Community Mental Health Nurse

Job overview

The post holder will deliver and or advise on the delivery of high-quality safe nursing care, ensuring consistently high standards of practice and clinical excellence which comply with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) code of professional conduct. Bexley Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub is a primary care level service in the Borough of Bexley.

The post sits within a multi-disciplinary framework and provides assessments (telephone, virtual and face to face) and brief interventions. The team liaises and gets referrals from several sources including GPs, Bexley Local Authority and MIND.

As a Community Mental Health Hub Nurse you will promote and develop clinical leadership and clinical practice and be a positive role model to junior members of the team through the practice of evidence-based care.

You will be expected to support professional development through clinical appraisal and supervision and contribute to the ongoing educational programme for staff, fostering a positive learning environment.

As a senior nurse working within the hub you are required to encourage and foster collaborative and cross organisational working.

Main duties of the job

This job description is an outline of the key tasks and responsibilities expected of a Band 6 Nurse.

The post holder will be required to undertake additional duties appropriate to the clinical area/speciality in which they work.

The specific responsibilities associated with different speciality roles are listed below.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Working autonomously within the parameters of the role leading and supporting junior staff and wider care team to implement the delivery of quality nursing care, contributing to the physical, psychological, social, recreational and spiritual care in a recovery-focused way through therapeutic engagement and activities, and taking steps to address any issues that arise.
• Leading on and undertaking activities to ensure that the fundamentals of care are met - nutrition, hydration, hygiene, comfort, emotional and social support
• Co-ordinating and evaluating collaborative patient centred care; getting feedback and improving plans with the multi-disciplinary team (MDT).
• Providing accurate information about care in an accessible format to patients and their relatives / carers.
• Liaising and working positively with members of the multi- disciplinary team and partner organisations.
• Administering, and monitoring the side-effects of, medication; monitoring service user compliance.
• Safety: safe custody of medicines, sharps, clinical equipment, report all incidents following trust policy.
• Leading and supporting/teaching junior staff on risk assessment and risk management that involves making decisions based on knowledge of the research evidence, knowledge of the individual service user and their social context, knowledge of the service user’s own experience and clinical judgment.
• Supporting and supervising junior staff to develop the management of care needs through: - Initial data collection - Monitoring of individual service user / patient progress - Feedback and discussion - Producing reports and in-care reviews - Devising a plan of care and interventions in partnership with service user, carer and MDT
• Coordinating junior staff and the wider care team in providing hands-on care to service users and evaluating processes of care delivered. This will include: - Undertaking 1-1 engagement with service users in an honest, open and non- judgmental way. - Recognising and valuing service users as individuals, acknowledging the importance of always maintaining the service user’s respect and dignity and ensure that the care provided respects equality and diversity. - Developing care plans that reflect service user needs and relevant patient care documentation working in partnership with service users, wider MDT and family/carers. - Ensuring the monitoring and recording service user clinical observations are undertaken, such as physical observations and vital signs and treating or escalating as appropriate any signs or symptoms of deterioration or that does not fulfil the personal parameters to the relevant professional for treatment. Promote healthy lifestyles and give health promotion advice and support.
• Implementing the principles of ‘recovery’: encouraging and supporting service users to engage with healthy lifestyles, facilitating psychosocial activities and other activities of their interest.
• Where appropriate contributing to psychological interventions.
• Escorting service users, as required, in line with Trust and other stakeholder policies.
• Advocating for service users’ needs and rights within Trust policy.
• Encouraging and empowering service users to have an optimum level of responsibility for their individual programme of care.
• To be an active member of the mobilisation phase of the Bexley community mental heath wellbeing hub.
• To work within a multi-disciplinary approach with the clinical and operational teams (Oxleas NHSFT, MIND Bexley, Bexley IAPT, Bexley LA, SEL CCG, third sector organisations) and other organisations in the area.
• To build relationships with all stakeholders, integrate organisations and build a strong network alliance of mental health services.
• Lead on risk management and safety planning, identifying and implementing brief, structured support and safety planning programmes for people using the service.
• Lead on key aspects of quality assurance to develop robust outcome indicators for mental health nursing and other aspects of clinical governance.
• To maintain high quality record and data keeping, to support service evaluation, measurement of clinical outcomes and service user experience.
• Be involved in developing standard operating procedures that will affect healthcare professionals in the primary care networks and the community mental health.
• Ensure that agreed policies are followed to provide a safe environment for patients, relatives and staff.
• Lead, facilitate and participate in research projects and clinical audit and implement any changes.
• Deliver educational programmes in relation to clinical, practice and professional development using up to date methods of delivery, including e learning packages.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.