Job Description

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Specialist Palliative Care Team at Northampton General Hospital.



We are looking for an experienced and highly motivated nurse who is passionate about palliative and end of life care to join the hospital based Specialist Palliative Care Team.



Working as part of the Macmillan Specialist Palliative Care multidisciplinary team, the post holder will manage a caseload of patients with complex symptoms or support needs, ensuring they have timely access to expert symptom control, psychological support, information and advice.



As a conscientious and enthusiastic individual, you would work within a dynamic specialist team delivering palliative care to patients and those that are important to them, as well as supporting staff members at ward level across the trust through training and education.



You will possess palliative care experience and be responsible for managing a caseload of patients with specialist needs. The role covers a seven day specialist palliative care service within the hospital.



Northampton General Hospital is one of the largest employers in the area and we are on an exciting journey. All of our divisions are committed to doing things better, with more efficiency as we update, modernise, and advance. We have also entered into a Group Model with neighbouring Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and become University Hospitals of Northamptonshire.



Our Excellence Values



Compassion

Accountability

Respect

Integrity

Courage

We want to recruit the best people to deliver our services across the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire and help to unleash everyone's full potential. As an organisation, we value how we communicate and promote our vacancies to all communities.

The Hospital Group encourages applications from people who identify from all protected groups, especially those from BAME, Disabled and LGBTQ+ backgrounds as these are underrepresented in our hospitals.

We understand that we need to work with colleagues from diverse backgrounds and make sure the environment they work in is inclusive and collaborative.

We have active Networks that promote and support colleagues from all backgrounds. This ensures everyone feels supported and has a sense of belonging working for Kettering and Northampton General Hospitals.



To act as a core member of the Specialist Palliative Care multidisciplinary team



To facilitate the effective management of patients referred to the team ensuring their experience is seamless and of high quality.



To promote and support staff to embed the Five Priorities of Care.



To attend the weekly Specialist Palliative Care multidisciplinary team meeting and contribute to the discussion and patient assessment/care planning decisions.



To undertake a comprehensive holistic assessment of patient/carer needs, ensuring that results of patients' holistic needs assessment are taken into account when decision making.



As a non-medical prescriber, prescribe and review medication for therapeutic effectiveness, appropriate to patient need and in accordance with evidence-based practice and national and local protocols whilst remaining within scope of practice.



To demonstrate advanced practice in planning, implementing and evaluating nursing care, documenting consultations in the hospital notes.



To monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the plan of care, making revisions as necessary.



To provide Level 2 psychological support for patients and their carers, referring patient with complex needs to the Macmillan Clinical Psychologist if appropriate.



To act as a specialist resource to other healthcare professionals relating to Specialist Palliative Care providing expert nursing advice and support.



To act as a role model demonstrating high standards of holistic care and provide clinical leadership related to Specialist Palliative Care

To identify and meet the educational needs of patients and their carers.



To have specialist knowledge of the impact of advanced disease and the associated needs of patients and their family / those important to them.



To support the End of Life Care Practice Educator in the provision of trust wide education.

To support the Palliative Care and End of Life care nurse in implementing strategies to enhance palliative and End of Life care across the trust.



To facilitate sensitive communication including conversations about Advance Care Planning, End of Life care and Preferred Place of Care / Place of Death with patients and those close to them.



To possess knowledge of the complex issues that may arise when informing carers about impending death and the appropriate strategies that can be employed in difficult circumstances.



To consider and if possible identify the patient's Preferred Place of Care at the appropriate point in the illness experience, ensuring patients are able to be discharged to the place of their choice where possible.



Work in partnership with the Marie Curie Rapid Discharge Service/Macmillan Social Care Coordinator to facilitate complex/rapid discharge

To identity patient/carer information needs and provide this in an appropriate written or verbal format.



Physical Resource



To support patients, their families and those important to them, ensuring their physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual needs are identified and met .



To demonstrate effective communication skills with patients/carers and the wider multidisciplinary team.



To demonstrate high levels of autonomy and advocacy, working independently in the absence of palliative medical cover.



To demonstrate an ability to work across organisational and professional boundaries.



To identity own personal development needs to work at advanced level and take appropriate action to ensure that these are met.



To maintain a personal professional profile and ensure NMC revalidation requirements are met.



Human Resources



To participate in the formal review process and plan future personal development and competencies to

be achieved.



Information Resources



To participate in the collection and retrieval of activity data in order to monitor and evaluate the specialist nursing service.



To contribute to the maintenance of concise, accurate patient records including data entry onto team database.



Research & Development



To undertake/participate in audit/research projects related to palliative and end of life care.