Continence Nurse

Job overview

The role will be part of Bladder & Bowel Service and work with a range of professionals in order to ensure bladder and bowel care is appropriate and delivered in a timely manner.

The role will demonstrate their professional skills and competence in care planning / coordination, medicines management, and care and treatment delivery.

This role requires excellent interpersonal and communication skills to support patients with a wide range of conditions to understand and, where possible, take on self-management of their condition.

The role requires the ability to be flexible and adaptable whilst working in people’s homes and other community settings.

A desire to promote continence and support the Continence Nurse Specialists to deliver continence care to adults and children with bladder and bowel dysfunction.

This role requires excellent interpersonal and communication skills to support patients with a wide range of conditions to understand and, where possible, take on self-management of their condition. Responsibility for supervising less experienced or qualified staff and students in community placements. You will be expected to actively contribute to quality assurance processes and service development.

Main duties of the job

Assess bladder and bowel function, manage, implement and evaluate individual programmes of patient care on correct application of continence aids and offer informed choices.

Use of portable Bladder scanner to inform assessment.

Assess, plan, implement and evaluate bladder and bowel pathways of patients.

Prioritising a delegated workload and effectively managing time and working effectively within the team.

Ability to ensure anticipatory care needs are understood and met.

Recognising signs of deterioration and escalate.

Collaborating with multidisciplinary team or other agencies.

Makes accurate observation and judgements on problems requiring investigation, analysis or samples taken.

Checks, administer and disposes of drugs according to the Trust policies.

Encouraging patient independence and self-care.

Assess clinical and environmental risk and share with appropriate services.

Promotes UTI improvement work and antibiotic guardianship.

The named mentor for pre-registration student.

Promotes the health and well- being of clients and their families / carers through health promotion activities.

Takes part in the prevention and control of the spread of diseases.

Undertakes joint visit with MDT.

Order appropriate products via home delivery service.

Provides support and assists with continence promotion projects and raising public awareness of continence issues.

Delivers educational programmes to other practitioners in group or one-to-one settings.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Act as an autonomous practitioner in accordance with and upholding the NMC Code of Conduct and Scope of Professional Practise for Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors.
• To assess bladder and bowel function, physical and psycho–social needs, plan, manage, implement and evaluate individual programmes of patient care in the most efficient and clinically effective way, which meets the needs of the patient and his/her carer(s). including education on correct application of continence aids and offer informed choices on lifestyle modifications, treatment options, and alternative products.
• Use a range of assessment tools pertinent to the patient’s needs e.g. Use of portable Bladder scanner to inform the assessment.
• Works mainly unsupervised to assess, plan, implement and evaluate bladder and bowel pathways of patients. Provides skilled nursing care for patients in their own homes or other appropriate settings e.g. Clinics/education settings.
• Is responsible for prioritising a delegated caseload/workload and effectively managing time and working effectively within the team.
• Works in close liaison with nursing colleagues, of members of the multidisciplinary team and social care and voluntary sector.
• Role model the values expected in Compassion in Practice (2014), ensuring patient, family and carer feedback supports that care received was compassionate.
• Ensuring information is recorded objectively and reported back to the Bladder & Bowel Service.
• Ability to plan ahead for potential scenarios to ensure anticipatory care needs are understood and met.
• Recognising signs of deterioration in patients and referring appropriately to ensure patient safety and avoid hospital admission.
• Collaborating effectively with other members of the multidisciplinary team or other agencies involved in the patient’s care.
• Participates in case conferences, MDTs and care package reviews providing health related information when requested.
• Makes accurate observation of the patient’s physical, mental and social condition, communicating these findings to the Bladder & Bowel Service via Coordinator and other members of the Primary Healthcare Team as appropriate. Makes judgements on problems requiring investigation, analysis or samples taken.
• Checks, administer and disposes of drugs according to the Trust policies and guidelines.
• Provides support and education in the delivery of care and delegates work appropriately to junior team members. Undertakes staff appraisals, when appropriate.
• Participates in the practical instruction of Students.
• Encouraging and support patient independence and self-care of their condition where appropriate. whilst minimising risk for both patients and staff, making use of all available resources.
• Takes reasonable precaution to ensure that the patient and the patient’s property is safeguarded.
• Assess clinical and environmental risk and share with appropriate services.
• promotes UTI improvement work and antibiotic guardianship.
• Can be the named mentor for pre-registration student.
• Promotes the health and well- being of clients and their families / carers through health promotion activities.
• Takes part in the prevention and control of the spread of diseases.
• Undertakes joint visit with specialist nurses, GPs, social workers and other health.
• Following assessment of patient to order appropriate products via home delivery service.
• Ensure that patient/carers are aware that any equipment loaned no longer required is returned to supplier.
• As part of promoting a safety culture reports any clinical incidents, successful interventions via the datix system.
• Is involved in audits and distributes and encourages completion of patient experience questionnaires.
• Is involved in implementing policies and suggest changes to practice / procedures.
• Maintains good working relationships with colleagues and other agencies.
• Is required to communicate effectively with patients, carers, relatives and other professionals

32.Provides support and assists with continence promotion projects and raising public awareness of continence issues.

33.Delivers an agreed educational programme to other practitioners in group or one-to-one settings.