Practice Nurse

To be responsible for the delivery of practice nursing services, working as part of the practice multidisciplinary team, delivering care within their scope of practice to the entitled patient population. Supported by the senior nurses within the practice, they will deliver care within the boundaries of their role, focusing upon supporting patients to be healthy, monitoring of long term conditions, health prevention and screening activities. They will work collaboratively within the general practice team to meet the needs of patients, supporting the delivery of policy and procedures, and providing nurse leadership as required.

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 upon factors such as workload and staffing levels:

Clinical Practice

• Assess, plan, develop, implement and evaluate programmes to promote health and well -being and prevent adverse effects on health and well-being.


• Implement and evaluate individual treatment plans for patients with a known long-term condition.


• Identify, and manage as appropriate, treatment plans for patients at risk of developing a long-term condition.


• Prioritise health problems and intervene appropriately to assist the patient in complex, urgent or emergency situations, including initiation of effective emergency care.


• Support patients to adopt health promotion strategies that encourage patients to live healthier, and apply principals of self-care.


• Deliver opportunistic health promotion using opportunities such as new-patient medicals.


• Provide information and advice on prescribed or over-the-counter medications and regimens, side effects and interactions within remit of knowledge


• Manage medicines including prescribing and administering medication and appliances for patients, as an Independent/Supplementary Prescriber, or within Patient Group Directions/Patient Specific Directions.


• Assess and care for patients presenting for wound evaluation and care.


• Support and manage health needs of women presenting for cervical cytology consultations.


• Recognise, assess and refer patients presenting with mental health needs in accordance with the National Service Framework (NSF) for mental health.


• Implement and participate in vaccination and immunisation programmes for both adults and children.


• Advised, support and where appropriate, administer vaccines for patients travelling abroad.


• Promote and deliver evidence based care for patients presenting with aural conditions.


Communication

• Utilise and demonstrate sensitive communication styles, to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to treatment.


• Communicate with and support patients who receive 'bad news'.


• Communicate effectively with patients and carers, recognising the need for alternative methods of communication to overcome different levels of understanding and cultural backgrounds.


• Utilise communication skills to support patients to adhere to prescribed treatment regimens.


• Anticipate barriers to communication and take appropriate action to improve communication.


• Maintain effective communication skills with individuals and groups within the practice.


• Act as an advocate when representing the patients' and colleagues' viewpoints to others.


Delivery a quality service

• Recognise and work within own competence and professional code of conduct as defined and regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery council (NMC).


• Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patients' consultation, consistent with legislation and policies and procedures.


• Prioritise, organise and manage own workload in a manner that maintains and prompts quality.


• Deliver evidence base care according to NICE guidelines and NSF.


• Assess effectiveness of care delivery through self and peer review, audit and formal evaluation, implementing improvements when required.


• Participate in the maintenance of quality governance systems and processes across the organisation.


• To implement vaccination programmes for adults and children


• To support patients in the use of their prescribed medicines or over the counter medicines (within own scope of practice)


• To liaise with external services/agencies to ensure the patient is supported appropriately (vulnerable patients etc.)


• To delegate clinical responsibilities appropriately (ensuring safe practice and the task is within the scope of practice of the individual)


• To support the clinical team with all safeguarding matters in accordance with local and national policies


• To understand practice and local policies for substance abuse and addictive behaviour, referring patients appropriately


• To deliver opportunistic health promotion where appropriate


• In partnership with other clinical teams, collaborate on improving the quality of care.


• Participate in shared learning across the practice and wider organisation.


• Participate in the management, review and identify learning from patients complaints.


• Evaluate patients' response to health care provisions.


• Understand and apply legal policy that supports the identification of vulnerable client groups.


• Work within policies relating to domestic violence, vulnerable adults, substance abuse and addictive behaviour, refer as appropriate.


Team working

• Understand own role and scope in the organisation and identify ways of further development.


• Be and effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploring new ways of working.


• Delegate clearly and appropriately, adopting the principals of safe practice and assessment of competence of those taking on delegated duties.


• Ensure clear understanding of referral mechanisms within the practice.


• Accept delegation from other nurses, prioritise own workload and ensure effective time management strategies are embedded within own practice.


• Work effectively with others; participate in team activities that create opportunities to improve patient care.


Management of risk

• Manage and assess risk within the areas of responsibility, ensuring adequate measures are in place to protect patients and staff.


• Monitor work areas ensuring they are safe and free from hazards. Be aware of practice and national policies/legislation relating to safety and security.


• Ensure safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs is undertaken.


• Ensure documentation of controlled drug usage according to legal requirements.


• Undertake statutory and mandatory training.


• Apply infection control measures within the practice according to local and national guidelines.


• Participates in the local implementation strategies that are aligned to the values and culture of general practice.


Utilising information

• Use technology as an aid to management in planning, implementation and monitoring, cascading information as appropriate.


• Review and process data using recognised read codes to aid future audit and ensure easy and accurate retrieval of information.


• Manage information searches from the internet.


• Understand own and other's responsibility as regards the Freedom of Information Act.


• Collate, analyse and present clinical data and information to the team.


Learning and development

• Act as a mentor to students, assessing competence against set standards.


• Disseminate learning and information gained to other team members sharing good practice and informing others on current and future developments.


• Assess own learning needs, undertaking relevant learning as appropriate.


• Make effective use of learning opportunities within and outside the workplace, evaluating effectiveness and cascading information back.


• Provide and educational role to patients, carers and families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning.


Equality and diversity

• Identify patterns of discrimination, take action to overcome this, and promote diversity and equality of opportunity.


• Enable others to promote equality and diversity in a non-discriminatory culture.


• Support people who need assistance in exercising their rights.


• Monitor and evaluate adherence to local chaperoning policies.


• Act as a role model in good practice relating to equality and diversity.


• Accept the rights of individuals to choose their care providers participate in care and refuse rights. Assist patients from marginalised groups to access quality care.


Generic responsibilities

All staff at Ammonite Health Partnership 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 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 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 co-operate 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 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, 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 of 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 to look for opportunities to improve quality and share good practice.

This practice continually strives to improve work processes which 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 enhance patient care.

Induction training

On arrival at the practice, all new 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 to ensuring that all staff are equipped with the appropriate skills, knowledge, attitude and competences to perform their role. All staff will be required to partake 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 also essential and all staff must ensure they communicate in a manner which enables the sharing of information in an appropriate manner.

Service delivery

Staff at Ammonite Health Partnership must adhere to the information contained within practice policies and regional directives, ensuring protocols are adhered to 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 staff to share the codes for the door locks with anyone and they are to ensure that restricted areas remain effectively secured.

Professional conduct

At Ammonite Health Partnership, staff 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.