Lead Nurse Diabetes and Endocrinology Specialist

Job Overview

We have an exciting opportunity in North Middlesex University Hospital within the Diabetes and Endocrinology team. The post of Lead Nurse for Diabetes and Endocrinology CNS team is a challenging and rewarding role for an experienced, motivated, and passionate individual who wants to improve patient safety, experience, and outcomes.

This is a clinical leadership role in the team providing scope for innovative work with various stakeholders and improve patient outcomes and experience. Within the team, supporting the development of the CNS role including with prescribing.

Further opportunities for training and personal development will also be available for this role.

Main Duties

The Lead Nurse Diabetes and Endocrinology post is characterized by highly complex decision making and a high degree of autonomy. The post holder will be a highly competent, visible autonomous practitioner, capable of functioning effectively across the four pillars of CNS practice as outlined in the multi-professional framework for clinical practice, leadership, management, and education research.

The post holder will have clinical autonomy for assessing, evaluating, and working with patients with complex Diabetes and Endocrine to formulate their care plan; identify opportunities to work collaboratively with community and other NHS Trusts.

The post holder will develop a strategy in collaboration with the medical team to improve patient experience and quality of care as well as reducing admissions and overall length of stay. Work will include supporting local and national audits, support to ward nursing staff in the care of diabetic or endocrine in-patients and collaboration with community colleagues to ensure joined up care between the hospital and patient's homes and improved patients experience within community setting.

Working for Our Organisation

North Middlesex is part of North Central London integrated care system – consisting of the NHS and Local authority organisations in Camden, Islington, Barnet, Enfield, and Haringey. As with other ICS's, we are working increasingly closely with partners and indeed many of our financial and performance objectives are measured at this system level. Whilst all organisations remain as standalone, statutory bodies we have an ICS infrastructure for making shared decisions and agreeing shared approaches.

We are proud of our staff and want to ensure their training allows them to provide excellent clinical care. We are also a training unit for medical students from UCL and St George's University Grenada, and for nursing and midwifery students from Middlesex and City Universities.

Job Description and Main Responsibilities

Key Responsibilities
Manage patients eligible for insulin pumps and liaise with medical team and members of the multi-professional team.
Maintain effective communication with patients, carers, and professionals to ensure seamless service delivery.
Assist with the assessment of new patient referrals, working alongside consultants to ensure appropriate investigations are performed in a timely manner and an agreed management plan is in place.
Undertake assessment of the patient which includes taking a history, physical examination, and when applicable, ordering and interpreting diagnostic tests as appropriate.
Ensure all assessments are documented fully and communicated effectively to consultant, referring member of the medical team or GP and members of the multi-professional team.
Review previous test results and identify any abnormalities with blood tests / imaging and instigate appropriate action or escalation to consultant.
Be accountable for coordinating patient care with consultants and administration team, in order to meet agreed standards/pathways. This will include prescriptions and updating patient and patients' referring consultant or GP of the care/treatment plan.
Provide specialist clinical knowledge, support and practice, to patients and carers within the department and wards. Ensure the patient and family are fully informed and understand the purpose of any investigations, treatment, and outcomes, in accordance with best practice and informed consent.
Be responsible for setting, implementing, and monitoring acceptable standards of care for patients with Diabetes and endocrine diseases.
Co-ordinate and run nurse-led clinics in addition to managing and reviewing patients on an urgent basis in order to provide an expert and effective patient-focused service.
Review patients in the inpatient areas and ED to advise in further treatment and support needed in the community.
Lead and develop standard operational procedure (SOP) for Nurse Led Discharge for patients with diabetes and endocrine disease.
Care and control of all medications used and ensuring systems in place for safe administration, ordering and maintenance of stock.
Working with Consultant Service Lead and other health professionals in order to achieve optimum waiting lists for diabetes and endocrine, reduce waiting time in ED and length of stay for inpatients.
Lead and delivery of self-management strategies for patients prior to going home or in an outpatient setting for patients with Diabetes and Endocrine
Utilise scope of practice to undertake Non-Medical Prescribing role and advise on medicine management issues associated with the patent specialty group.
Support the team in regards the insulin pumps projects and other projects that benefit patients with Diabetes
Co-ordinate a nurse-led service which promotes a safe patient pathway for those eligible patients. Work collaboratively with Clinical Lead and Service teams to optimisedemand and capacity within diabetes and endocrine.
Collect, collate and evaluate information relating to patients referred and procedural outcomes. All patient pathways are tracked, and data collated on key events such as timing of receipt of referral, date of consultations, treatment options and clinical outcomes.
Work collaboratively in developing straight to test triaging/assessment models including research through data collection and analysis of key outcome measures.
Present information to professional groups, analyse data and provide written reports. Data will be analysed frequently to identify risks or delays in patient care which require immediate intervention by Clinical Lead or service teams.
Identify clinical risks and ensure appropriate escalation and action is taken, in accordance with policy, by providing expert advice.
Maintain a safe environment for patients and staff within high-risk clinical areas of respiratory outpatients department and take appropriate actions.
The post holder should manage complaints on a local level where possible and escalate unresolved issues to the ADON/GM.
To be conversant with Trust and department policies and procedures and ensure that these are adhered to and available to others.
To monitor clinical standards of nursing care and report to the Clinical Lead/ADON when standards are not being met. This will include the notification of problems and incidents and initiating appropriate action.
To provide nursing clinical leadership and be responsible for the delivery of high-quality patient care. Facilitate the development of nursing policies, procedures and patient education relating to the care of patients with diabetes and endocrine disease.
Evaluate service and identify areas of improvement to be assured clinical and financial efficiency, effectiveness and resourcefulness. Participate in quality and audit initiatives.
Attend multidisciplinary team meetings and present individual care studies or relevant data on service.
Act as a patient advocate and counsel when informed discussion may lead to choices being made concerning treatment options. Possess a thorough understanding of safeguarding procedures and policies in practice.
Ensure that all relevant information is accurately documented in patient health records or on electronic patient records in line with professional standards of record keeping.
Implement the Trusts Corporate Governance Strategy regarding meeting the necessary standards of accountability, financial control, patient and public involvement and the delivery of clinical outcomes.
To support, enable, motivate, develop nursing staff and demonstrate Nursing leadership/supervision.
Contribute to protocols, documentation systems, standards, policies and clinical guidelines for others to use in practice. Develop care protocols/pathways in conjunction with Clinical lead both locally and at a network level.
Identify, develop and maintain ways to support patient involvement and feedback of service.
To take an active lead in advancing nursing/clinical practice within Diabetes and Endocrinology. Undertake research and implement evidence-based practice for patients undergoing routine and interventional levels.
In conjunction with multi-professional team, participate in setting objectives for service and engage with service improvement initiatives and strategies to deliver Diabetes and Endocrinology Services. Assist in developing audit to assess compliance with national and local standards.
Network within and outside of the organisation in relation to service development. Influence strategic developments in pursuit of advancement of quality of patient care, clinical outcomes, and patients' experience within respiratory.
Lead or facilitate the policy development for the Diabetes and Endocrinology Service to enable active and measurable improvements. Expected to represent self in the service to assure that real improvements have been implemented.
Develop and strengthen interpersonal relationships with both Medical & Surgical teams and members of the Multi-professional team to ensure good working and collaboration within practice.
Be responsible for financial control of consumables/resources including medications required for biological treatments.
To lead on education of patients and their carers to understand the diagnosis, treatment options and their healthcare needs during and following treatment.
To act as a patient advocate in line with the National guidelines and to actively apply in-depth knowledge of holistic/socio-economic and cultural aspects of care to clients within specialty.
Participate in teaching and supervision of new and unqualified staff, including medical staff and learner nurses.
Maintain own professional/clinical requirements to act as a role model and resource to patients, significant to others and staff.
Be conversant with current legislation/NICE guidance for patients requiring diabetes and endocrinology care and implement as appropriate.

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