Overview
A vacancy at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Lead Nurse in Dermatology based at St Helens Hospital. The post-holder will provide expert leadership and management within a multi-disciplinary team and deliver highly advanced specialist/clinical nursing expertise for dermatology patients.
The post holder will advise primary and secondary care clinicians on setting up, implementing, delivering and evaluating patient care using evidence-based practice, and provide a service in line with national, regional and local guidance, standards, policies and protocols to achieve positive patient outcomes. They will contribute to senior management and governance frameworks within the care group and act as line manager to band 7 and band 6 nurse specialists/nurse practitioners. A job plan will be agreed and reviewed annually as part of appraisal, including appropriate clinical supervision.
Responsibilities
* Manage autonomous caseload within the specialty and work as part of the multidisciplinary team to deliver individualized patient care.
* Assess and recognise emergencies in the specialty, interpret information, take appropriate action, and lead others accordingly.
* Advocate for patients to ensure a patient-centred approach and meet NHS plan standards; follow NHFD, Best Practice, and local guidelines.
* Ensure high-quality clinical care and patient experience, respecting patients’ customs and beliefs; identify and mitigate risks to health and wellbeing.
* Coordinate provision of specialist services within hospital and/or community settings; liaise with multidisciplinary colleagues.
* Develop and run nurse-led clinics, coordinating treatment with medical staff; work autonomously in nurse-led clinics and prescribe medications/topical agents within competence (independent and supplementary prescriber).
* Lead, support, and advise clinical teams with specialist knowledge; promote patient-centred care and involve patients, carers and families in treatment decisions.
* Promote evidence-based practice and clinical standards to develop the specialist service; provide professional leadership and act as a knowledge resource.
* Document patient conditions and care plans, and communicate with relevant medical/nursing staff; lead nurse-led clinics using relevant protocols.
* Conduct medication reviews with consultants; liaise with primary and secondary care clinicians and ensure services support home-based management when needed.
* Be a contact for patients; provide advice and support to patients, families and carers; contribute to dermatology service development and attend departmental meetings.
* Maintain concise, accurate, auditable records; dictate and sign letters to GPs/other healthcare professionals; manage telephone queries and arrange clinics.
* Work independently and within the wider healthcare team; ensure professional standards are maintained.
Line Management / Supervisory Responsibilities
* Supervise staff as required, including appraisal and performance management; line manage band 7 and band 6 nurse specialists/nurse practitioners.
* Act as team leader when required; coordinate and delegate work; review recruitment and deployment within the team.
* Authorize equipment use per financial instructions; monitor resource use and support efficiencies with Directorate Manager and ADM.
* Manage service changes with financial implications; implement HR processes such as sickness/absence management.
* Contribute to sustainability, capacity and capability within the specialty; contribute to annual business planning with clinical insight.
* Influence commissioning decisions and demonstrate achievement of contracted KPIs; manage budgets with Directorate Manager.
* Ensure all KPI’s and CQUINs are collated and submitted to commissioners on time.
Quality
* Facilitate a high-quality, cost-effective specialist service through monitoring and audits; lead developments to promote high-quality, patient-focused services.
* Attend and participate in multi-professional team meetings; set, monitor and review standards of care, initiating corrective actions as needed; identify unsafe environments and raise issues with the Matron.
Teaching & Training Responsibilities
* Coordinate development of teaching and education programmes for colleagues, patients, carers and relatives; support patient self-management.
* Lead on patient education development in line with Trust policy; liaise with PEFs to develop learning attachments for students and provide supervision and training to new starters.
* Support nursing colleagues’ CPD, gather learner feedback, and use it to improve education provision.
* Contribute to the specialty curriculum locally/regional; advise on specialty training commissioning; assess personal educational needs and stay up to date with NMC requirements.
* Raise awareness of dermatology conditions across the organisation through education and departmental meetings.
Research & Audit
* Monitor care standards and lead improvement through benchmarking, audits and research; use evidence-based care and disseminate findings to staff.
* Lead Serious Untoward Incident Reviews (SUI), Patient Safety Incidents (PSI), complaints and litigation as required; ensure lessons learned are applied to service development.
* Attend governance meetings; submit activity data/annual reports; identify and submit research proposals with appropriate approvals.
* Promote and undertake nursing research; publish outcomes where possible and apply findings to practice.
* Lead reporting of clinical incidents/concerns; provide supervision to ensure adherence to NMC guidance for medicines and related acts; adhere to policies and protocols.
Additional Information
This advert closes on Monday 6 Oct 2025
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