Palliative Care Cns

MAIN DUTIES Clinical Practice Use advanced communication skills on a daily basis to: Use excellent interpersonal skills to support those who have an illness and their family carers. Support patients and carers suffering significant losses and distressing conditions from diagnosis to death and into bereavement. Support complex care issues with patients and carers, some who may have physical/psychological/social/cultural barriers to communication whilst working in an emotional environment where collusion, hostility and anger exist. Provide evidence-based information in a sensitive manner for patients and their carers on all aspects of palliative care, dealing skilfully with highly charged emotional situations.

Support patients to make informed choices about treatment and care where expert opinion may be highly contentious. Explain results of investigations to patients and their family carers, using developed communication skills to provide the information in a supportive manner. Establish and maintain effective communication with professionals across health and social care services. Influence, negotiate, challenge and empower all health and social care professionals to develop and deliver the highest quality individualised palliative care.

Establish and maintain therapeutic relationships with patients and their carers throughout the care pathway. Act as patient and family advocate as appropriate. Perform comprehensive assessment/diagnosis of the specialist needs of patients and their families and plan, implement and evaluate designed programmes of care with them according to changing health care needs, working across hospital and community boundaries as expected of a specialist practitioner. Use highly specialist analytical skills and expert judgement to evaluate the appropriateness of referrals and prioritise accordingly.

Plan and instigate discharge from specialist palliative care caseload, as appropriate. Actively manage a clinical caseload and while remaining responsive to the fluctuating and unpredictable needs of patients and carers, consistently deliver the other core components of the role. Collect, collate, analyse, evaluate and report information using IT skills. Maintain accurate patient records.

Involve patients and carers/relatives in the planning and delivery of their care and development of services. Provide expert advice on symptom management devising care plans. Lead and work collaboratively with other professionals and agencies to ensure patients specialist palliative care needs are met, in relation to ongoing needs incorporating psychological problems, spiritual issues, social and financial needs and discharge arrangements. Administer prescribed drugs using subcutaneous injections and/or continuous subcutaneous infusions via a syringe driver if required to do so Professional Leadership/Management Work autonomously across hospital and community boundaries.

Support specialist palliative care multidisciplinary meetings and development planning. Lead critical incident analysis for other colleagues on an individual/group basis. Evaluate service delivery, identify areas for improvement and initiate change in consultation with senior colleagues/Consultants/Nurse Managers. Interpret and implement National, Regional and Local policy frameworks, influence service development, long term strategic planning and provide direction within specialist area.

Make recommendations to ensure the effective and efficient use of physical and financial resources, supplies and equipment within the specialist area to improve and inform practice. Monitor health, safety and security of self and others to promote best practice in the community / ward / department and/or area of speciality. Delegate admin tasks to the admin team appropriately to ensure best time management Contribute to and influence the strategic planning and development of the palliative care services across the catchment area. Directly influence the development of policy and services beyond the boundaries of palliative care through participation in and recommendation to other disciplines.

Clinical Governance Identify need for and lead on research, clinical audit and benchmarking in order to inform practice and improve effectiveness of patient care. Analyse data from audit/research and disseminate finding through presentation to professional groups and publication. Lead on the implementation of audit/research in the specialist area. In Collaboration participate in the development and implementation of policies, protocols, procedures and guidelines relevant to own area of work supported through participation in specialist forums/groups (local, regional and national) and through Hospice Policies.

Contribute to the production of an annual report circulating it widely and appropriately. Participate in a regular service review. Promote patient and public involvement activities in the specialist area, leading to service improvement. Promote peoples eq