Job summary
The Nurse for Homeless & Vulnerable Adults works with Abertawe Medical Partnership to provide a high quality comprehensive specialist nurse service for homeless people throughout Swansea.
The Nurse aims to assist homeless and vulnerable people to access mainstream health services as appropriate. The post holder will be employed to independently provide accessible nursing clinics in a variety of venues including outreach, hostels, supported housing and day centres.
As a clinical specialist, the post holder will be able to autonomously manage clients with a variety of undifferentiated conditions at the point of access, providing expert support and healthcare co-ordination of patients with highly complex needs, will provide specialised assessment, and individually planned packages of care to support patients within other care environments.
Main duties of the job
To act as care co-ordinator to the services patients. This includes the assessment of treatment and care needs, and the planning, implementation and evaluation of care.
To work within a philosophy of harm reduction utilising a hierarchy of drug treatment related goals moving from an improvement in the health and social needs of the patient towards abstinence.
To assertively engage patients in treatment by working in a flexible manner.
Develop and maintain effective liaison with other agencies.
Frequently manages extremely distressing situations involving demonstrating skills in interacting therapeutically with distressed and disturbed individuals.
Offer effective interventions for patients with a forensic history including the ability to liaise with the criminal justice system.
Offer harm reduction advice and support to patients with blood borne viruses.
Ability to work with patients with a history of abuse.
About us
Large MDT comprising of 5 partnerpractice, 2 salaried Drs, 4 part time PNs, Cluster Pharmacist, Cluster Paramedicwith additional support from the Mental Health team and the Community OutreachMental Health Homeless Nurse. Based ontwo sites.
AbertaweMedical Partnership is proud to deliver the Healthcare for Homeless Peopleservice in Swansea. We are a committed, hardworking team of healthprofessionals and surgery staff that provide care through flexibleopportunistic engagement, non-judgemental attitudes and a pro-active approachtowards hard to reach people with multiple, complex needs. It is because we arechallenged every day by the issues that we have grown to understand andrespect the complexities of living on the streets. We see holistic treatment asbeing vital to successful long-term outcomes for our patients.
Asa member of our team you will be valued, supported and developed.
Job description
Job responsibilities
To provide opportunistic nurse-led clinics in avariety of venues, including outreach, hostels and supported housing.
To diagnose, prescribe and implement a range of care interventionsfor clients presenting with undifferentiated complex physical, drug and alcoholand mental health conditions within those clinics
To provide direct nursing interventions when needed wounddressings, injections
To refer clients to other services, and follow up on clients asappropriate.
To recognize problems in relation to failing treatment andnon-concordance, and liaise appropriately with voluntary and statutory workersto solve or assist, whilst maintaining any necessary confidentiality
Raise concerns about Safeguarding Issues Child Protection &Protection of Vulnerable adults and refer as appropriate
To use the SBUHB Patient Group Directions to supply immediate andnecessary treatments as appropriate
To support other nursing staff in the delivery of clinicalservices, by guiding and mentoring their practice and act as clinicalsupervisor and clinical back up
To provide opportunistic Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV testingand onward referral of those with positive blood test results
To undertake routine blood tests and vaccination programmes forhomeless and vulnerable patients.
To ensure the provision of clinical care complies with NHS andTrust standards, and clinical governance
To use extended nursing skills as appropriate, to meet the needsof the client group
To think from a clients perspective, and ensure feedback isincorporated into new procedures and standards, as well as in agreed clientcare plans
To consistently meet national and local targets for the service,and review services as and when needs change
To undertake formal health promotion initiatives
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
1. Qualifications
2. Registered Nurse RGN
3. Post qualifying experience of working with substance misusers and/or homelessness
4. Experience of working with patients with a forensic history
5. Experience of post qualifying case load management
6. Evidence of post qualifying study in the area of substance misuse treatment
7. Experience of managing staff within clinical setting.
8. Ability to delegate to team members
9. Full current driving licence