Job overview
We are seeking an experienced, motivated, and compassionate Respiratory Practitioner to join our dynamic Integrated Respiratory Team (IRT) as a 12 month fixed term post to deliver the OPTIMISE project.
The IRT is a multidisciplinary team responsible for delivering holistic care across secondary, community and primary care settings for patients with COPD, or requiring pulmonary rehabilitation or home oxygen. The OPTIMISE project is a novel and exciting approach to optimising COPD care focussing on identifying and optimising patients with COPD in primary care, by delivering high value interventions and developing and integrating collaborative care pathways between primary and secondary care.
As a respiratory practitioner you will identify appropriate patients and provide holistic assessment and treatments to patients with COPD as well as support the development of pathways in primary care. The role will be supported by COPD consultants and ANP's, the IRT, primary care and the value based integrated care team.
This is an exciting opportunity for a nurse or physiotherapist seeking to develop advanced specialist skills within a supportive and progressive team. You will help shape the future of COPD care, ensuring services remain responsive, innovative, and aligned with Trust Values and national standards.
Main duties of the job
Provide specialist care to patients with COPD across primary care, outpatient, and virtual settings. Lead autonomous clinics, carrying out advanced assessment, clinical decision-making, interpreting investigations, and developing individualised care plans. Contribute to the management of complex patients, ensuring coordinated care, timely escalation, and effective communication.
Deliver specialist education and self-management support to empower patients and carers. Provide expert advice to colleagues, acting as a resource for nursing staff, resident doctors, and AHPs and primary care clinicians.
Work directly with primary care to screen and identify patients appropriate for review under the optimise pathway.
Contribute to service improvement through audit, research, quality improvement initiatives and data collection and work directly with clinical leads, primary care and the value based integrated care team to develop and evaluate new care pathways.
Develop and deliver teaching to up skill staff across respiratory, and wider directorates. Work collaboratively with consultants and MDTs to ensure efficient, evidence-based pathways.
Promote holistic, personalised care and advocate for patients’ needs. Liaising closely with primary care, respiratory consultants and the IRT and contribute to leadership through mentorship, supervision, and supporting junior staff development.
Working for our organisation
Guy’s and St Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust comprises five of the UK’s best known hospitals – Guy’s, St Thomas’, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield – as well as community services in Lambeth and Southwark, all with a long history of high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation.
We are among the UK’s busiest, most successful foundation trusts. We provide specialist care for patients including heart and lung, cancer and renal services as well as a full range of local hospital and community services for people in Lambeth and Southwark.
We have a long tradition of clinical and scientific achievement and – as part of King’s Health Partners – we are one of England’s eight academic health sciences centres, bringing together world-class clinical services, teaching and research. We have one of the National Institute for Health Research’s biomedical research centres, established with King’s College London in 2007, as well as dedicated clinical research facilities.
We have around 22,700 staff, making us one of the largest NHS Trusts in the country and one of the biggest employers locally. We aim to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve and continue to develop new and existing partnerships with local people, patients, neighbouring NHS organisations, local authorities and charitable bodies and GPs.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Quality
1. Facilitate a high quality, cost effective specialist service through monitoring and audit and other quality initiatives agreed by the Trust
2. Lead on and participate in key developments relating to the specialty so that high quality patient focused services are promoted.
3. Enhance the interface between staff, patients, community staff and visit.
4. Attend and participate in multi-professional team meetings.
5. Set, monitor and review standards of care on a regular basis and initiate corrective action plans
6. Identify and intervene where circumstances contribute to an unsafe environment for patients and staff. To bring instances to the attention of the Matron / Head of Nursing / Clinical specialist physiotherapist / head of therapies for the area.
Education and Training
7. Act as a facilitator/mentor/preceptor/educator to student nurses, physiotherapists and others.
8. Assess own educational needs and take steps to keep up to date with clinical and nursing developments in line with requirements of the Nursing & Midwifery Council or Health Care Professions Council.
9. Develop the partnership between the Trust and academic staff at local Universities involved in pre-registration and post-registration nursing, physiotherapy and medical programmes.
10. Ensure that the learning environment and specialist training is appropriate for both pre and post registration learners and participate in the development of appropriate programmes
11. Work closely with the Sister/Charge Nurse, Practice Development Teams, and physiotherapy education team within the area, ensuring that relevant clinical based teaching programmes are in place for all staff
12. Contribute in the Trust’s clinical supervision programme for staff
13. Teach on relevant courses and training programmes provided by the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing & Midwifery/KCL or school of physiotherapy KCL and within the area. To lecture on external courses as required.
14. Lead and participate in education and training programmes within the speciality service, and develop training packages as required.
15. Co-ordinate the development and delivery of a patient focused education and information giving strategy within the specialty
16. Motivate, develop, support and identify training needs for department staff.
17. Participate in appraisals and the setting of objectives for junior staff in the department to enable them to achieve optimal effectiveness and to understand their contribution to the directorate.
18. Ensure that appropriate written induction programmes are available and utilised for all new staff within the department
Research and Development
19. Promote and undertake nursing or physiotherapy research and to publish the outcome, updating own knowledge to promote excellence in clinical practice.
20. Utilise research findings in the delivery of specialist patient care, developing new ways of working and to disseminate relevant information to staff.
21. Participate in and be aware of other clinical research trials for patients
22. Lead and contribute to audit and research within the specialty in collaboration with colleagues, developing action plans and disseminating information.
23. To be familiar with current clinical research protocol issues and relevant treatment and procedures employed in the diagnosis and treatment within their speciality.
Management and Leadership
24. Provide a leadership role model and demonstrate expert knowledge and high standards of clinical practice.
25. Develop the role according to patients changing needs and research findings, within the resources available.
26. Maintain accurate records of the clinical service and ensuring that confidentiality of information is adhered to
27. Organise own work and manage own caseload and practice, identifying and maintaining supportive networks for self and other staff members.
28. Implement new initiatives where possible to run a cost effective, timely service
29. In conjunction with the other multidisciplinary colleagues, provide monthly reports of case mix, work load and education activity.
30. Provide cover for the other Clinical Nurse Specialist or physiotherapist as appropriate.
31. Develop policies, protocols and clinical guidelines in support of the specialist service.
32. Participate in the promotion of the specialty by publishing and presenting innovations and research findings locally and nationally.
33. Provide specialist education to members of the clinical team, which facilitates learning and individual personal development.
34. Implement and work within the Trust’s HR policies on all staffing matters, including sickness, capability and disciplinary issues. Take corrective measures if indicated in liaison with Human Resources and clinical leads.
35. Work with the clinical leads and Human Resources Department in the recruitment, selection, appointment and retention of staff.
36. Adhere to Trust and departmental policies and procedures, ensuring that all staff do the same.
37. Ensure optimised skill mix within the department/ward and reviewing the skill mix as required and monitoring the use of bank and agency staff.
38. Organise team meetings at an appropriate frequency, recording and circulating minutes of these. To ensure a good method of communication within the department at all times and to encourage the exchange and implementation of new ideas and evidence based practice.
39. Assist the Clinical Leads and Delivery Managers with the strategic planning for the service within Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust, as an expert practitioner.
40. Represent Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation trust as an expert practitioner in the speciality in external situations conferences, committees, etc
General
41. Act in accordance with the Nursing & Midwifery Council Code of Professional Conduct and Scope of Professional Practice or Health Care Professions Council, Standards of Conduct Performance and Ethics, Standards of Proficiency and Standards of Continuing Professional development and be accountable for his/her actions at all times.
42. Maintain up-to-date records. Ensuring that confidentiality is respected and that the standards for “Record Keeping” are met.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
43. BSC/1st degree (health related) or equivalent qualification/training and experience
44. Mentorship or Equivalent
45. Post-registration specialist course
Desirable criteria
46. Leadership qualification
47. To have or working towards non-medical physical assessment course
Experience
Essential criteria
48. Significant post-registration experience within a relevant specialty ( respiratory)
49. Experience of supervision of junior staff members and/or students
50. Experience assessing and managing patients with complex long-term conditions
51. Experience of audit, research & evidence based care
52. Experience of delivering change management both personally and as a facilitator
Skills
Essential criteria
53. Up to date knowledge of current clinical and professional issues
54. Ability to assess, plan, implement and evaluate specialist care delivered to patients/clients and give relevant advice/information to patients and relatives
55. Demonstrates an awareness of clinical governance and risk management
56. Advanced clinical, managerial and leadership skills in specialty
Desirable criteria
57. Previous experience of COPD care
Values and Behaviours
Essential criteria
58. Demonstrates the Trust Values and behaviours in application
Guy’s and St Thomas’ celebrates, respects and values the diversity of its staff and patients. We review our policies, procedures and practices to ensure that all employees, patients and carers are treated equitable according to their needs. We are actively committed to ensuring that no one who applies for a job, works or study’s at the Trust, or accesses our services is discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, religion or belief, age, gender identity, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, or marital/civil partnership.