District Nurse Team Leader - Mat leave cover Nov-July 2027

Job overview

9 month Secondment Opportunity - District Nurse Team Leader Band 7 (Qualified DNSPQ)

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a qualified District Nurse with relevant experience including community nursing to join one of our District Nursing Teams in Hillingdon to cover maternity leave.

Our forward-thinking District Nursing teams are committed to the delivery of high-quality patient care.

As a District Nurse Team Leader or a Team Lead, you will play an integral part in leading the delivery and development of the service. This is an ideal role for an experienced District Nurse or a newly Specialist Qualified District Nurse looking to further develop their leadership skills and relevant experience including Community Nursing.

The successful candidate will hold the DNSPQ qualification and have significant experience of nursing at a Band 6 level or above and an understanding of community nursing is essential.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide management support and professional nurse leadership to all members of the nursing team.  They will work with Senior Nurses in developing, implementing and reviewing any new initiatives involving District Nursing services and motivate staff to effect any necessary change.

The post holder will have to manage a clinical caseload, which will be GP attached. The caseload will consist of house bound patients but there are sites where commissioned wound clinics are also held.

The post holder will hold responsibility for all staff in their designated team where clinical and managerial support is paramount to the team and service development. The role also consists of change management where the DN Team Leader or Team Lead will support his / her own team to embed change positively.

As a Team Leader, you will work within an integrated service including specialist care teams such as palliative, tissue viability, bladder and bowel, cardiac, neurology, diabetes, rapid response and specialist therapy teams such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy. The District Nursing service is also supported by our evening Twilight team. All community services strive to work collaboratively to ensure individualised patient centred care alongside support from our GP colleagues and practices.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

As one of the leads for District Nursing and in association with other members of the locality team, the post holder will facilitate all aspects of care and information to patients and assist staff already involved in the care of patients through the following interventions.

• Act as a role model in expert practice facilitating and supporting the delivery of effective patient care by use of clinical judgement and decision making skills.
• Responsible for ensuring District Nursing teams develop appropriate plans of care for individual patients, families/carers or patient groups.
• To take continuing responsibility for the assessment of care needs and the development, implementation and evaluation of programmes of care for and with individual and their families.
• Lead the production of health profiles, formulate objectives and set priorities within the caseload.
• Develop innovative ways of case-finding patients with a particular focus on house-bound patients and the elderly from community locations and provide assessment & programmes of care to meet their primary health care needs.
• To provide a visible professional presence where staff, patients, carers, voluntary, statutory and private services can approach for assistance, advice & support to enable provision of holistic care.
• Implements the framework of informed consent.
• Use advanced specialist knowledge to enable patients & carers to develop self-care skills with respect to health and health services.
• To ensure appropriate supplies and equipment are in place and maintained in line with best practice in relation to client care and review as per local policy.
• Document consultations and practice to incorporate both audit and the setting and monitoring and evaluation of standards of care.
• Acts as a key coordinator promoting the delivery of seamless services.
• Lead and promote areas for practice development, devising guidelines and procedures to support the delivery of care.
• Implements the National Service Frameworks.
• Ensure that nursing care is evidence-based/best practice.
• Lead and facilitate appropriate audit to ensure evaluation of programmes of care & maintenance of high standards.
• Facilitate and participate in Trust-wide groups that require specialist input.
• Support the delivery of care through nurse prescribing.
• Plan and implement management of chronic diseases and work towards preventing the complications of long term conditions.
• Develop and contribute to health promotion programmes.
• Work with the training and development staff and other health care professionals and voluntary organisations to build the capacity of Primary Care Teams to address the health care needs of the communities.
• Work with other partners to facilitate access to other programmes to promote health for the communities (e.g. training, basic skills training, adult education).