TLCP Practice Nurse Job Description and Person Specification
Job title
Practice nurse
Line manager
Nursing Lead/Site Manager
Accountable to
Partners
Hours per week
37.5
Job summary
To be responsible for the delivery of practice nursing services, working as part of the practice’s multidisciplinary team who provide care within their scope of practice to the entitled patient population. The practice nurse will be responsible for a number of clinical areas such as health promotion, chronic disease management, health prevention, well woman and well man clinics, as well as supporting the management team in the reviewing of clinical policy and procedure.
Generic responsibilities
All staff at TLCP have a duty to conform to the following:
Equality, diversity and inclusion
A good attitude and positive action towards ED&I creates an environment where all individuals are able to achieve their full potential. Creating such an environment is important for three reasons: it improves operational effectiveness, it is morally the right thing to do, and it is required by law.
Patients and their families have the right to be treated fairly and to be routinely involved in decisions about their treatment and care. They can expect to be treated with dignity and respect and will not be discriminated against on any grounds including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Patients have a responsibility to treat other patients and our staff with dignity and respect.
Staff have the right to be treated fairly in matters of recruitment and career progression. Staff can expect to work in an environment where diversity is valued and equality of opportunity is promoted. Staff will not be discriminated against on any grounds including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Staff have a responsibility to ensure that they treat our patients and their colleagues with dignity and respect.
Safety, health, environment and fire (SHEF)
This practice is committed to supporting and promoting opportunities for staff to maintain their health, well-being and safety. You have a duty to take reasonable care of health and safety at work for you, your team and others, and to cooperate with employers to ensure compliance with health and safety requirements. All personnel are to comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Environmental Protection Act 1990, Environment Act 1995, Fire Precautions (workplace) Regulations 1999 and other statutory legislation.
Confidentiality
This practice is committed to maintaining an outstanding confidential service. Patients entrust and permit us to collect and retain sensitive information relating to their health and other matters pertaining to their care. They do so in confidence and have a right to expect that all staff will respect their privacy and maintain confidentiality at all times. It is essential that if the legal requirements are to be met and the trust of our patients is to be retained, that all staff protect patient information and provide a confidential service.
Quality and continuous improvement (CI)
To preserve and improve the quality of our output, all personnel are required to think not only about what they do, but how they achieve it. By continually re-examining our processes, we will be able to develop and improve the overall effectiveness of the way we work. The responsibility for this rests with everyone working within the practice and requires them to look for opportunities to improve quality and share good practice.
This practice continually strives to improve work processes that deliver healthcare with improved results across all areas of our service provision. We promote a culture of continuous improvement, where everyone counts and staff are permitted to make suggestions and contributions to improve our service delivery and to enhance patient care.
Induction training
On arrival at the practice all personnel are to complete a practice induction programme; this is managed by the deputy practice manager.
Learning and development
The effective use of training and development is fundamental in ensuring that all staff are equipped with the appropriate skills, knowledge, attitude and competencies to perform their role. All staff will be required to partake in and complete mandatory training as directed by the training coordinator, as well as participating in the practice training programme. Staff will also be permitted (subject to approval) to undertake external training courses which will enhance their knowledge and skills, progress their career and ultimately enable them to improve processes and service delivery.
Collaborative working
All staff are to recognise the significance of collaborative working. Teamwork is essential in multidisciplinary environments. Effective communication is essential and all staff must ensure they communicate in a manner that enables the sharing of information in an appropriate manner.
Service delivery
Staff at TLCP must adhere to the information contained within practice policies and regional directives, ensuring protocols are followed at all times. Staff will be given detailed information during the induction process regarding policy and procedure.
Security
The security of the practice is the responsibility of all personnel. Staff must ensure they remain vigilant at all times and report any suspicious activity immediately to their line manager. Under no circumstances are staffs to share the codes for the door locks with anyone and they must ensure that restricted areas remain effectively secured.
Professional conduct
At TLCP, staffs are required to dress appropriately for their role. Administrative staff will be provided with a uniform whilst clinical staff must dress in accordance with their role.
Leave
All personnel are entitled to take leave. Line managers are to ensure that all of their staff are afforded the opportunity to take annual leave each year, and should be encouraged to take all of their leave entitlement.
Primary responsibilities
The following are the core responsibilities of the practice nurse. There may be on occasion a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent on factors such as workload and staffing levels:
- Develop, implement and embed health promotion and well-being programmes
- Implement and evaluate individual treatment plans for chronic disease patients
- Identify, manage and support patients at risk of developing long-term conditions, preventing adverse effects on patients’ health
- Provide routine nursing care to patients as required in accordance with clinical-based evidence, NICE and the NSF
- Provide wound care (ulcer/Doppler etc.) to patients
- Provide travel medicine services
- Request pathology services as necessary
- Process pathology results as required
- Provide chronic disease clinics, delivering patient care as necessary, referring patients to secondary/specialist care as required
- Maintain accurate clinical records in conjunction with extant legislation
- Ensure codes are used effectively
- Maintain chronic disease registers
- Able to do undertake LTC condition review (Red/Amber and Green Clinics) eg Asthma, COPD, Diabetes, LD, Dementia
- Develop, implement and embed well woman clinics
- Develop, implement and embed well man clinics
- Chaperone patients where necessary
- Assist GPs with minor surgery when required
- Prioritise health issues and intervene appropriately
- Support the team in dealing with clinical emergencies
- Recognise, assess and refer patients presenting with mental health needs
- Implement vaccination programmes for adults and children
- Support patients in the use of their prescribed medicines or over-the-counter medicines (within own scope of practice)
- Liaise with external services/agencies to ensure the patient is supported appropriately (vulnerable patients etc.)
- Delegate clinical responsibilities appropriately (ensuring safe practice and that the task is within the scope of practice of the individual)
- Support the clinical team with all safeguarding matters, in accordance with local and national policies
- Understand practice and local policies for substance abuse and addictive behaviour, referring patients appropriately
- Deliver opportunistic health promotion where appropriate
Secondary responsibilities
In addition to the primary responsibilities, the practice nurse may be requested to:
- Act as the audit lead, effectively utilising the audit cycle
- Monitor and ensure the safe storage, rotation and disposal of medicaments
- Support junior members of the nursing team, providing guidance when necessary
- Participate in local initiatives to enhance service delivery and patient care
- Support and participate in shared learning within the practice
- Continually review clinical practices, responding to national policies and initiatives where appropriate
- Participate in the review of significant and near-miss events applying a structured approach, i.e. root cause analysis (RCA).
The person specification for this role is detailed overleaf.
Person Specification – Practice Nurse
Qualifications
Essential
Desirable
Registered Nurse
✓
Postgraduate diploma or degree (Primary Care)
✓
Experience
Essential
Desirable
Experience of working in a primary care environment
✓
Experience of working as a practice nurse or community nurse
✓
Experience of chronic disease management
✓
Clinical knowledge and skills
Essential
Desirable
Wound care/removal of sutures and staples
✓
ECGs
✓
Venepuncture
✓
New patient medicals
✓
Chaperone procedure
✓
Requesting pathology tests and processing the results, advising patients accordingly
✓
Travel medicine
✓
Diabetes
✓
Hypertension
✓
Asthma
✓
Spirometry
✓
CHD
✓
Immunisations (routine, childhood and travel)
✓
Women’s health (Cervical cytology, contraception etc.)
✓
Understands the importance of evidence-based practice
✓
Broad knowledge of clinical governance
✓
Ability to record accurate clinical notes
✓
Ability to work within own scope of practice and to understand when to refer to GPs
✓
Knowledge of public health issues in the local area
✓
Awareness of issues within the wider health arena
✓
Knowledge of health promotion strategies
✓
Understands the requirement for PGDs and associated policy
✓
Skills
Essential
Desirable
Excellent communication skills (written and oral)
✓
Strong IT skills
✓
Clear, polite telephone manner
✓
Competent in the use of Office and Outlook
✓
EMIS/Systmone /Vision user skills
✓
Effective time management (planning and organising)
✓
Ability to work as a team member and autonomously
✓
Good interpersonal skills
✓
Problem-solving and analytical skills
✓
Ability to follow clinical policy and procedure
✓
Experience with audit and able to lead audit programmes
✓
Experience with clinical risk management
✓
Personal qualities
Essential
Desirable
Polite and confident
✓
Flexible and cooperative
✓
Motivated, forward thinker
✓
Problem solver with the ability to process information accurately and effectively, interpreting data as required
✓
High levels of integrity and loyalty
✓
Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations
✓
Ability to work under pressure/in stressful situations
✓
Able to communicate effectively and understand the needs of the patient
✓
Commitment to ongoing professional development
✓
Effectively utilises resources
✓
Punctual and committed to supporting the team effort
✓
Other requirements
Essential
Desirable
Flexibility to work outside core office hours
✓
Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check
✓
Occupational Health clearance
✓
NMC registration
✓
STATEMENT:
This document may be amended following consultation with the post holder, to facilitate the development of the role, the TLCP and the individual. It may be reviewed in light of experience, changes and developments. All personnel should be prepared to accept additional, or surrender existing duties, to enable the efficient running of the organisation.
Pay: £18.00-£30.00 per hour
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Lewisham, Greater London: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Education:
Experience:
- general practice: 2 years (required)
Licence/Certification:
Work Location: In person
