Deputy Sister/ Charge Nurse

Job summary

Are you an experienced & dynamic leader looking for a new challenge, in a supportive environment, where patients & their loved ones are at the centre of what we do? Our Hospice@Home service is looking for a Deputy Sister/ Charge Nurse to work alongside the existing leadership team to deliver excellent care enabling people to remain at home. You will be joining us at an exciting time of change - we are currently reviewing our service model to ensure we extend the reach of our services to meet the diverse needs of our community.

Home is an important environment for many patients. They may be having difficulties but do not wish to be admitted to hospital or an inpatient bed at the Hospice, or they may be waiting for admission for symptom management or end of life care. On the other hand, they may prefer to die at home, cared for and supported in the place they feel most comfortable. Hospice@Home provide hands on nursing care where appropriate, working in partnership with GPs, District Nurses and other specialist nurses. The team is made up of experienced registered nurses and health care assistants.

This maternity coverrole will be based at the Main Hospice site, working during the core business hours, Monday to Friday. However, flexibility will be required due to the nature of the service to cover occasional shifts including weekends & nights.

Main duties of the job

You will have experience of leading busy clinical teams and will ensure high quality patient outcomes by supporting our nurses and health care assistants to continue to deliver high quality care and support to patients in their own home. You will be used to managing risk and balancing demands and being responsible for driving ongoing service development to ensure we continue to meet the needs of our local population which is diverse.

Compliance with CQC Regulatory standards is essential and although experience in a palliative care setting is not essential you will be required to undertake specialist learning on commencement in the role.

What we can offer you:

salary above NHS pay scales (pay review pending) shift enhancements reimbursement of NMC fees up to 41 days Annual Leave opportunity to continue NHS pension & length of service based annual leave entitlement Golden Hello of £1,000 (after tax) as a special thank you

What we need from you:

highly motivated, dynamic and enthusiastic excellent communication skills be able to respond appropriately to emotionally challenging situations excellent nursing skills, record keeping and medicines management

About us

St Leonards Hospice is ranked among the top 20 hospices nationally for financial sustainability and is therefore able to respond to new opportunities for innovation to enhance patient care and influence wider services.

Our mission is to provide excellent care and support to those living with life-limiting illness and to the people they care about, to enrich their lives and to contribute to the ongoing development of end-of-life care. We do this by placing our patients at the centre of everything we do, and through involving patients and their families in all decisions regarding their care.

We can only achieve this with the help of our amazing colleagues, by developing and recognising their contribution, and by sharing our knowledge and skills through education, audit and research.

We do not have sponsorship status and therefore all our offers are made conditional upon our candidates submitting evidence of their right to work in the UK in conjunction with our other pre-employment checks.

Job description

Job responsibilities

The postholder will work as a member of the Hospice@Home team to provide ahigh standard of skilled compassionate nursing care, supporting the patients toremain at home and placing the patient at the centre of all that they do. Theywill provide clinical leadership, management and coordination of St LeonardsHospice@Home service and have the skills to support and manage change anddevelopment effectively.

They will work as a member of the Hospicemulti-disciplinary team to provide a high standard of skilled, compassionatenursing care and symptom management to patients givingsupport topatients, families and carers. The Hospice@Home Teams current operating hoursare 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Mainduties and responsibilities

Professional

1.Todevelop and maintain expertise in palliative nursing within the communitysetting.

2. To maintainhigh standards of nursing care, putting quality evidenced based care at theheart of practice.

3.Todemonstrate expertise in the clinical management of home-based patients withcomplex needs. Deliver hands on patient care as needed working as part of thenursing team.

assess the holistic needs of the patient and his/her family considering his/herphysical, psychological, social and spiritual needs.

5. Toeffectively prioritise and plan own workload and to be responsible forplanning, delivering and evaluating the effectiveness of care given topatients, applying specialist judgement.

6. Tomaintain accurate written records of care, communicating all necessaryinformation to other team members.

participate fully in the setting, implementation and monitoring of formalstandards of practice and to be involved, when required, in clinical governanceand auditing for the service.

responsible for maintaining a high level of knowledge, skill and competence tocare for dying people especially in relation to current drugs/therapies in thetreatment of pain and other symptoms and administer medication according to theprescription chart.

9.Workwith the team to develop a culture of reflective practice which can assist withlearning and development from recent/past events.

10.Communicateappropriately with all patients and staff, liaise with other departments andagencies and attend departmental meetings as requested.

11.Toparticipate in the development of Hospice standards, policies and research asrequired.

12.Ensurethat patient care within the home follows the Infection Prevention and controlnational standards and policy, role modelling good hand hygiene and PPEcompliance.

13.Toparticipate in full rotation across all shifts including nights.

Managerial

1.Demonstrateleadership through clinical expertise, delivering high standards ofperson-centred care. To ensure that staff have a clear understanding of theirduties and responsibilities and of the standards of performance expected.

2. Coordinateday to day service provision in the absence of, or in place of, the SeniorSister/Charge Nurse as required.

3.Topromote a supportive working environment for all staff.

charge of a nursing shift as required to support the Senior Sister/ChargeNurse, organising staff as necessary to meet patient needs.

5.Tomaintain accurate records with regard to the administration of drugs in thepatients home. To implement allstatutory and SLH policies relating to medications management.

6.Tolead, support and supervise the team through the process of change,demonstrating tenacity, drive professional integrity, balance and perspective.

7.Tomaintain collaborative working relationships and effective communicationsbetween all members of the multi-disciplinary team, to ensure a high standardof co-ordinated patient care.

8.Tomaintain high standards of safety within the unit, reporting any hazardousoccurrences or equipment.

9. Assistthe Senior Sister/Charge Nurse in ensuring all staff undergo regularappraisals, return to work and exit interviews in line with hospice policy.

report all accidents, incidents, complaints and untoward occurrences, keepingstatutory and unit records as required. Be aware ofresponsibilities relating to the complaints procedure.

11.Toobserve fire precautions and procedures as outlined in the Hospice Policy.

12. Towelcome both professional and lay visitors to the Hospice.

13.Toobserve unit policies on holidays, sickness and absence.

14.Toexercise care and economy in the use of property and equipment and to ensureequipment is clean, safe and maintained in good working order.

15.Assistwith the rostering of staff to ensure a good skill mix, including the use ofbank staff and flexing of shift patterns as required to maintain safe patientcare.

16.Beaware of allocated resources and contribute to effective budgetary controlauthorising supplies, invoices, rotas and absence forms as required.

17.To act as aresource to other professionals, both internally and externally, on specialistpalliative care issues.

18.Manage incident reporting within theHospice@Home service and work with the Director of Clinical Services and SeniorSister/Charge Nurse when there are identified areas for practice improvement.

19.Understand the serious incident policy and theresponsibilities of prioritising safe patient care, attending and facilitatingsafety huddles.

Education

1.Toachieve and maintain clinical competencies specific to the role andorganisation, facilitating the development and achievement of competence inothers.

2.Toassist in the teaching of new staff so that they are able to function fullywithin the team.

3.Toattend relevant courses or study days as required, building up skills tocompetently carry out the needs of the role.

4.Useevidence-based practice to develop and maintain a high quality of patient careand to ensure the continuous improvement of the service.

5.Toparticipate in the allocation, teaching and guidance of visiting professionalseg Student Nurses on placements, Medical Students, Students Allied to Healthand Post Graduate Students.

6.Tocommunicate skills learnt on secondment or study leave to other members ofstaff.

7.Beinvolved with education of patients and their families regarding the variousaspects of their health and wellbeing.

Person Specification

Communication

Essential

Proven interpersonal skills Ability to be sensitive and empathetic Able to work effectively in a multi-disciplinary team Ability to communicate at all levels within the Hospice

Personal

Essential

Work confidentially and with discretion Good sense of humour Enthusiasm Awareness and ability to cope with pressure Ability to work in a challenging environment Flexible to the changing needs of the post often at short notice Be accurate and methodical Honest, trustworthy, reliable and punctual Approachable, team player Committed to providing a quality and measurable service Ability to accept support from other team members Respect for others ethnic or/and religious/spiritual beliefs Committed to own continuing professional development A commitment to Hospice care and to have a philosophy and concept of Hospice care Ability to work unsocial hours/ out of office hours

N/A

Essential

N/A

Desirable

N/A

Other

Essential

Vehicle owner with full UK driving licence Be prepared to assist with Hospice fundraising activities

Desirable

Knowledge of local area

Experience

Essential

Excellent written and verbal communication skills Awareness of Department of Health End of Life Strategy

Desirable

Palliative Care Experience Clinical experience of working within the community Organisational skills Audit and Evaluation skills Advanced communication skills NMP

IT

Essential

Digitally literate Knowledge of Microsoft applications (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook)

Desirable

Knowledge and experience of CPD and SystmOne

Qualifications

Essential

Registered Nurse

Desirable

Palliative Care Qualification MIP/MPP Degree

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