Job summary
HUC has an exciting opportunity for a dynamic practice nurse to join our friendly team. The Clocktower Surgery is a practice for people experiencing homelessness in Exeter and provides health outreach to various locations in Exeter. The individual must be compassionate, enthusiastic, confident to work independently and have excellent skills in engaging people from this client group. The role includes nursing clinics at the surgery and outreach healthcare to temporary accommodation sites, hostels day centres and to people sleeping rough.
They successful candidate would ideally be experienced in all aspects of practice nursing, but we would consider candidates with a range of experience who are willing to learn. Key skills include health promotion interventions, immunisations, venous leg ulcer care & chronic disease management.
We are a friendly, hardworking, innovative team who are committed to helping people experiencing homelessness. and enjoy working together. We take pride in delivering high quality & compassionate care and advocating for our patients. It is important to find the right person who shares our ethos and approach of putting patients first so would look forward to discussing and agreeing how we can make your availability meet with our requirements.
Main duties of the job
To provide a wide range of primary healthcare interventions including:
Health Promotion & Prevention: Smoking cessation, immunisations, contraception, weight management, nutrition.
Screening: Cervical cytology, STIs, blood-borne viruses
Chronic Disease Management: review of COPD, asthma, diabetes, CV disease & chronic liver disease including lifestyle advice.
Wound care: dressings, advice on self-care, management of complex wounds & venous leg ulcers including compression dressings.
Substance misuse: harm reduction advice and interventions including education and provision of take-home Naloxone, assisting in the monitoring of detoxes.
Mental Health: mental health first aid & suicide prevention, signposting & referral, administering depo anti-psychotic medication, physical health checks & monitoring of antipsychotic medication.
Clinical Measurements: blood pressure, urinalysis, near-patient testing, ECG's, ABPI, peak flow, spirometry
Treatment: managing of minor iIlness & injuries, ear syringing, administering injectable & nebulised medication
Continence Advice & support; assessment & referral, advice on catheters & stoma care.
Foot care: assessment (including Diabetic foot checks), advice & referral.
Please read the job description for more details on the range of duties.
About us
HUC currently provides this service but it will transfer to Inclusion Health Devon on 1st September 2024.
You'll be able to access a fantastic range of benefits. These include:
1. NHS Pension Scheme - we contribute around 20% to your pension.
2. Access to NHS and Employee lifestyle discount
Job description
Job responsibilities
Overall Purpose of the Role:
To provide compassionate & high quality of nursing care to people experiencing homelessness, adhering to practice protocols, policies & guidelines. This role includes outreach health services for people experiencing homelessness.
The role involves identifying health needs and working collaboratively & flexibly with patients to address them and improve their health. You will need to show initiative and be able to adapt to the circumstances. The role involves providing care for acute & chronic conditions, preventative care and health promotion.
Principle Responsibilities will include:
To provide a wide range of primary healthcare interventions including:
Health Promotion & Prevention: Smoking cessation, immunisations, contraception, weight management, nutrition.
Screening: Cervical cytology, STIs, blood-borne viruses
Chronic Disease Management: review of COPD, asthma, diabetes, CV disease & chronic liver disease including lifestyle advice.
Wound care: dressings, advice on self-care, management of complex wounds & venous leg ulcers including compression dressings.
Substance misuse: harm reduction advice and interventions including education and provision of take-home Naloxone, assisting in the monitoring of detoxes.
Mental Health: mental health first aid & suicide prevention, signposting & referral, administering depo anti-psychotic medication, physical health checks & monitoring of antipsychotic medication.
Clinical Measurements: blood pressure, urinalysis, near-patient testing, ECGs, ABPI, peak flow, spirometry
Treatment: managing of minor iIlness & injuries, ear syringing, administering injectable & nebulised medication
Continence Advice & support; assessment & referral, advice on catheters & stoma care.
Foot care: assessment (including Diabetic foot checks), advice & referral.
Administrative
Maintain accurate & timely electronic records of all consultations, and patient contacts.
Timely referrals to other agencies, including health, social care, housing and voluntary sector.
Attend team meetings
Participation in multi-agency meetings, including for safeguarding and MARAC.
Work with acute services to facilitate effective follow up care on discharge from hospital,
liaising with community nursing services as necessary
Advise & support other agencies working with people experiencing homelessness regarding the health needs of clients.
Service Development
Work with the Clocktower Team to develop services to meet the needs of the patient cohort.
Improve quality of healthcare by participating in audit & evaluation including data collection and
activity monitoring to improve performance and inform service developments.
Participate in developing clinical and operational protocols
Participate in ensuring that targets and KPIs for the service are met.
Encourage service users to become involved in the planning, delivery and evaluation of the service that they use
Sharing knowledge & experience with other agencies working with this population.
Professional
Maintain current registration with the NMC
Adhere to NMC guidelines in the scope of professional practice acting at all times within NMC code of conduct
Maintain high standards of care and strive to improve quality of care
Act within the boundaries of patient confidentiality
Engage colleagues in change by supporting others effectively during times of change and working with others to overcome problems
Uphold the rights of individuals by challenging behaviour and practice which undermines the rights of others and taking action where necessary to address discrimination and poor practice.
Act in the best interests of patients at all times, understanding and implementing frameworks around consent and capacity; working within a legal framework for those who lack capacity to consent to treatment.
Develop your practice through reflection and learning, taking responsibility for your own learning and performance. This will involve actively seeking and participating in peer review of own practice, learning from examples of case management to improve service delivery and patient experience, participating in mandatory training and attendance on identified education programmes and clinical skill training
Make use of supervision; prepare for and take an active part in the Performance and Development Review, Revalidation, Clinical Supervision, preceptorship process and reflective practice.
Support and challenge colleagues, contributing to the development of the team. This may involve providing clinical supervision, coaching, mentoring and assessment to less experienced colleagues.
Develop and maintain your professional networks.
Develop and maintain productive relationships with colleagues. Building and maintaining good and strong influential relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
Monitor your own work practices and manage and organise your own time and activities, including being financially responsibility for ensuing use of equipment, ordering of investigations and prescribing etc are cost effective, acting within legislation, policies and procedures.
Understand and act within the organisations governance framework including incident reporting, raising of concerns, poor performance and responding to patient feedback. Work within organisations guidelines to manage, review and identify learning from patient/carer complaints, clinical incidents, including near miss events.
Promote, monitor and maintain health, safety and security by continually assessing and monitoring risk in own and others practice and challenging others where needed.
Promote the rights and diversity of individuals including promoting culture which values and respects the diversity of all individuals and their capacity to exercise their rights in the work setting.
Act within the limits of your own competence and authority.
Ensure escalation to senior clinician or manager when further input required.
Ensure that patients have sufficient information to make informed choices about their care and that this care respects the patients individual circumstances
Organisational (jointly with nursing team)
Ensure adequate stocks levels are procured to enable the project to function properly
this includes electronic ordering of stores, pharmacy, and pathology supplies
Replenish stock levels in all of the clinical areas
Oversee the safe storage, administration and disposal of drugs, including CDs, exercising
responsibility for the custody and maintenance of statutory records
Ensure that all clinical areas are kept tidy and presentable and are fully compliant with
Infection Control Standards
Ensure that the storage and maintenance ( calibration and PAT) of clinical instruments and equipment is maintained to a high standard, reporting any faults as necessary
Implementing and maintaining compliance with Infection Control Measures as necessary within the practice.
Research & Development
To be actively involved in the development of the practice and health services for people experiencing homelessness.
Improve quality of healthcare by participating in audit & evaluation including data collection and activity monitoring to improve performance and inform future service developments.
Participate in research projects in which the organisation is involved
General
Be aware of Health and Safety regulations and procedures
Report all incidents / accidents to the Practice Manager and Governance team
Implementation of NHS England, Devon Doctors Group Policies and Procedures.
Working positively with colleagues to maintain effective relationships.
Any other duties appropriate to the role as requested by the Practice Manager or General Manager
Person Specification
Essential
Essential
3. NMC Registered Nurse
4. Relevant nursing degree
5. Knowledge of health issues for people experiencing homelessness
6. Skills in delivering venepuncture, immunisations, wound care, primary care for physical and mental health issues.
7. Minimum 2 years post-registration experience
8. At least 1 year recent primary/community nursing experience
9. Up to date Basic Life Support