Specialist Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our Community Specialist Palliative Care team as a B7 Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS).

We are looking for a dynamic, enthusiastic and experienced nurse, with a passion for promoting excellence in end of life care.

The successful candidate will work alongside a team of nurses delivering highly specialist palliative care advice, support and monitoring to patients, their families and staff across the Central Cheshire community footprint.

You will work closely with our Palliative Care Medics, and as part of a wider multi-disciplinary team including District Nurses, AHPs, GPs and our local hospital and hospice teams.

This valuable role is equally rewarding and demanding, and we are committed to creating a supportive environment, where supervision, training and development opportunities are actively encouraged to meet the clinical needs of the job.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will:

Contribute to the provision of a co-ordinated specialist palliative care service for patients, families and carers across CCICP.

Have responsibility for a shared caseload of patients with cancer and other life-limiting conditions, with specialist palliative care nursing needs, acting as a keyworker for a percentage of the caseload.

Provide holistic assessment of patients, formulate management plans, and implement care by providing specialist advice on complex pain and symptom management.

Act as a specialist resource for advice to other healthcare professionals across CCICP. Maintaining excellent working relationships with the wider MDT.

Participate in non-clinical aspects of the role including audit, education, and research.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached full job description and person specification - below is a summary of key duties.

• Lead in specialist area of practice, providing expert professional advice to others across the Trust within agreed guidelines and protocols, including generalist colleagues and other professional groups when required.
• Perform comprehensive specialist assessment of community patients, plan, treat and evaluate care within agreed guidelines and protocols according to evidence-based practice and changing health needs, including prescribing medication.
• Communicate complex specialist information to generalist colleagues and others. Refer patients to appropriate clinicians, in the Trust or externally, within agreed guidelines and protocols, according to assessment of patient need and evidence-based decision.
• Prioritise patient care, supervising and allocating ones’ own workload, monitoring and evaluating effectiveness of care, including discharge of patients, or referring on, within agreed guidelines and protocols.
• Perform specialist clinical skills in the treatment and overall management of patient care, including requesting and interpreting investigations, within agreed guidelines and protocols.
• Provide a comprehensive specialist service, accepting accountability and responsibility for the management and effectiveness of the community service on a day-to-day basis.
• Collect, collate, evaluate and report on information, including communicating detailed information to clinical colleagues and others, maintaining accurate patient records and documentation.
• Promote patient and public involvement in the improvement of services, and involve patients and carers/relative in the planning and delivery of their care.
• Work collaboratively with other professionals and agencies to ensure patient needs are met, especially in relation to patient flow, care pathways and discharge arrangements.
• Analyse and act on information to proactively manage and maintain NHS targets and standards.

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.