Download Develop, maintain and promote effective working practices with all

Tudor Lodge
Tudor Lodge Surgery
JOB DESCRIPTION
1. Job Details
Job Holder:
Job Title:
Practice Nurse
Responsible to:
Lead Nurse
Professionally responsible to: Partners & Practice Manager
Maintain registration with the NMC (or successor organisation) working
within the Code of Professional Conduct.
Grade:
Location:
Training
Band 6 equivalent (not agenda for change) £27,105 - £32,116 pa pro rata
The surgery would consider nurses without all of the areas of expertise
described in this Job Description and the salary would be adjusted
accordingly. The Practice Nurse may have developed long term
condition expertise, for example Asthma, COPD and Diabetes or may be
at an earlier stage in their career. An entry level nurse would be
expected to be competent in, for example, wound management,
infection control, screening and health promotion.
Tudor Lodge Surgery, 3 Nithsdale Road, Weston super Mare, BS23 4JP
 Participate in training and development
 To maintain CPD to meet the standards outlined by the NMC and
practice requirements, including revalidation, mandatory training,
supervision and any other updates relevant to the post.
 To actively participate in development and review and work on an
annual PDP
2. Job Purpose
 To work as part of the primary care nursing team, working within the treatment room.
 To provide screening, investigations, immunisations and specific treatments including ear
syringing, dressings and wound care.
 To support the GP’s in emergency healthcare as necessary.
 Ensure compliance with the CQC’s essential standards of quality and safety.
3. Dimensions
 It is essential that the post-holder is able to work autonomously and is able to make clinical
decisions within competencies.
 Must be able to work within a multidisciplinary team and enable seamless patient care.
4. Organisational Chart
GPs
Practice Manager
Practice Nurses
Healthcare Assistant
5. Main Tasks/Duties and Areas of Responsibility
Professional responsibilities and administrative duties
 To assess the health needs of both individuals and groups of patients
 To plan and deliver appropriate, qualitative healthcare adhering to national, local and practice
policies, including local child protection procedures and up-to-date advice from public health
 Participate in the delivery of patient care pathways for long-term conditions and other clinical areas
covered under the quality and outcomes framework (QOF) and enhanced services within the GP
contract
 To evaluate the outcomes of healthcare and make changes to care plans in liaison with the
appropriate healthcare professionals and the patients themselves
 To work as an autonomous practitioner and as a member of the clinical team, referring to other
members of the primary health care team or external services, including secondary care Tissue
Viability, Vascular and other wound management services, smoking cessation, family planning,
podiatry, A & E and social services
 Where medication is required, advise patients of appropriate over-the-counter treatments or follow
CCG/practice formularies and utilise prescribing authorisation to generate prescriptions for
endorsement by a GP.
 To be competent to maintain and use the clinical system during the consultation and for the
monitoring of patients through the QOF and other functionalities
 Ensure accurate notes of all consultations and treatments are recorded in the electronic patient
record, utilising templates to ensure accuracy of data coding
 Ensure accurate completion of all necessary documentation associated with patients’ healthcare and
their registration with the practice
 To contribute to the development of practice goals and to achieve practice objectives
 Attend and participate in meetings as required by the practice
 Participate in the development and review of clinical protocols and undertake administration and
healthcare promotion as required
 Receive and make telephone calls, taking messages where necessary
 Ensure total familiarity with all appointment systems, arrange follow-up appointments and report
any problems to the Practice manager
 Delegate duties to appropriate members of the practice team
 Participate in training to develop knowledge and skills in IT
 Co-operate and participate in any research projects undertaken by the practice
 Participate in the education and/or training of students in all disciplines and all new members to the
practice team
 Assist patients who require information about the practice’s satisfaction and complaints’ procedure
Clinical Nursing Practice
Wound Management:
 Perform wound care using aseptic technique
 Undertake dressings for patients as per practice contracts and protocols
 Suture and clip removal
 Provide the diagnosis, management plan and treatment of lower limb ulcers following local care and
management pathways
Screening:
 Undertake opportunistic screening – BP checks, height, weight, BMI, urinalysis, smoking status
 Undertake opportunistic venepuncture
 Carry out ECGs
Health Promotion:
 Recognise patients’ readiness to change in supporting their attempts to change unhealthy behaviour
 Provide healthy eating advice to individuals or to groups, including the underweight, overweight,
CHD and Diabetes measuring and recording BMI.
 Promote smoking cessation advice individually in opportunistic consultations
 Provide individual advice to patients about increasing activity or exercise
 Offer advice on recommended safe limits for alcohol consumption
 Develop and maintain the health promotion material within the
 Refer as appropriate
Vaccinations and Immunisations:
 Administer injections under an individual prescription or Patient Group Direction (PGD)
 Follow Practice protocols in relation to chargeable vaccinations and NHS vaccination processes
 Ensure safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs
 Promote, co-ordinate and provide an adult and childhood immunisation service
 Support the development of practice protocols
 Work to Patient Group Directions for prescription only medicines (POMs)
Travel Health Advice
Offer a holistic approach to travel health including comprehensive, up-to-date advice for patients prior
to travel including:
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Vaccinations and medications, including the administering of and charging for appropriate vaccines
Malaria prophylaxis and bite avoidance
Safe sex
Food hygiene
Sun protection
First aid and emergency medication
Health insurance
Ear Care:
 Undertake ear syringing
 Advise patients about safe ear care
Infection control:
 Support patients and colleagues in adopting sound infection control measures
 Apply infection control measures within the practice according to local and national guidelines. This
includes:
- Universal hygiene precautions
- The collection of handling of laboratory specimens
- Segregation and disposal of waste materials
- Decontamination of instruments and clinical equipment
- Reporting and treatment of sharps injuries
- Dealing with blood and body fluid spillages
- Educate colleagues in adopting sound infection control measures
Emergency Management:
 Maintain competency in anaphylaxis and resuscitation techniques
Child Health/Child Protection
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Recognise the signs, symptoms and categories of child abuse
Understand the importance of recognition, observation, documentation and communication
Is aware of child health procedures, statutory local procedures and points of referral
Has knowledge of other practitioners and agencies roles
Understand basic legal issues around child abuse
Mental Health:
 Recognise and is aware of appropriate referral mechanisms for family violence, vulnerable adults,
substance abuse and addictive behaviours
 Recognise psychological needs of patients presenting with depression or suicide tendency
Men’s Health:
Raise awareness and give basic advice on issues covering:
 Testicular self examination
 Incontinence and prostatic disease
 Family planning
 Sexual Health
 Make appropriate referrals
 Initiates opportunistic consultations with patients to cover issues of men’s health
Family Planning:
 Advise patients on available methods of contraception and refer patients as appropriate
 Support patients attending for emergency contraception, and refer patients as appropriate
 Advise patients on reducing risks of sexually transmitted diseases and refer patients appropriate
Women’s Health
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Advise patients on the national and local cervical cytology and mammography screening
programmes
Undertake cervical cytology sampling and maintain competencies by attending regular updates
Audit a minimum of twenty consecutive smears each year to demonstrate adequate sampling rates.
Promote breast self-awareness, demonstrate breast self-examination and provide supportive
literature
Advise patients about reducing the risks of sexually transmitted diseases and make appropriate
referrals
Take swabs for microscopy as directed
Give patients basic advise about peri-menopausal and menopausal symptoms and make appropriate
referrals
Advise on the increased peri-menopausal and post-menopausal risk of osteoporosis and heart
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disease. Offer health promotion/lifestyle advice to patients
Advise on basic incontinence management and make appropriate referrals
Clinical Practice Leadership:
 Assist in clinical audit and the setting and monitoring of standards of care
 Teach and direct others in clinical setting, including unqualified staff
 Act as an assessor/mentor and teacher to other staff
 Work effectively in the team working towards common objectives
 Monitor and maintain the consistency of professional standards set
 Take appropriate action if standards are not being met
 Recognise the development needs of others and take appropriate action
 Advise and support other members of the team
Clinical Practice Development:
 Participate in evidence based practice
 Be aware of current evidence based approaches to patient care and demonstrate this in practice
 Demonstrate clinical expertise in practice
Risk management
 To maintain patient confidentiality upholding the Data Protection Act and Caldicott principles
 A responsibility under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to report all potential and actual risks
 Adhere to the infection control policy
 Adhere to the decontamination policy
 Report all needle stick injuries and ensure correct disposal of sharps. Be aware of the policy for the
management of needle stick injury
 Ensure equipment in the treatment rooms and clinical equipment on the premises is calibrated and
maintained to safe and satisfactory standards
 Order supplies of vaccines, dressings and other clinical consumables as required and in line with
practice protocols
Any other delegated duties considered appropriate to the post
Confidentiality
The code of Practice for safe guarding medical information as approved by the Medical Advisor
Commission:
Patient information is generally held under legal and ethical obligations of confidentiality. Information
provided in confidence should not be used or disclosed in a form that might identify a patient without
his or her consent. There are a number of important exceptions to this rule but it applies in most
circumstances.
Note: Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974:
In order to protect patients, the law specifically permits Health Authorities to obtain relevant
information about an applicant’s previous criminal convictions (if any). You are therefore asked to
reveal all such convictions which you consider relevant to the applicant’s suitability for this post. Any
such information will be treated in the strictest confidence
6. Communication and Working Relationships
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To work as part of the treatment room team and the clinical team in the practice
Develop, maintain and promote effective working practices with all teams within the practice
including all members of the primary healthcare team, other community team services including
social services, public health and other relevant outside agencies.
7. Hours of work
Normal hours of work:
21 hours per week. Flexibility will be required to provide nurse cover between the hours of 8am and
6.30pm. We currently also run 7am-8am clinics on a Wednesday morning which you may be required to
support.
Extra hours of work:
Staff will be required to work additional hours to provide cover for annual leave, occasional study leave
and unexpected absences. Extra cover is paid at the normal hourly rate
Attendance at meetings and training sessions held throughout the year will be paid at your normal
hourly rate if held outside your working hours.
Saturdays:
The surgery is participating in Improved Access and currently is open approximately one Saturday
morning per month. This post would also include some Saturday cover for ‘flu vaccination clinics each
year.
Signed Post holder:
Date:
Signed Manager:
Date: