Overview
We are seeking to appoint a committed, highly motivated, enthusiastic, and skilled Band 6 Senior Staff Nurse to join our dynamic, integrated multi-disciplinary Rapid Response Team. In this role you will contribute to developing new pathways to provide Same Day Emergency Care in the community alongside Adult Community Services, Social Care, Acute Trusts and Primary Care colleagues. The Rapid Response Team is part of the SE London Accelerator Programme and delivers essential elements of the Urgent Community Response pathways. The team, operating since 2013, is multi-professional and includes Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Social Workers and support staff. It provides holistic health and social care assessments for people over 18 years, registered with a Bexley GP and living in the Borough of Bexley, treating/ managing/ caring for patients in their usual place of residence with an urgent health or social care need.
The team is based at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich and operates 7 days a week, 8am-8pm, focusing on rapid 2-hour assessments with short-term interventions typically lasting up to 5 days.
Responsibilities
* Work as part of the multi-disciplinary Rapid Response Team including Consultant Geriatrician, Senior Nurses, Occupational Therapists and Social Services colleagues to meet patient needs, with emphasis on falls and frailty.
* Conduct comprehensive nursing assessments in acute and community settings; demonstrate sound clinical reasoning and risk assessment to guide appropriate nursing intervention and reduce unnecessary ED presentations.
* Manage breast drains, wound care and intravenous antibiotic therapy as required.
* Work across hospital sites on a planned basis and in the community when responding to urgent referrals; undertake delegated line management of junior staff (informal and formal).
* Act as liaison between acute and community settings to identify onward referrals and initiate integrated care pathways, ensuring seamless care and ongoing case management; referrals come from Health and Social Care professionals, Medical Teams, General Practitioners and Ambulance Services.
* Assist with and directly triage urgent patient referrals with varied and complex needs; function as an expert nursing clinical resource to Rapid Response Team members and facilitate high-quality evidence-based practice.
* Opportunity to work closely with the Community Consultant.
* Support rapid response aims to avoid unnecessary ED presentations and hospital admissions, improve patient wellbeing through timely interventions, reduce admissions to residential care, and increase patient safety at home.
Main Responsibilities
* Be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all professional activities.
* Demonstrate knowledge of acute, multiple, complex, and long-term pathologies in client assessments.
* Collaborate with other health professionals and social services to meet client needs; provide nursing advice as required.
* Conduct thorough client assessments with informed consent per guidelines and procedures.
* Recommend appropriate interventions to promote independence and safety using evidence-based practice and robust clinical reasoning.
* Complete care plans for clients requiring input from integrated community services (bed-based or home-based).
* Maintain effective multidisciplinary communication to ensure client needs are met; provide specialist advice to clients, carers and relatives as needed.
* Participate in MDT meetings and family conferences; maintain up-to-date clinical and computerised records (RiO) and write comprehensive client reports as required.
* Manage clinical risk and know when to terminate involvement or refer onwards; seek guidance from experienced colleagues when required; promote safeguarding awareness.
Training and Education
* Utilise communication and teaching skills to educate diverse populations on disease-specific techniques, principles and guidelines when required.
* Support and actively participate in education and training of undergraduate/graduate AHP students, nurses and rehabilitation assistants.
* Maintain continuing professional development with regular in-service training, supervision, reflective practice and study days; provide feedback to disseminate learning.
* Maintain competency in manual handling and keep up-to-date mandatory training.
Management
* Maintain high efficiency and utilise resources effectively; report equipment defects promptly.
* Ability to deputise in the absence of the Manager when required.
* Coordinate staff activity to meet service demands; manage risk for self, clients, colleagues and the work environment.
* Support MDT development, maintain caseload throughput, prioritise tasks, and ensure RiO input for all patient information.
* Introduce new team members during induction and provide peer support; participate in ongoing in-service training and ensure smooth day-to-day service operation.
Organisational
* Plan and organise time flexibly; manage a daily caseload and provide timely statistical information.
* Maintain up-to-date statistics and complete organisational tasks related to the post; attend team and trust meetings as required.
Professional
* Participate in supervision and appraisal; comply with professional guidelines and trust policies; maintain links with the department and wider sector through meetings and conferences.
Research
* Critically evaluate current research and apply it to practice; participate in local audits and research projects; instigate/participate in Quality Improvement Projects.
Communication and Key Working Relationships
* Communicate medical/social information across agencies in line with guidelines for sharing information and consent; liaise with Consultants, GPs, Social Services, other healthcare professionals and voluntary agencies.
* Work in a coordinated, multidisciplinary manner; convey complex information to clients with barriers to communication; adapt information for diverse audiences; present to groups during training and education sessions.
* Promote rehabilitation ethos with therapy staff, carers and relatives; raise awareness of the nurse role within the team; contribute to service and policy review and clinical pathway implementation.
* Participate in operational planning, evaluation, and audit of practice and protocols within the clinical area.
This advert closes on Sunday 21 Sep 2025
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