Dental Nurse

Job overview

Dental Nurse - Community Dental Service

Based at:- Salisbury Central Health Clinic,  Avon Approach, SP1 3SL

Band 4  - Full Time Permanent

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a full time experienced and highly motivated qualified Dental Nurse with excellent clinical and administrative skills to join our dynamic Community Dental team covering our Salisbury site.

The successful candidate should be a qualified registered Dental Nurse and will possess excellent clinical, communication, organisational and interpersonal skills.

The Community Dental Service in Wiltshire and Swindon offers urgent care clinics for patients experiencing dental pain, special care clinics for adults and Children with additional needs who are not able to access their treatment at a general dentist across four sites. The service also provides hospital sessions in Salisbury, Swindon and Bath.

You must be a car driver, with access to a vehicle to carry out the role. You may also be required to work at other Dental Clinics within Wiltshire and Swindon. This role includes weekend and bank holiday working on a rota basis. The post holder will be required to work 0830 – 1700, with one hour for lunch, five days per week.

You must hold valid GDC Registration for this role.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be a member of the Clinical Dental Team.  The Dental Team provides emergency and special care for a wide range of patients across Wiltshire. The post holder will support the dental officer with a range of dental treatment for urgent care patients in severe pain who do not have a dentist and referred patients with special/additional needs.

Urgent care patients may require special attention due to culture, faith and religion, language barriers, understanding of expectation of treatment provided, active symptoms such as pain, phobia and anxiety.

Special care patients will require specialist care due to complex medical conditions, physical or learning disabilities or mental health problems which exclude them from having treatment in the General Dental Service.

The post holder will be required to work to a flexible shift pattern which will include weekends and Bank Holidays

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To comply with the GDC standards and Scope of Practice
• To comply with GWH Trust Policies & CDS Local Operating Procedures.
• To maintain their own clinical and professional development in dental nursing and participate in annual appraisal.
• Maintain effective communication and professional relationships, at all times, with patients and their relatives, colleagues and other members of the public.  To liaise with other health professionals including schools, nursing homes and hospital departments.
• To provide and receive complex and sensitive patient related medical information. This should include identifying any barriers to communication and implementing actions to overcome them eg contacting Language Line for non-English speaking patients and carers.
• Provide pre- and post-operative advice on dental care to patients.
• To take responsibility for the Health & Safety and Fire inspection checklist.  Assist in development, implementation and review of health & safety risk assessments and safe systems of work.
• Duties include the preparation of the dental surgery and clinical chair side activity for dental treatment.
• Inputting patient related information to SFD IT system as directed by the Dentist.
• Receiving patients into the treatment room and assisting the dentist during all clinical procedures.
• Responsibility for maintaining of decontamination and infection control in line with CDS Infection Control LOP and protocol for decontamination of equipment for the site.
• Maintaining and requesting appropriate stock levels, ensuring that the stock/emergency drugs are within expiry date & that materials are stored appropriately.
• Checking invoices for incoming stock and materials.
• To act as chaperone and witness for the dentist.
• To provide dental nurse cover for clinics, sometimes at short notice.
• To take part in regular audits as appropriate.
• Undertaking other or additional duties commensurate with the grade as directed by the Dental Nurse Team Manager and to maintain the necessary skills and knowledge through appropriate training.
• To carry out duties away from base clinic including domiciliary visits, dental epidemiology surveys, day surgery under general anaesthetic in acute hospital settings, conscious sedation sessions and dental health education programmes.
• There is a requirement to work alongside the dentist using manual handling aids including a hoist and to keep up to date with manual handling training.
• To ensure compliance with GWH Trust arrangements for mandatory training.
• To take responsibility for enhanced continuing professional development (CPD) to meet registration requirements of General Dental Council (GDC) / Council for the Regulation of Healthcare Professionals - 50 hours verifiable in 5-year cycle.
• To ensure annual registration with the GDC

Patient Client Care

• Work as part of a team to deliver high quality dental care to patients

Financial Responsibilities

• Receiving patient charges

Working Conditions

• Occasional exposure to unpleasant conditions, working in confined spaces in patient homes including verbal aggression.
• Frequent contact with body fluids, blood and saliva.

Physical Effort

• This post involves walking, standing, and sitting, carrying, pushing and pulling of trolleys during clinics - alongside SSOW.
• Requirement to operate dental equipment for domiciliary, radiography, sedation, epidemiology and dental clinics.

Mental Effort

• Frequent requirement for intense concentration

Emotional Effort

• Exposure to emotional or distressing circumstances including medical emergency.
• Caring for distressed and anxious patients who can be unwell.

Other Factors

• The post holder will be required to travel to other clinics to maintain operational service cover and hold business insurance for driving during working hours.
• Requirement to work weekends and Bank Holidays
• Ability to drive and access to a motor vehicle, with business insurance
• Dealing with distressed patients/clients regularly
• Regular VDU usage,
• Requirement to move small equipment between sites as required Further information about this post can be found in the attached Job Description. We welcome informal contact from you (telephone calls, visits, meeting colleagues) in advance of your application. In the first instance please contact Jackie Furness on 01249 456698 or by email on [email protected]