of relevant national guidance.
• Ability to comprehend and work within trust policies and procedures.
• Ability to self‑assess/reflect upon own performance.
• Basic understanding of computer systems and programmes.
• Knowledge of implementing new policies and procedures.
• Experience of stroke specific data collection / audit.
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