Practice Nurse

Practice Nurse

Reference: HW-2104

Job description:                                 Practice Nurse

Main purpose of the post:                 To deliver appropriate treatment, screening and advice within the professional competence of the post-holder to the practice population.

                                                            To support the General Practitioners with the management of chronic diseases.

                                                            To work as part of the practice and attached health and social care teams to ensure the optimal level of patient care.

Reporting to:                                      Clinical: Partners and Senior Nurse               

                                                            Administrative: Practice Manager

Responsible for:                                 Health Care Assistant

Location:                                            St Saviour’s Surgery and patients’ homes

Main Roles and Responsibilities

Chronic Disease Management

·         Have a good understanding of the main chronic diseases (e.g. diabetes, coronary heart disease, hypertension, respiratory conditions) and their management

·         Support and provide information to help patients manage their condition

·         Undertake opportunistic screening for chronic diseases

·         Contribute to the management of the chronic disease management registers

·         Make appropriate referrals

Vaccinations and immunisations

·         Administer injections under an individualised prescription or Patient Group Direction

·         Ensure safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs

·         Provide an adult and childhood immunisation service

·         Ensuring PGDs are kept up to date

·         Cold chain

·         Responsible for ordering stock and rotating immunisations

·         Develop practice protocols

·         Develop and work to Patient Group directions for POMs

·         Responsible for involving the patient’s doctor and seeking further guidance when immunising babies following practice protocols

Travel Advice

·         Promote holiday and travel health and give vaccines where necessary

·         Administer vaccines and medications

·         Provide Malaria prophylaxis and bite avoidance advice, referring to a pharmacy where appropriate

·         Provide advice on safer sex where appropriate

·         Provide advice on food hygiene and sun protection

·         Keep abreast of current guidelines regarding travel vaccinations

Wound Management

·         Perform wound care using aseptic techniques

·         Undertake dressings, including leg ulcers

·         Suture and clip removal

·         Assist with minor surgery

·         Provide the diagnosis, management plan and treatment of leg ulcers

·         Compression dressings

Screening

·         Undertake opportunistic screening – BP checks, height, weight, BMI, urinalysis, alcohol consumption and smoking status

·         Undertake opportunistic venepuncture

·         NHS Heath Checks

Health Promotion

·         Recognise patients’ readiness to change in supporting their attempts to change unhealthy behaviour

·         Provide health eating advice to individuals or to groups

·         Provide 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 safe sex and drug use

·         Refer patients as appropriate

Mental Health

·         Recognise and is aware of the appropriate referral mechanisms for family violence, substance abuse and addictive behaviours

·         Recognise the psychological needs of patients presenting with depression or other mental health problems

·         Follow up appointment DNAs and bring it to the patients GP attention

·         Refer to Social Prescriber or Swanswell Shared Care

Men’s Health

·         Raise awareness and give basic advice on issues covering testicular cancer, incontinence and sexual health

Women’s Health

·         Advise patients on the national and local Cervical Cytology and mammography screening programmes

·         Undertake a programme of cervical cytology sampling

·         Promote breast self-awareness and provide supporting literature

·         Advise patients about reducing the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and make appropriate referrals

·         Take swabs for microscopy as directed

·         Review patients on HRT as per practice protocol

·         Give patients basic advice about peri-menopausal risk of osteoporosis and heart disease.

·         Offer health promotion/lifestyle advice to patients

·         Advise on basic incontinence management and make appropriate referrals

Family Planning

·         Advise patients on available methods of contraception including LARC methods and refer patients as appropriate

·         Perform interval checks for patients using hormonal contraception

·         Advise patients on reducing risk of sexually transmitted diseases and refer patients appropriately

General nursing duties

·         Take ECG recordings as necessary and upload into patients’ records and where necessary bring to the doctors attention

·         Take blood pressures and upload into patients’ records and where necessary bring to the doctors attention

·         Take blood samples as necessary, handle, label and store samples as per practice protocols

·         Test urine samples as necessary, handle, label and store samples as per practice protocols

·         Undertake new patient checks

·         Administer injections (e.g. Depo-Provera, Prostrap, B12)

·         Maintain competence in anaphylaxis and resuscitation skills

·         Supporting GPs with the development of care plans

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

·         Follow universal hygiene precautions

·         Follow correct procedure for the collection and handling of laboratory specimens

·         Adhere to guidelines for the segregation and disposal of waste materials

·         Follow procedures for reporting and treatment of sharps injuries

·         Follow procedures for dealing with blood and body fluid spillages

Child protection and vulnerable adults

·         Understand protocols surrounding safeguarding

·         Maintain an awareness of the types, signs and symptoms of abuse

·         Understand the importance of recognition, documentation, communication and referral

·         Maintain awareness of statutory local procedures and points of referral

Clinical Practice

·         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

·         Ensure that all clinical system entries are properly recorded and coded in the practice clinical system

Clinical Records

·         Record accurate notes of all consultations and treatments in the patients’ notes on the clinical computer system (EMIS Web) as appropriate

·         Collect and input data into appropriate templates  to contribute to a high quality of information within the practice

Confidentiality

·         Maintain all information relating to the health and treatment of patients or carers in complete confidence

·         Maintain any information about practice staff, practice business or other healthcare workers as confidential.

Practice Protocols, Policies and Procedures

·         Comply with all relevant current practice policies, procedures and protocols

·         Inform Practice Manager or a Partner of any inaccuracies or conflicts in practice policies, procedures and protocols

·         Support the development of practice protocols

Health and Safety

·         Assist in promoting and maintaining their own Health and Safety and the Health and Safety of colleagues and patients

·         Identifying risks involved with work activities and undertaking such activities in a way which manages those risks.

·         Maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards

·         Reporting health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised

Supplies and equipment

·         Ensure the security of the treatment room and practice at all times, including equipment and the storage of all drugs

·         Monitor the fridge temperature and carry out checks and balances as required

·         Share responsibility for the maintenance of equipment and clinical stock relating to patient care

·         Order stock as appropriate

Equality and diversity

·         Support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues

·         Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues

·         Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is-non-judgemental and respects their circumstances, feelings, priorities and rights

Professional Development

·         Participate in any training programme  or Study Days arranged by the practice

·         Participate in an annual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and professional development

·         Take responsibility for own development, learning and performance.

Quality, Risk, Audit and Performance

·         Strive to maintain and improve quality at the Practice

·         Alert colleagues to issues of quality and risk

·         Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision

·         Contribute to team effectiveness by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve own and team’s performance

·         Effectively manage own time, workload and resources

·         Participate in audits as required

Communication

·         Communicate effectively with other team members

·         Communicate effectively with patients and carers

·         Recognise people’s needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly

·         Attend practice team meetings and clinical team meetings

Cover

·         Provide cover for colleagues for holidays and any periods of sickness

This Job Description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of duties but more a framework against which the post-holder will be employed. This Job Description can be changed after consultation between the post-holder and Practice Manager.