District Nurse/ Senior Community Nurse/ Caseload Manager

Job overview

The Senior District Nurse / Senior Community Nurse/ Caseload Manager (Band 6) plays a key leadership and clinical role within the community nursing team, providing expert care to a defined population while supporting staff development and service improvement. The post holder is responsible for the assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of complex care, focusing on preventing hospital admissions, promoting independence, and managing long-term conditions and end-of-life care.

Working collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams, the role ensures the delivery of safe, evidence-based, and person-centred care within patients’ homes and community settings. The Senior Nurse also has responsibility for caseload management, clinical supervision, and supporting the wellbeing and performance of team members.

As a visible and proactive clinical leader, the post holder will contribute to service development, quality improvement, and the education of staff and students, ensuring that care delivery meets national and local standards.

Main duties of the job

The District Nurse / Senior Community Nurse is responsible for the assessment and management of the health needs of an identified population and caseload, focusing on public health, preventative care, and admission avoidance. They will support the team in implementation and evaluation of programmes of care within a range of target groups including preventative deterioration of complex health, health inequalities, social prescribing and signposting, management of comorbidities and supporting the prevention of an urgent care need.

The nurse will clinically supervise and provide support to regulated and unregulated team members with career development, clinical capabilities and behaviours, education and supervision. They will assist the Professional Lead with recruitment and retention, support the wellbeing of the team and improve quality outcomes and budget management as well as implementing service improvement schemes and supporting in pathway development

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Main Functions

Named responsibility and professional accountability for the management of a defined caseload including the delegation of tasks to other members of the team.

The post holder will have continuing responsibility for visible leadership which ensures an equitable evidence-based service, which is underpinned by the pillars of clinical governance.

Prescribe using the Nurse formulary and ensure that nurse prescribing is undertaken in a safe, cost effective manner.

Develop a caseload profile, identifying those groups with specific health needs and implement and evaluate programmes of care to target groups taking a case management approach.

Act in accordance with current local Warwickshire Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults and Trust guidelines/policy to protect vulnerable adults.

Act within the NMC Code of Professional Conduct.

Contribute towards ensuring the trust objectives are implemented and to support the Professional Lead in influencing change.

Provide appropriate nursing care to patients on the defined caseloads.

Provide specialist advice appropriate to health and social care to patients, carers, relatives and other agencies.

Participate in the development, training and mentorship of pre-registration students/medical students and staff as required including induction and preceptorship programmes.

To provide assistance with the resolution of complaints within the clinical speciality, or sphere of responsibility.

To attend meetings and deputise for the Professional Lead as required and ensure that information is disseminated within the nursing team.

Assist with the delivery of a comprehensive induction programme for new staff members.

Communication

Demonstrate excellent communication and negotiation skills in situations which may be complex, highly sensitive and emotive. All communication will be underpinned by the principles of data protection, dignity and confidentiality.

Adopt and promote the highest level of verbal, non-verbal, written and electronic communication skills. Be open and honest, act with integrity and uphold the reputation of the profession as directed by the Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC, 2015).

Take responsibility for initiating and/or engaging in open discussion with statutory and voluntary agencies and all members of the wider multi-disciplinary team as appropriate.

Ensure effective communication to support continuity of care on transfer between hospital, community, residential and nursing care settings and vice versa.

Analysis and Judgement

Promotes and maintains accurate record keeping and conforms to NMC policy and data protection legislation.

Uses resources effectively and being aware of budgetary constraints including ordering of equipment.

Will participate in research and development projects within the clinical field, embracing opportunities to develop knowledge by undertaking further study whilst sharing initiatives with others.

Responsible for communicating and receiving sensitive, complex, and sometimes contentious information, dealing effectively with staff, relatives, and carers whilst ensuring confidentiality. Will use developed persuasive, motivational, negotiating skills, where agreement and cooperation is required. There may be barriers to understanding.

Supporting the Professional Lead and Quality Matron in the development of audit systems within SWFT to ensure continuing evaluation of clinical practice by facilitating clinical audit programmes and research in line with clinical governance priorities.

Planning and Organisational Skills

Supervise and direct work undertaken by other members of the skill mix team on a daily basis.

Direct responsibility for the day to day supervision and performance of the district nursing team.

To input statistical information by electronically recording daily activity on EMIS, ensuring each contact/activity is recorded in real time.

Responsible for ensuring that staff are supported in accessing Clinical Supervision.

Responsibility for Patient Care

Take responsibility for the complex and holistic assessment or delegation of planning, implementation and evaluation of care on an individual basis, utilising recognised models and tools, e.g. end of life care and long term conditions.

As a District Nurse there will be a need for a varied clinical skill set, including, but not limited to:

End of Life Care - Syringe Drivers and symptom control

Intravenous Therapy

Management of Plural Drains

Wound Care – Including complex e.g. Vacuum assisted therapy

Leg Ulcers – Including compressions therapy

Continence Management – Catheters, Bowel Management

Patient education and training of self-management techniques

Long Term Condition Management – Heart Failure, Diabetes, Respiratory, Frailty, Dementia

Social prescribing

Named responsibility for the management of a defined caseload.

Acts as patient’s advocate where appropriate.

Be proactive in offering health promotion and participate in health promotion activities for a defined caseload.

Utilise health needs assessment for the local population.

The District Nurse will recognise triggers of deterioration/increased need of patients and initiate the Continuing Healthcare/NHS Funded Nursing Care assessment process.

To work with the Professional Lead to ensure performance indicators are achieved, avoiding patient harms and supporting preferred place of care.

Ensuring excellent working relationships and communication links with all stakeholders including acute hospital staff, Local Authorities, Social Care teams and voluntary services as appropriate for patient care.

Policy and Service Development

To take a lead on quality initiatives, including but not limited to Community care Indicators, Hand Hygiene, Saving Lives and iWGC.

Understanding of national policy and guidance with the ability to interpret and implement at service level.

Participate in and contribute to service redesign and policy development to benefit patient care.

Source patients’/relatives’/carers’ views and feedback on their experience of SWFT OOHCC services in order to influence and inform future service provision.

To contribute to the implementation and audit of policies, guidelines and procedures ensuring practice is evidence-based and patient centred.

Will undertake Personal Development Reviews (PDR) and relevant development plans for members of the nursing team. Assist in the identification of individual training requirements in line with NMC Revalidation and Pay Progression requirements.

Responsibility for Human Resources

To identify workforce planning issues and actively participate in the recruitment, selection and retention of clinical staff.

Ensure team members are up to date with mandatory and statutory training.

Responsible for Performance Development Reviews for staff within the team.

Contributing to the promotion of team morale and management of conflict within the team by adopting an open and honest approach in order to seek resolve.

Professional Responsibilities and Freedom to Act

Interpret national guidance on NMC guidelines.

Promote and participate in clinical supervision.

Maintain clinical and professional competencies in accordance with relevant statutory legislation and guidance relevant to health professionals and their services.

Responsibility for Research & Development

Ensure standards, protocols and policies are evidence based and applied to practice.

Keep abreast of current clinical issues thus always promoting best practice.

Critique and use research to inform practice.

Complete monthly clinical audits (Community Care Indicators) and support the Professional Lead with Infection Prevention audits on a monthly basis.

General

The post holder will be required to have access to independent means of transport for work purposes to travel across the Trust and to other agencies.

The post holder will be unavoidably exposed to challenging working conditions such as travelling during extreme and inclement weather including snow, icy conditions and excess heat.

The Trust endorses the principle of whether people smoke or not is a matter of personal choice but where they smoke is a matter of public concern. The policy on smoking and health protects non-smokers and requires that all Trust premises are smoke free.

Physical and Mental Effort

The post holder will undertake “people moving and handling” on a daily basis. The handling of equipment e.g. hoists is integral to the post and may be required to be undertaken in confined spaces within patient’s homes.

The post holder will be required to operate as a lone worker in accordance with Trust policies and procedures.

The post holder may come into contact with bodily fluids including urine and faeces and exudate from wounds e.g. blood and pus.

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.